My Life as a Librarian (1 of 3)

I have so many blog posts on draft (from Eric Ramos to the 2nd ReaderCon, and the post on good education to book reviews) but I'm squeezing this in for students of St. Louis University Baguio. Two Library and Information Science (LIS) students sent me a PM over FB for an interview they would need for a LIS course requirement. They are under the mentorship of Ms. Marilou Pasion for LIS 111.

I did not ask any more details from the students. As a school librarian, it is my personal belief to always give the young people I work with reasons to hope. So here goes the first set from Ms. Doreen Calion Ramos. 

1. What did you contribute in the field of librarianship? 

I have a license so I'm a number in the statistic of licensed librarians in the country. I try my best to stay true to the oath I took eighteen years ago. 

2. What is your concern being a librarian? 

My concerns, as I write this, would be the great divide that exist between those who have access to books and information and those who have none at all; the slump in book readership and book awareness in the country today; the dearth of Filipino reading materials online and in print formats; the scarcity of qualified librarians to run functional libraries.

3. What is your vision as a librarian? 

For me, a library provides physical, virtual and intellectual structures for information and knowledge to be accessed, created and communicated. The librarian is the conduit that integrates and bridges these structures to a community so that members of the community are able to understand the systems involved in knowledge creation thereby developing a culture of lifelong learning. 

4. What can you say about the "paperless society"? Do you agree or disagree. 

I do not believe in a paperless society. But I recognize the emergence of technology that does not use paper at all. 

I throw back a question: What is a paperless society, in the first place? A society that does not use paper? But we use paper and its by-products everyday.  

If we are talking about the paperless society in the context of library services, I say we still need paper for some library functions and we don't need paper at all in number of library tasks. In my library, we do not have a card catalog but I still use a p-slip. That's just one example to prove a point.

5. Are you fulfilled and contented in your field of work? 

Yes. Some people have told me I am very passionate about my work. But you see, my work is my mission.

Tomorrow, I will post answers to questions sent in by Mr. Greg Egipto Padua III.