Database as Book: Collective Knowledge Making and Infrastructuring as an Act of Resistance in Kenya

Database as Book is an experimental publishing project that reimagines what a scholarly book can be when built as a living, collaborative database. The project emphasizes “data as relations,” exploring how knowledge infrastructures can foster mutuality, care, and public engagement. By designing for versioning, annotation, and community authorship, Database as Book seeks to explore new forms of scholarly communication that are open, dynamic, and rooted in local contexts. This pilot was active from 2024 - 2026 and funded by the Open Book Futures. The work contributes to broader efforts to build and sustain public knowledge infrastructures in Kenya and beyond. Read more of the documentation of the project here. The Database-as-Book is presented in three formats: a Print on Demand physical book, a website, and these data essays presented on the Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography (PECE).