Filipino Librarian: Audrey Anday

Audrey Anday has been a librarian for fourteen years now. She holds a BS in Applied Mathematics from the University of the Philippines Los Banos and a MLIS in the same university. She went to Norway for her International Masters in Digital Library at the Høgskolen i Oslo, Tallinna Ülikool & Università Degli Studi di Parma.

a. What's your lib story? Describe how you made the choice of majoring in LIS and what was college life like for you as a LIS major. You can cite challenging stories and success stories while studying the course.

I was suppose to take my MA in Education major in Mathematics teaching when my mom suggested I also apply for an MA in LIS because at that time, Information Technology has been introduced to the field. Being the obedient daughter who roams around the library since I was small, I tried to apply hoping I will get to be accepted in the College of Education first rather than in ILS. However, it was the opposite that happened. I was able to finish my course work in two years but the then Dean Josephine Sison made a comment that she would not allow me to graduate if I only write a Special Problem thus I had to work with my thesis while working at the UP Open University. It took me another two years to finish the Master program. I was a full-time student and the challenge really was how to manage my time in such a way that I make the most of it plus spend time with new friends who became my good friends until now. It is a bit hard to adjust from the Science to the Social Sciences framework but all the hard work and perseverance were worth it because the same year I graduated did I took the board exam and passed.

b. What has been the greatest challenge you've faced so far as a licensed and working librarian? Why do you say it's a challenge?

My greatest challenge is really being a daughter of a librarian and "getting out of her shadow" has been a slow struggle. Don't get me wrong. I am proud to be her daughter and honored to be her colleague, it's just sometimes, I wish they can also remember me by my name together with the affinity


c. What is your area of expertise in LIS?

Being trained as a librarian, I guess we should all be expert in one way or the other in all the aspects of Librarianship. However since I have worked with Distance Education provider for a good number of years and recently graduated from the International Masters in Digital Library Learning, my expertise has moved towards providing library resources and services to distance learners with the use of diverse digital resources and knowledge management. But i still love to do cataloging from stamping to placing the call number and neatly shelving it to it's proper place

d. What do you think are the requirements and preparations necessary for becoming a LIS professional?

A competitive curriculum that is more or less parallel to majority of our neighboring countries should be in place that is also more or less responsive to the skills and talents of the students who will take it. Plus an individual who really has his heart and mind set to service. Theory and practice always come together, some people are good at theory while some are better in practice, thus a good combination for teaching and learning is also a welcome refresher. After graduation, small group talks, training and mentoring should be practiced informally or formally so that continuity of teaching and learning is ensured. Nowadays, anything can be applied to different sectors and field, at such collaboration and connection with other fields such as Computer Science, Management, Engineering and even with the Hard and Soft Sciences would also be an advantage.

e. What rewards have you reaped from being a LIS professional?

Aside from the trainings, workshops and enormous opportunities that came my way, it is the experience of being able to see people smile back at you after your encounter with them, be it at a service point, through email exchanges, interaction at workshop and training, that is the best reward so far. In addition, having gained good friends to turn to when you need some new ideas or even comforting words has also been a great reward for a tiring day. I guess it's not all monetary although there are jobs that pay well, I believe for me, the fruits of all my labor are the intangible things that warm me as person and the hurdles and bumps and humps that I have overcome through all the years are the lasting rewards I will always be proud to have attained.