AROUND 1000 children in eastern Kenya depend on camels to bring them library books. The Kenya National Library Service uses the camels to circulate books to five primary schools near Garissa, 400 km east of Nairobi. It is one of the most disadvantaged regions of the country. The majority of its inhabitants are ethnic Somali nomads. Every fortnight, librarian Joseph Otieno, camel driver Ahmed Khalif and his three beasts arrive at the schools with some 500 titles in English and Swahili: strip cartoons, children’s books and text books. The camel service, launched in 1996, is catching on. A similar programme has been set up in Wajir, in northern Kenya. The camels’ success, however, is limited by insecurity and depends largely on donations. Many available books are not suitable for children and the few that are, such as two copies of Asterix, have been damaged by over-use and must be repaired before being lent out again.