Mercy Ayilo

Within the Center for Global Collections, Mercy oversees collection development for African materials from emigre and diaspora communities globally and selects scholarly resources from and about Africa and about members of the African diaspora in a wide range of subjects and formats. In support of Penn’s current and anticipated academic programs, Mercy collects materials in African languages such as Amharic, Malagasy, Swahili, Wolof, and Yoruba.

Mercy provides specialized reference, instruction, and academic liaison services to Penn faculty and students with research interests in African studies in all departments and schools. Mercy maintains the African collection website as well as the African seminar room. Mercy works collaboratively with colleagues across the whole of the Penn libraries, especially those in area studies and with campus constituencies such as the Centre for African Studies and donors connected to the African collections.

Mercy came to Penn from the African Economic Research Consortium in Nairobi, Kenya where she served graduate students in economics from across sub-Saharan Africa. There she worked extensively in student support.

She holds a Master’s Degree in library and information science from Kenya Methodist University and has extensive experience in library management and library research.

Mercy is committed to supporting the scholarly pursuits of Penn faculty and students with research interests in African studies to access the resources they need to excel.