Mzuni gets books from UK college
Mzuzu University (Mzuni) on Monday received a donation of books valued at K4.5 million from Kings College of London, the United Kingdom (UK).
Mzuni lost books and computers in a fire that burnt down its library on December 19 last year.
Receiving the books on behalf of Mzuni on the sidelines of an International Science Conference the university is currently hosting in Lilongwe, deputy vice-chancellor Loveness Kaunda expressed gratitude for the donation which she said has come at a right time when the institution is setting up a temporary library.
She said: “As a university, we are grateful for this timely donation which has come at a time when we are setting up a temporary library in the hall. A number of institutions from both within and outside the country have made similar donations since the fire incident.”
Kaunda said the National Library Service (NLS), Grey Matter and other local institutions have provided a large consignment of books to the institution with other donations of chairs, tables and books coming from the United States of America (USA) and New Zealand.
“We have received overwhelming support from both the local and international community, and we are making sure that students should not be greatly affected when we open our new semester on March 24. We are optimistic that a lot more books will be sourced by the time the university will be opening,” she said.
Kaunda said other books will be sourced electronically.
Professor Mark Pelling, who donated the books on behalf of Kings College, said the books were provided by students and staff at the institution.
He said the college decided to donate the books as it is working in partnership with Mzuni on a research project.
Almost 50 000 books and 100 computers were lost in a fire whose cause is yet to be established.
