Library Selection Form

Garissa University College(GUC) was established by a legal notice No. 116, The Garissa University College order 2011. The university college is located in Garissa town 365 Kilometers from Nairobi City on a 85- acre arable land on the shores of river Tana. Against this background, GUC being the only public university in the northern Kenya, it is honored to be at the service of the local community in research based on sustainable agriculture, livestock husbandry, dryland agriculture and agri-business enterprise.

The Government of Kenya upgraded the Garissa Teachers Training College to Garissa University College as a constituent college of Moi University. One of the principle objectives of upgrading this college was to provide opportunity for more students to access university education. Under this new status, GUC was granted the powers to offer university level education and training while at the same time retaining its traditional mandate as a middle-level college offering Diploma and certificates in various fields. It has come a long way and in remaining true to its founding philosophy, will offer ‘an oasis of innovation’, a phrase it has adopted as its motto, and which is reflected in its dynamic spirit of a modern university of technological processes and development

The college also engages to undertake research with a keen sense of applicability in solving immediate societal problems. Innovation shall be a major guiding factor in research at GUC and shall also be expected to influence teaching and learning.

GUC intends to impart to its students the highest state of knowledge and practical skills. It also seeks to enable young people to find their orientation in a complex and rapidly changing world and to stimulate an understanding of technical and cultural values so that, upon completing their studies, they will not only be highly qualified professional people but also responsible members of society.

The college offers a wide range of specialized and professional courses.GUC has a modern library and well equipped laboratories. GUC started off with training in the Arts, Education and Business fields which are consistent with the need for university education in Kenya. The training in these fields would essentially be supported by programs in the basic sciences

Library Overview:

Just like any other academic library in the world, GUC library is the nerve centre of all academic activities in the institution. The library was established in 1996 along with Garissa Teachers College. The current library was operationalized in January, 2006 and one staff was hired to manage the library services. As the college continued to grow and expand the library grew in terms of collections obtaining much of the collections as donations and gift. On 5th of September 2013, a committee was established to set up and restructure the library to university status. The committee recommended the hiring of more professional staff as well as acquire additional materials that were in line and suitable for university education, research and community service.

The Vision of the library is to be a prestigious academic library in the field of education, research, innovation and user centred services. The library’s mission is to promote a dynamic learning environment in research and innovation based on quality user centred information services that enhance teaching, learning and research activities

To achieve this mission, the library strives to Continuously assess the needs of library users to which it responds by acquiring and providing relevant and up-to-date reading materials, information systems and services, provide expertise and support for the users to harness maximum value from the library and also provide a serene environment that is conducive for study, research and innovation.

The current library structure can accommodate about 500 users but plans are underway to construct an ultramodern library facility that can accommodate over 5,000 users. This will be able to cater for the foreseeable learning, research and community service needs and functions of the university.

Services

• Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services
• Audiovisual services
• Circulation (Charging and Discharging of materials)
• Current awareness Services
• Information literacy
• Interlibrary services
• Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)
• Periodicals services
• Reference and referral
• Reprographic services
• Selective dissemination
• Virtual library services (internet, e-journals, e-books)

Electronic Books and Journals

• Please follow the Library link on the main menu

Our Acquisition Methods

The library acquires materials through the following avenues:

• Standing orders, and subscriptions
• Local, National and International Book Fares
• Orders for individual titles
• Editorial support, printing and reprography
• Transfers, Gifts and Donations
• Legal Deposit

Opening Hours

During Semester

Week Days

9:00am-10:00 pm

Saturdays

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Sundays

1:00 pm-5:00 pm

During Vacation)

Week Days

9:00am-5:00 pm

Saturdays

Closed

Sundays

Closed

During Holidays

Closed

Note: Virtual library services such as access to electronic books and journals are available 24 hours through the GUC LAN and WLAN