Mindanao Librarian

My Take on a Paperless Society

2012-01-15T23:04:00.002+08:00

We care about trees cut for paper, but seem to care less about where the unused gadgets go past their useability.

I also agree that the scariest part of going paperless is that there will no longer be imprints of this decade. Where documentation now is at the mercy of business-driven and rapidly-changing technologies, the stories and records of this decade may just end up where they can no longer be retrieved for the future generations.

A writer once expressed dismay over how he lost memories of his growing son the moment the digital cameras were born. And who would not be scared? Have we thought where have gone those brilliant ideas that were once captured by Wordstar or Word Perfect?

A Mindanao Librarian Once Again Makes it to the Top

2010-11-21T11:20:00.004+08:00

The Board for Librarians released on 15 November 2010 a list of passers of the Librarians Licensure Examinations (http://www.prc.gov.ph/articles.asp?sid=4&aid=3933).

Mindanao is proud to have one librarian make it to the top this year. Congratulations to Ms. Aldiane Joy Basali Ambit of the Holy Cross College of Davao for making it to second place.

Mindanao Librarian wishes to congratulate all her new colleagues.

Of RA 7743 and SB 1428

2010-09-30T05:28:00.041+08:00

Sitio Aspang, Barangay San Jose, General Santos City. Life goes on here for scores of Blaan schoolchildren, in this sleepy little sitio up in the mountains off General Santos City. Not one of the children here has seen a library, or knows what a library is. Had RA 7743 been implemented, the absence of a school library would have been addressed by a reading center in their barangay. But there is none either. I wonder if the members of the barangay council are even aware that in 1993, Republic Act 7743, otherwise known as An Act Providing for the Establishment of Congressional, City and Municipal Libraries and Barangay Reading Centers throughout the

Philippines

was passed. Seventeen years hence, the country is still too far from implementing this mandate fully.

Now here comes Senate Bill 1428, sponsored by library advocate Sen. Loren Legarda. It seeks to amend RA 7743 to ensure that “all public libraries (in the

Philippines

) adhere to the demands of a globalized Filipino nation.” In order to do this, the bill seeks to increase the budget of the National Library to PHP5M per year so that it is able to provide reading materials and supplies to public libraries. It mandates “local government units to undertake the maintenance of public libraries and reading centers”. This, ”until all municipalities and cities have access to full electronic library facilities.” Timeline is 2013.

As an advocate for public libraries, I should be rejoicing. For once again, courtesy of SB1428, public libraries are put back to limelight and the consciousness of the Filipino people. Hopefully it will draw long-overdue attention to the advocacy for public libraries, an advocacy that seems to have drowned amidst a sea of other basic priorities. While a part of me rejoices, the other part wonders.

I wonder whether the amendment to the existing mandate came after an assessment of the implementation of RA 7743, such that the whys of its poor implementation are understood and appropriately addressed. I wonder whether the amendment bill drew important lessons from the previous mandate such that history does not repeat itself. I wonder how an amendment to a poorly-implemented mandate can now be guaranteed its well-deserved support from the implementing government units and agencies at the local level. I wonder how implementation will look like without drumbeating this advocacy so that public libraries are resurrected back to the consciousness of the Filipinos, in general, and the implementers, in particular. I wonder whether 2013 is a reasonable deadline, considering the absence of information and communication infrastructures in most of the remote communities in the

Philippines

I do not doubt RA 7743 and SB 1428’s intentions. I know they are noble and clear. But like other mandates, translating them to concrete terms is a straightforward question of political will. Political will, over and above the absence of resources and capacities (which often become excuses more than causes), seems to be SB1428s only hope.

Until then, Sitio Aspang, Barangay San Jose, General Santos City, like other remote communities in the country, will continue to see their children navigating ill or less-equipped their increasingly information and technology-driven environments. They will continue to see children growing old without knowing what a public library is, and how much that public learning place can contribute to both their individual development and the transformation of their communities.

Despite all apprehensions, I still choose to pin my hopes.

24th SOCOLA General Assembly and Seminar-Workshop

2010-09-30T03:47:00.006+08:00

The SOCSKSARGEN Librarians Association, Inc. (SOCOLA) is convening its 24th General Assembly and Seminar-Workshop on Plagiarism and Research and the Role of Librarians in the Protection of Intellectual Integrity on October 22, 2010 at the St. Alexius College, Inc., Gensan Drive, City of Koronadal, South Cotabato. There will also be a special demonstration of basic book binding and repair which librarians will particularly find useful.

The seminar fee is PHP500.00. It will cover two (2) snacks, lunch, kit and certificate.

Please contact the following for further details:

Mr. Arvin M. Tejada (083-520054/ 0907731886/ arvin_tejada@yahoo.com)
Mrs. Fe G. Diaz (083-2282218 local 126/ 09264335698/ feng_agdiaz@yahoo.com)

Interested participants may download the invitation letter and the programme by clicking on the links below:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b3b940f/n/Invitation_Letter_24th_SOCOLA_General_Assembly_and_Seminar-Workshop.doc
http://www.filefactory.com/file/b3b942e/n/Programme_24th_SOCOLA_General_Assembly_and_Seminar-Workshop.doc

Emerging Concepts for Libraries as Learning Spaces

2010-08-08T15:31:00.027+08:00

Both libraries and bookstores display reading stuff, but where would most people rather go to? The bookstore would likely be a resounding choice. There is something about bookstores that attract clients and lure them to linger inside. This is what libraries are now learning from.

As libraries of this century transform and re-engineer services and programs in response to changing times, so should library space management and design. Libraries today are user-centered learning spaces. Thus, "libraries need to make themselves special places (for people) to meet and to have conversations....(Library) buildings need to inspire communites of learners". This, according to Les Watson, an expert on technology-enhanced environments and Library As Learning Space Champion.

Mindanao librarians, even if perennially constrained by lack and absence of resources, can think of ways to learn from existing and emerging designs. They can identify ideas which can be adopted and tweaked to fit the budget and to suit local needs and clients. If libraries are to be learning spaces that encourage collaboration and exchange of ideas, there is no other way but move forward and embrace emerging trends. Here are a number of online resources for library designs:

Click on the images

Making a Difference: Koronadal City Schools Library Hub Advocates for School Libraries

2010-08-07T11:05:00.006+08:00

There is hope for the advocacy for public school libraries, at least in Koronadal City.

Ms. Adelfa N. Espartero
OIC-Schools Division Superintendent
DepEd Koronadal City Schools

This, according to Ms. Luz Lalli I. Ferrer Department of Education (DepEd) Koronadal City Schools ES-I English Supervisor and Library Hub Coordinator and Mr. Arvin M. Tejada, Library Hub Division Librarian, is what they hope to demonstrate through the Division Library Hub. For the two, the vision is for the Division Library Hub to be a space for more creative pursuits for the advancement of the advocacy for school libraries instead of just remaining to be just a transitory warehouse for books waiting to be loaned to public schools on a rotation basis.

The DepEd Koronadal Library Hub is lucky. OIC-DepEd Division Superintendent Ms. Adelfa N. Espartero is very supportive. Ms. Luz Lalli Ferrer, Library Hub Coordinator being an English Supervisor, understands how important it is for a child to first acquire the habit of reading, and comprehending. Both educators understand that reading must start with the printed word. Arvin Tejada, on the other hand, has always been a staunch advocate for public libraries, mobilizing teams of volunteers students to help schools start their libraries while he was still moderator of the Books and Information Technology Society (BITS) at the the Notre Dame of Marbel University, also in Koronadal City. His move to the public school system early this year as the new Division Librarian is expected to render more meaning and credence to this advocacy. With the right combination of people, the advocacy for school libraries can be pushed to greater heights.

Ms. Luz Lalli I. Ferrer
ES-1 English; Library Hub Coordinator

And so, on June 26 June 2010, the Division Library Hub convened for the first time a pool of teacher-librarian designates from all fourty-four (44) public elementary and secondary schools in Koronadal City. The objective was to (a) orient them on the intentions of the Library Hub Project, (b) set the direction of the Divison Library Hub, and culminated in a planning session to (3) to chart the future of their school libraries.

Mr. Arvin M. Tejada

Division Librarian

I felt privileged to have been invited to this kick-off activity where I shared highlights of a baseline research paper I delivered at the 34th International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) Conference in Hong Kong, China on the state of public and school libraries in the Provinces of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. Although I talked of dismal figures taken in 2005 and noted that no movement has changed five years hence, I guess it paid to have laid down the cards once again so that current and future actions can take off where it is most needed. Like the convenors, I share the advocacy and am one with them in their long-term vision which is the development of school libraries in the Philippine public school system. Specifically for DepEd Koronadal City Schools, the Library Hub is envisioned to take a more proactive role by spearheading the initiative to assist public schools within the city in establishing/building school libraries and the development of collections. This challenge undoubtedly requires more stakeholder participation and complex interventions but there is clear commitment to this advocacy from key and influential personalities in DepEd-KC. This is what is crucial.

The author speaking before teacher-librarian designates

A planning workshop held on the same day propelled this initiative to motion. In the future, there will be more venues for capacity-building and skills development for school library and media center management. This is where the DepEd Library Hub-Koronadal City Schools Division hope to make a difference. This is how the advocates hope to get to their vision of seeing more children reading and more school libraries built for the public school system.

Planning-Workshop

Get Hold While on Open Access Period! FREE Resource Description and Access (RDA) Toolkit

2010-08-07T05:36:00.002+08:00

Resource Description and Access (RDA) is on an open-access period. This privilege is up until the end of August 2010. For the benefit of librarians and information professionals who have heard of RDA for the first time, RDA is a cataloger's newest tool. It provides guidelines on cataloging digital resources, and as such, is intended to replace the 2nd Edition of the Anglo-American Rules (AACR2). The strength of the RDA lies on the strong emphasis it places on helping users find, identify, select and obtain the information they want.

RDA is a result of a collaborative work led by the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) and overseen by the Committee of Principals representing American Library Association, Canadian Library Association, CILIP: Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, Library of Congress, Library and Archives Canada, British Library, and National Library of Australia.

The video below introduces RDA Toolkit in a clearcut manner.

RDA Toolkit -- A Guided Tour -- 02/09/10 from ALA Publishing on Vimeo.

A more comprehensive information on the RDA and details on signing up can be found in http://www.rdatoolkit.org

PLAI SOCCSKSARGEN, SOCOLA and COLINET Co-Sponsor Seminar

2010-08-06T08:08:00.026+08:00

Philippine Librarians Association Incorporated (PLAI)

SOCCSKSARGEN Region Librarians Council

in coordination with the

SOCCSKSARGEN Librarians Association (SOCOLA) and

Cotabato Libraries Information Network (COLINET)

invite you to a

Seminar Workshop on
Information Analysis in the Digital Environment

This 2-day activity coincides with PLAI-SOCCSKSARGEN'S 2nd Annual General Assembly and will be held on August 19-20, 2010 at the Tierra Montana Hotel, National Highway, General Santos City.

There will also be an election of officers for PLAI SOCCSKSARGEN Region Librarians Council during the Annual Assembly. Registration Fee is PhP 2,500.00 (PLAI members/non-members) and PhP 1,200.00 (Library Science Students). The fee covers lunch and snacks for 2 days, conference kit, certificate and fellowship dinner which highlights the Oath Taking Ceremony of newly elected officers of PLAI-SOCCSKSARGEN Region Librarians Council and COLINET officers as well.

For further inquiries, please contact any of the following:

Anita C. Sornito

email: carilo5@yahoo.com

cellphone: 09208085902

Victoria R. Santos

email: nddulib@nddu.edu.ph

cellphone: 09175011042

PLAI members are reminded of their annual dues for FY 2010 of Pp300.00 which may be paid during the general assembly. Official PLAI ID will be issued upon payment.

2010 National Book Week Theme

2010-08-04T08:11:00.006+08:00

The National Book Week is being celebrated annually in the 3rd week of the month of November which also coincides with the National Book Month. This year's theme is:

"Pandaigdigang Pakikipag-ugnayan sa Pamamagitan ng mga Aklat at Impormasyong Teknolohiya at Komunikasyon"

We enjoin fellow librarians/information professionals, educators, and advocates for libraries to support this annual celebration by hosting events that mainstream love for reading and surface the value of libraries and information centers and the role they play in individual transformation and the development of communities.

Upcoming: PLAI National Congress in Cebu

2010-08-04T08:07:00.001+08:00

This year's PLAI National Congress will be held at the WaterFront Cebu City Hotel on November 17-19, 2010 with the theme: "National Congress on International Librarianship : a Path Ahead".

The objective of the Congress are as follows:

Athe end of the three days conference, the participants should have been able to:

be more cognizant in the promotion of global and international cooperation;
know the other dimensions and importance of international librarianship;
make the public aware of the importance and benefits that can be derived from international librarianship thru international understanding and cooperation;
promote service to clients in an international scale;
gain knowledge on international librarianship; and
know the current status and inter-relationship of different types of libraries and librarians

Topics include the following:

Session 1 - Global Librarianship : Issues and Trends the Philippine Experience

Ms Salvacion M. Arlante, Library Director, University of the

Philippines

Diliman Library

Session 2 - Legal Issues Affecting Philippine Librarianship

Prof. Antonio M. Santos, Law Librarian, UP Law Library

Session 3 - Legal Issues Affecting Global/International Librarianship

Prof. Jules Winterton, President, International Association of Law Libraries

Session 4 - Access to Information : Barriers and Responsibilities

Dir. Barbara Jones, University Librarian

Session 5 - Partnership in Professional Development for Librarians

Dir. Barbara Ford, Director, Mortenson Center for International Library Programs

Session 6 - Global Linkages : Challenges an Opportunies by Ms Ngian Lek Choh

Immediate Past President, Library Association of

Singapore

Session 7 - Pathfinders Database : National Library Board (NLB) Experience

Session 8 - Trends in Curriculum Development : The Philippine Experience

Dean Vyva Victoria M. Aguirre, UP-School of Library and Information Studies

Session 9 - Library International Outreach Program

Mr. Michael Dowling/Prof. John Latham, ALA/SLA, Director, International Relations Office

Session 10 - PLAI and CPE Updates

Mrs. Lilia F. Echiverri, President, PLAI

Registration Fee: PhP 4,500.00 (no hotel accommodation).

Upcoming Events for Librarians and Information Professionals

2010-08-01T16:18:00.000+08:00

July 28-30, 2010

Philippine Librarians’ Association, Inc. (PLAI) National Conference

(in cooperation with the Cagayan Valley Region Librarians Council (CaVRLC)

Sacred Heart Center

Saint Mary’s University

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

“Enriching the Culture of Collaboration Among Educational Institutions and Their Libraries”

Conference Fee: P3,800.00 (live-in participant) and P3,000.00 (live-out participants). Fee includes 3 lunches, 6 snacks and certificates and other incidentals.

Other Information:

A site seeing tour to Banaue is being planned. Please prepare for an additional amount of P350.00 for this activity.

29-31 July 2010

An Intensive Course on the Conservation of Books and Paper

http://www.ortigasfoundationlibrary.com.ph/library3.html

25-27 August 2010

A Conference on the theme of Preservation: Trends and Challenges

http://sites.google.com/site/liblinkconference/

25-26 October 2010

4^th Rizal Library International Conference

“Library Spaces: Building Effective and Sustainable Physical and Virtual Libraries”

http://rizal.lib.admu.edu.ph/2010conf/1/index.html

Upcoming Events for Librarians and Information Professionals

2010-07-28T10:15:00.001+08:00

Fellow librarians, information professionals, reading and reader development advocates:

Following is a list of upcoming events which may be relevant to our work and interests. Please click on the links for further details.

July 28-30, 2010

Philippine Librarians’ Association, Inc. (PLAI) National Conference

(in cooperation with the Cagayan Valley Region Librarians Council (CaVRLC)

“Enriching the Culture of Collaboration Among Educational Institutions and Their Libraries”

Sacred Heart Center

Saint Mary’s University

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

Conference Fee: P3,800.00 (live-in participant) and P3,000.00 (live-out participants). Fee includes 3 lunches, 6 snacks and certificates and other incidentals.

Other Information:

A site seeing tour to Banaue is being planned. Please prepare for an additional amount of P350.00 for this activity.

29-31 July 2010

An Intensive Course on the Conservation of Books and Paper

25-27 August 2010

A Conference on the theme of Preservation: Trends and Challenges

25-26 October 2010

4^th Rizal Library International Conference

“Library Spaces: Building Effective and Sustainable Physical and Virtual Libraries”

A GSIS Policy Interpretation and Press Release that Defy Logic

2010-01-27T12:02:00.064+08:00

I am a legitimate representative of two erstwhile government servants, my mother, now 76, and an octogenarian aunt. It all began when their GSIS pensions stopped coming in December 2009.

On December 9, 2009, I asked the local GSIS Office in General Santos why my mother's pension for December was not credited to her account. It took a few more days before I'd be given an answer. They claimed that she has not renewed her membership on her birth month which was September. I said, she did a week prior to her September 1 birthday, could that not be considered? They said no. I asked how come she was able to still receive her October and November pensions, and they told me that was part of the two-month allowance they were giving the pensioners to renew.

In a chain of emails between the local GSIS office and myself in the weeks following January 9, 2010, I would seek for further clarifications, which they gave because I was persistent. I wanted to get exact dates as to when the suspended pensions will be credited; and when the mandated cash gift can be expected. In their reply they claimed that they already sought pension accrual for the suspended December pension but the reply was initially mum about the cash gift. Out of sheer persistence, I finally got the answer yesterday. For failing to renew on their respective birth months, my mother, along with my aunt, and who knows maybe countless others who could not speak, or who opted not to ask, will not be able to receive the cash gift anymore. Now the burden is on me how to disclose this to the two old women, such that it doesn't add to their disappointments. I have yet to muster such courage, as in the past, when I disclosed reasons for delays in their pensions that broke their hearts.

In their e-mail reply to my queries, they embedded a Press Release dated November 11, 2009, the text of which are as follows:

Old-age pensioners of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) whose pension benefits have been suspended are reminded to renew their active status each year during their birth month. This is in order for them to continue receiving their monthly pension and to qualify them for other possible benefits, which include annual Christmas cash gift and the pension increase.

If a pensioner is under a suspended status at the time that the GSIS declares a cash gift and pension increase, the pensioner will not be eligible to receive such benefits. This is based on an existing GSIS policy which has been around for 35 years, and which provides that only old-age pensioners who are in active status are entitled to cash gifts and pension increases.

Said release went on to quote this specific policy provision:

"Pension adjustments or cash gifts should not be given to pensioners under suspended status because of their failure to comply with the condition imposed by the GSIS for their continuous receipt of the monthly pensions, that is, the annual renewal of active status."

I am not a legal mind, and neither am I in a position to argue against this policy. I am, however, wont to question the logic behind the policy interpretation that came in the form of an 11 November 2009 Press Release that was never really circulated. For failing to renew on their birth months, old-age pensioners, all of them already in varying states of physical health, will no longer receive this meager sum that is due them. But what about those who have renewed a bit later, because maybe, they simply forgot (remember these are old people); or because they have no one to accompany them to the kiosks? What about my mother and aunt who both renewed barely one or two weeks shy of their respective birth months because they knew that would suffice for their 2009 renewal? What about those who, like my mother and aunt, were simply not aware of this Press Release? There could be a host of reasons for failing to renew one's active status. At times, reasons can even emanate from the agency itself -- bogged down kiosks, or an obviously questionable system for informing/giving updates to pensioners already wanting assessment?

This provision may be around for three and a half decades but it lost its rational basis, because it was interpreted in a manner that automatically excluded others for simply failing to renew on their birth months. There is no logic to forfeiting the old-aged pensioners' cash gifts and pension increases, especially if they already took pains to comply. Isn't it enough sanction to have these benefits temporarily suspended until such time they have renewed?

I wonder what measures the agency undertakes to review its logs of complaints, and cull insights from those cases? This is so that policies, guidelines, procedures are periodically revisited, revised, enhanced and the agency's communication strategies tweaked to the needs of old people. I hope that the agency does not get stuck in a system that is both confusing and excluding.

I still do not have the heart to break this news to my old ones.

5th Booklovers' Club Convention (BLC) T-Shirts

2009-11-26T07:36:00.002+08:00

For those interested to get a BLC t-shirt, please provide black shirts with collar and PhP50.00 for printing to the Secretariat. Please contact Arvin Tejada (e-mail: arvin_tejada@yahoo.com).

2009 PLAI National Congress: Ensuring Environmental Sustainability through Libraries and Information Centers

2009-11-12T20:54:00.005+08:00

Environmental sustainability is the theme of the 2009 Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) National Congress. The three-day activity will be held on November 25-27, 2009 at the Heritage Hotel Manila. This year’s congress will be spearheaded by the PLAI and the National Committee on Library and Information Services (NCLIS), National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

The congress registration conference fee is PhP3,600.00. It covers the kit, conference papers (to be distributed in CDs), lunch, morning and afternoon snacks, certificate of attendance/participation and Librarians’ Day Luncheon ticket.

For further details, please visit the PLAI website or better yet get in touch with the following:

Internet Manifesto Trainers Workshop held for SOCSARGEN Librarians

2009-11-11T19:37:00.057+08:00

The Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) – SOCSARGEN Regional Librarians Council, in cooperation with the International Federation of Library Association and Institutions (IFLA) Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), organized the IFLA-FAIFE Internet Manifesto Trainers Workshop on October 26-27, 2009 at the Notre Dame of Dadiangas University in General Santos City. The theme was: Internet: The Way to the Future.”

The speakers were Prof. Maxie Doreen Leva-Cabarron, Board Member of the PLAI Central Visayas Librarians Regional Council; Dr. Marilou P. Tadlip, Director of Libraries of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City and Executive Vice President, PLAI National and Prof. Lilia Echiverri of the University of the Philippines College of Law Library, incumbent president of the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc.

The initiative was spearheaded the PLAI SOCSARGEN Regional Librarians Council headed by Mrs. Victoria Santos, Director of Libraries and Chair, PLAI SOCSARGEN Regional Librarians Council

Dr. Marilou P. Tadlip, Prof. Maxie Leva-Cabarron, Ms. Lilia Echiverri, Prof. Victoria R. Santos, and SOCOLA Founder and Adviser Mr. Arturo O. Barbosa.

The workshop was about exploiting current technologies, specifically the internet, to bring information to the wider community. It was also about addressing the challenges that come with free access to information, that is, creating a balance between responsible use of information while at the same time ensuring that all barriers to free access are removed.

Prof. Maxie Doreen Leva-Cabarron gave an overview of the IFLA/FAIFE Manifesto and talked about scenarios and trends in internet use in Philippine libraries.

Dr. Marilou P. Tadlip’s sessions were on barriers to free and open internet access and the how-to’s of implementing the Internet Manifesto.

Also among the highlights of the two-day activity were the focus group discussions where participants reviewed and crafted acceptable internet use guidelines for their audiences.

Two Mindanao Public Libraries Win 2009 NCCA Award

2009-11-04T09:43:00.001+08:00

Mindanao Librarian wishes to congratulate the Davao City Public Library for bagging this year's Search for Outstanding Libraries in the Philippines spearheaded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Also to the Zamboanga Public Library who made it to the top five.

Thanks for making Mindanao proud!

Competition Guidelines for the 5th Booklovers Club Convention

2009-10-29T19:48:00.005+08:00

5th BLC Convention Delegates, please follow this link to access competition guidelines:

5th Competition Guidelines and Mechanics

(1) click the above link;
(2) scroll down the page and click DOWNLOAD NOW near the bottom;
(3) wait for the download counter to finish then click DOWNLOAD NOW again to either save or open the file.

Important Updates on the Competition Guidelines (as of 2009 November 2009):

* Only the first ten (10) participating teams to register and confirm during the registration may join the competitions.

* Each competing team will be provided with an improvised cellphone board.

Tales of A Reluctant Mindanao Blogger

2009-10-29T15:04:00.004+08:00

Saturday, 24 October 2009. I found myself accidentally attending the 3rd Mindanao Bloggers Summit (MBS3) in Pearlmont Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City. My original intention was simply to hie off and take a break somewhere far, so I and my son tagged along with my husband who is an active member of the SOCCSKSARGEN bloggers. Participating in the summit was not at all part of the plan. But fate would intervene and this reluctant blogger soon found herself sitting with fellow cyber authors and listening intently to Atty. Adel Tamano’s (more famous for being Vicky Belo’s lawyer) piece on governance and transformation.

Up to now, I must say I still am a reluctant blogger. While I see blogs as powerful platforms for transformation and building connections, I still need to find out what it is exactly I intend to achieve from this initiative. For one, it is hard to squeeze in precious time to blog while work and family concerns also scream for my attention. (Then again, others are able to do it and are still able to keep balance.) Maybe it is more because as a person, I am not one to easily disclose or share my thoughts, let alone in cyberspace to remote and unknown individuals. When I started this blog, I wasn’t sure which direction I intend for it to go. It was more like going with the flow (it is IN to have one) but I was not really ready to let go of a piece of myself and a chunk of my time. And this explains why there were only a few posts when I could have written so much. Before me is such a huge information landscape.

Until MBS3. Sitting there, albeit briefly, took me to that “direction” I was finding difficult to define. Until it became clearer to me that this blog will continue to advocate for libraries, librarianship, reading and literacy in Mindanao; and mainstream initiatives that celebrate reading and promote librarianship. There are no more excuses.

Reading and Reader Development Advocates Converge for the 5th Booklovers Club Convention in Korondal City, South Cotabato

2009-10-28T11:11:00.037+08:00

Yet another best practice in the promotion of libraries and reading that is worth mentioning is the continued support extended by the Notre Dame of Marbel University Books and Information Technology Society (NDMU BITS) to the annual celebration of the National Book Week.

For the fifth time, the NDMU BITS spearheads this year's Book Lovers Club (BLC) Convention. This time, the initiative is with full support from the Cyber Bibliophile Society (CBS) of the Green Valley College Foundation, also in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. This year's activity is initiated by two staunch librarian-advocates, Ms. Michaelilie C. Carbonquillo, CBS Moderator and Mr. Arvin M. Tejada, NDMU BITS Coordinator and BLC SOCSKSARGEN Area Organizer.

Here is their invitation:

The Books and Information Technology Society (BITS), Notre Dame of Marbel University in partnership with the Cyber Bibliophile Society (CBS), Green Valley College Fdn., Inc. will be conducting the BLC Convention on November 28, 2009 at Fitmart Mall Atrium/Techno Zone, Gensan Drive, City of Koronadal. This activity is inline with the nation-wide celebration of the National Book Week with the theme "Kaaya-ayang Magbasa sa Kapaligirang kay Ganda”. The convention has the following objectives: 1) to enhance students’ awareness on the importance of books and libraries, 2) to provide an avenue for the participants to tour the NDMU Library, 3) to develop camaraderie among BLCians and Bibliophiles in the Area and 4) to promote dynamic and healthy competition by showcasing their skills and talents.

Book Lovers and Library Club members are invited to attend this year’s convention. A registration fee of P75.00 will be charged to the participants to cover for 2 snacks, kit and certificate. Prospective participants/participating clubs are requested to prepare an intermission number to be presented during the Search for Mr. and Ms. Book Wizard ‘09.

Lined up activities which will be done right after the opening ceremonies are the following: Spelling Text Bee, Body Painting, Poetry in Motion, and the Search for Mr. and Ms. Book Wizard '09.

Please confirm your entry/entries by sending an email to the Secretariat at blcsecretariat@yahoo.com or call 0907-731-8863 / (083) 228-2218 local 125 on or before November 25, 2009. Keep posted via this blog.

Kudos to the organizers for surfacing the advocacy for libraries and reading!

21 July

2009-07-21T05:21:00.006+08:00

It has been close to three months since arriving from Vietnam but I have not had time to update my blog. Work takes up much of my time these days.

Today, I just felt that I needed to revisit July 21, 2007.

Two years ago, on this day, I watched my husband recover from an open heart surgery at the PGH-Central Intensive Care Unit (CICU); and saw myself through the difficult task of comprehending different shades of life and death staring straight at my face the whole ten days we were in the hospital.

At the CICU where we were surrounded by still life, I held back a range of emotions ranging from fear, pity, sadness, and uncertainty so that hope can surface. I was both strong and pretending to be strong for the father I promised to bring back home to our waiting only son; and for everyone else, including myself.

I am writing this rather brief note about 21 July because it was the most crucial time apart from the actual surgery on July 19, 2007. The doctors gave us 48-72 hours to wait and hope that there would be no complications. Close to midnight, hope found us and we were already out of the CICU.

I am writing about 21 July because today is our family’s rebirth. This day is very special.

DReAM Children Goes to Hanoi, Vietnam

2009-05-19T13:23:00.004+08:00

In the recently concluded Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians (CONSAL XIV) held on 21-23 April 2009 at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, I had the pleasure of bringing to an audience of library and information professionals in the region a home-grown practice on community/public librarianship that is grounded on the principles of libraries as promoters of literacy and more importantly, libraries as social institutions that are vital to building and promoting sustainable communities.

The case study on the Democratizing Reading Among Mindanaoan (DReAM) Children Project, piloted in Tampakan, South Cotabato, Philippines in 2006, was among the 42 papers selected out of the total 131 abstracts submitted to the CONSAL XIV Organizing Committee, along with five others from fellow Filipino librarians: Vernon Totanes, Elvira Lapuz, Mila Ramos, Beth Peralejo and Nhemi Pasamba.

The presentation zeroed in on the DReAM Children’s journey towards the advocacy of mainstreaming public libraries and how it is helping its pilot community comply with Republic Act 7743 which is a 15-year old mandate whose compliance remain relatively low across the country owing to limitations on resources and local capacities.

The paper not only brought an advocacy to a wider audience, but also surfaced good local practice which leverage on stakeholder involvement and partnership -- community-driven approaches which others countries faced with similar circumstances can possibly take after.

The full paper is available at the CONSAL website.

A Step to a DReAM of Mainstreaming South Cotabato's Public Libraries

2009-04-16T20:49:00.009+08:00

Monday, the 20th of April 2009, I fly to Hanoi, Vietnam. I take with me an advocacy to mainstream public libraries shared by a number of fellow Southern Mindanao librarians. In many ways, I am proud to take part of Mindanao with me, on a journey for this cause. I am aware that the steps I am taking, or I can possibly take are small, but they are headed to a definite and clear direction.

The past two days, in a last minute attempt to arm myself with more inspiration and motivation to help push this advocacy further, I, along with my husband, a community development worker who has become a staunch co-advocate, went public library hopping in the City Library of Koronadal, and the Municipal Library of Tupi, South Cotabato. I shall put on hold what I have seen and reserve my comments on the two libraries I visited pending further interviews with their staff. Meanwhile, I guess I have succeeded at meeting my objectives. And so I fly out of the country more inspired to present a case for a public library in South Cotabato, and more determined to dream bigger for the other public libraries of this province.

NDMU Graduates Second to the Last Batch of Library Science Majors

2009-04-07T07:19:00.016+08:00

The Notre Dame of Marbel University (NDMU) in the City of Koronadal, South Cotabato graduated its second to the last batch of Library Science (LS) majors on 22 March 2009.

Next year, it will graduate its last batch, unless the program is swarmed by more takers and management decides to shift gear and keep the program from closing. They say that the closing of the LS program is only temporary but it is a necessary option now because it is costly to run and maintain a program with very few takers. They say there was never an academic year in the past five years at least, that enrollment went past ten students. In essence, it is the numbers that will either overturn or seal the fate of this program.

Numbers do not at all surprise me. I remember there were just two of us in my own batch who were enrolled in the LS program at the University of the Philippines Institute of Library Science (UP ILS). I have witnessed how the then ILS community struggled to hold on, until persistence, patience and sheer faith in the profession paid off. The ILS, now School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), is gearing up for more programs and a new building. I credit this wonderful achievement to the SLIS community, then and now, for keeping the program off the death zone.

I wonder if the same can be said of NDMU before the last batch exits next year. I'd like to believe so. I know of former NDMU colleagues and students who are disheartened by what has happened. They have a reason to feel that way. NDMU is the first ever institution in the SOCSKSARGEN area which offered Library Science back in the early 90s; and now one of only two institutions offering LS, the other one being the Notre Dame of Dadiangas University in General Santos City which offered LS in the early 2000. Most of the librarians of different institutions in and out of the SOCSKSARGEN area were NDMU graduates. I believe that together, they have a voice, but this voice should be motivated by a common objective to influence policy and convince the NDMU management to change its mind.

I am keeping positive that NDMU will still see more LS graduates in the future. So much can still be done in a year, collectively. Perhaps it can take after what the UP ILS community did to keep LS from being added to the statistics of "dead" programs. And with the same formula of patience, persistence, and sheer faith in the profession, the NDMU LS community can probably still resuscitate the program, perhaps maybe reinvent it like what ILS did to become SLIS.

At any rate, I am glad I was once part of the lives of the batch that just graduated. We will see more of each other in the field. Meanwhile, I hope to see more students choosing to become librarians.

On Pushing the Cause of Public Libraries

2009-02-19T17:20:00.013+08:00

It has been close to three weeks since I last posted a blog. I had been immersed writing an advocacy paper on reader development and about mainstreaming public libraries. I hope it is good enough excuse.

The past days, I interviewed two colleagues working for public libraries here in South Cotabato relative to the paper I am writing. Both expressed rather depressing realities of the diminishing motivation to push the cause of public libraries because efforts seem to go nowhere and the usual constraints due to lack of funds that paralyze their creativity. I perfectly understand where thay come from. It must be very difficult where they are -- boxed in by seemingly hopeless circumstances. It is a bit easier where I am, looking at them from afar, trying to articulate their concerns and trying to lift my fingers to be able to help them in any way I could. Then I realize that there is a difference between being there where these public librarians are and looking, empathizing and articulating their realities from the outside. There definitely is more to the advocacy on mainstreaming public libraries than just writing and delivering papers at conferences.

Then just now, I have spoken with a former colleague from the Notre Dame of Marbel University Mr. Arvin M. Tejada who is much into the same advocacy as I am. Talking to him lifted my spirits, kept me motivated and all the more challenged to push this common advocacy. Never mind if to others these may seem as time-consuming, old-fashioned, or even hopeless pursuits. It's admirable how librarians like Arvin can choose not to be constrained nor limited by circumstances, no matter how hard it is to navigate just to get the cause of public libraries to the mainstream. It is always a choice.

I wish there were more fellow Mindanao librarians with a heart and passion for community development work like those I have spoken and interviewed, so we can pull our resources and capacities together in order to push this advocacy far enough to be felt and understood.

On Embracing Change and Trusting the Future

2009-02-01T04:53:00.009+08:00

Embrace the change. Trust the future.

In a recently-concluded Strategic Planning I attended, we were asked to write down our thoughts after the first day’s session. I had written down three, but the one that caught the facilatator’s attention was that I wrote about embracing change and trusting the future. The following day, she flashed it on screen and invited everyone to adopt it as their mantra.

Now I am starting to ask what exactly prompted me to write it, and if I can consistently live by this mantra myself.

Which brings me to a favorite book I read some thirtreen years back. The book, The Songs of Salanda and Other Stories of Sulu, was written by anthropologist H. Arlo Nimmo. It was an anthology of short stories about his own personal encounters while immersed working with the people of Sulu. Towards the end of the last chapter he wrote that, “change is relentless in its demands, and there are casualties.”

In my whole lifetime, I saw myself navigating through so many life changes, some I managed to survive unscathed, the others I either helplessly resisted or tried hard to control. Some of these changes consumed me; the others made me fly high. Change is demanding, indeed; and trusting a constantly metamorphosing future requires faith greater than one’s own.

When I came home to Mindanao in 1998, I planned of working full-time in a big academic institution. I thought of seeing myself either heading an academic library until retirement, or becoming a full-time faculty of Library Science, or working both as a librarian and a faculty on a part-time basis. I did have a taste of life as an academic, but it was not meant to be for long. Certain circumstances would always get in the way. It took a while before it dawned on me I was probably never meant to work as I planned. I was not going to be a librarian working around a physical space called the library. I embraced this twist in my career plans and went with the flow.

Today, I use the same skills I learned back in college doing other things. I do not manage an academic library and do not organize books. Instead, I make sense of and organize organizational (explicit) content, and devise a system for capturing human interactions and tacit knowledge. It's a pretty interesting job, a huge canvass from which I can still learn many other things. I still am passionate about libraries, but this time, my personal interest is geared towards public libraries. I still long to one day see more public libraries built, and more children reading inside these libraries.

So when asked about my profession, I’d gladly say I am a librarian. But not in the strictest sense. I still teach, although I am not quite a teacher, either. I am a metamorposed librarian. As soon as I embraced change, I have experienced what I did not plan -- i.e., to be in professions not exactly my own but which require the skills I have been taught in library and information science school. I wonder if this would have happened if I resisted change. Looking back now, I am glad I refused to be a casualty of my own limited notion, or of the changing information landscape. I think that as soon as we embrace change and trust the future, we'd be brought to where we can be our “best” and where we can give the most profound meaning to our existence.

Change, I learned, is pointless to resist. I have no option but to live by the mantra. I know that I shared it both as an invitation and an inspiration.

Lamentations Over the Death of a Public Library

2009-01-28T13:55:00.015+08:00

For somebody who looks upon the public library as a community's intellectual lifeline and an agent of social inclusion, the death of the Cebu City Public Library is indeed a blow to Philippine public librarianship with the strength equivalent to a million Manny Pacquiao punches! It does not make any sense at all to justify the death of a public library with the birth of a museum. Both institutions should co-exist in a community. While public libraries and museums are both learning spaces serving the same community, they offer rather different goods, and serve different purposes. To the intellectually starved, especially those coming from weak economic backgrounds who are unable or cannot afford to access information in schools and cyberspace, the public library is a sanctuary, a last bastion of hope. To declare a public library dead, therefore, is like cutting off the intellectual lifeline that binds a significant percentage of the (marginalized) populace to the information it needs to equip itself in order to better navigate this rapidly-changing world.

And so, I am one with those who lament the death of the Cebu City Public Library.

I lament the utter disregard for Philippine laws, in particular, R.A. 7743, which mandates local government units to establish congressional, provincial, city, municipal libraries and reading centers at the barangay (village) level. In Southern Mindanao where I come from, we are lobbying hard for the LGUs compliance to this 15-year old mandate. We are groundworking (and groundworking religiously) to mainstreaming public libraries, and bringing them back to the consciousness of Southern Mindanaoans.

I lament the sheer insensitivity on the part of the proponents (Education Consultant and the LGU at that!) to decide unilaterally over a matter that requires intensive public consultations. There is no word to describe the wanton disregard by the proponent for the community that the Cebu City Public Library served amidst its dwindling resources and lack of government support.

I lament the fact that few seem to understand that a public library can be many things to many people -- source of information, learning and collaboration space, experience.
All of these, therefore, die unjustly with the closure of a public library.

I lament the fact that few seem to understand that Library Hubs are not libraries. They are transitory depositories of books to be "loaned" to what they call the satellite libraries in public elementary schools. Therefore, a Library Hub (or two library hubs for that matter) cannot replace one public library that already served thousands in its 69-year existence. Satellite libraries cater primarily to its own constitutuents. The notion of "attachment" connotes ownership, boundaries or parameters that automatically deter other community members who are not in school, or are elderly from using this facility. Satellite libraries are simply are not as socially-inclusive a learning space as public libraries are.

It is sad that just as our neighboring Southeast Asian countries are scrounging for funds to build public libraries, we are doing otherwise. Talk about governance.

Mindanao Librarian to Conquer Hanoi, Vietnam

2009-01-20T05:16:00.010+08:00

14 January 2009, I received notification that the abstract I submitted for the 14th Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians (CONSAL XIV) was among those selected for this prestigious conference of librarians/information professionals. I am both excited and challenged to take with me to a wider audience issues such as community librarianship, social inclusion and forging multi-stakeholder partnerships. Writing the full paper has not yet commenced, but ideas are flowing, even if they are just in my head at the moment.

Of Christmas, 2008 and 2009

2009-01-03T12:46:00.021+08:00

I must say that 2008 ended with dreams waiting and wanting to come true. And I welcome 2009 in the same light. I sealed 2008 with wishes for myself and my family, my work and my advocacy. While I am not comfortable disclosing these wishes in cyberspace, suffice it to say that these were wishes & hopes for better days ahead for all of us.

I visited home in Tacurong on the first day of 2009. The house used to be a seat of laughter and fun when I was a child. An aging aunt and mother now calls it home. I missed my Papang and little brother Francis as I smelled and savored the old stuff that remain so familiar and close to my heart. I saw (albeit only in imagination) my father tending his backyard garden and relished the thought of being able to talk to him again, about Christmas, about things I wish for. I saw Francis merry-making with his self-made tambol humming his self-composed tune in a world only he knows and understands. My brother loved this Season so much! Then it came to me I was just imagining people and things. And I begin to feel a huge sense of loss.

Christmas to me now has become more of remembering or going back to the past -- to the child's world I used to know. It also has become a reminder of Christmases past, and the many years I saw Christmas unveil its different faces. It is too profound to dig deeper into the abyss of my emotions that come with this Season. What I am most sure of is that there is something so spiritual about Christmas that hardly surfaces against this very flimsy and material world.

I thank 2008 for the days I saw my family finding simple joys -- Papee immersed exposing his thougths on cyberspace via his blog, my son Ivan Anakin in his make-believe war while I am just whiling time away either reading or watching The Buzz and Showbiz Central.

I thank 2008 for the occasional visits of my mother, my brother Dino and his family, for occasions that allow me to see my other brother Geoffrey and his kids, for visits to my in-laws.

I thank 2008 for the many times we've conquered stressful situations -- of family members getting sick or problematic, of complicated people in the workplace, of frustrations that come with not getting what we wish or hope for.

In many ways, I am grateful for everything about 2008. I welcome 2009 just as grateful as I was in 2008. I hope this year will be kind.

Happy New Year!

I am finally into blogging!

2008-12-08T14:53:00.010+08:00

I am a librarian living and working in one of the Philippines' most culturally rich and culturally diverse regions, Southern Mindanao. While the greatest motivation for constructing this blog may have been driven by sheer envy, I also feel the need to create a space where I can publish my thoughts, share my experiences & new learnings, and connect with others as passionate as I am about the cause of libraries and librarianship.

This space is dedicated to fellow Mindanao information and cultural bearers. May this be a platform for sharing and weaving dreams for the advancement of our profession; a platform for addressing the challenges we librarians face in this increasingly information-driven and information-dependent age.