Fruits of IAFOR ACAH & LibrAsia 2015

IAFOR Results: A book I am a part of

Two weeks ago, I received news on the acceptance of a paper I am writing with Darrel Marco and MJ Tumamac. This good news came from the organizers of the International Academic Forum (IAFOR) in Kobe, Japan. We are thrilled, of course, but presenting in person in Kobe is giving us a lot of challenge to face. As of writing, we are still trying to figure out ways and means to participate in the IAFOR 2017.

Being in the middle of this challenge made me weigh in the advantages and disadvantages of presenting in the IAFOR ACAH this year. I am pretty much an optimist so I tend to look at the advantages weighing heavily more than the disadvantages. If there is one thing that prevents us from going, it is the cost of airfare and registration to the conference.

For now, I can only look at the happy memories I had in Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto.

It is in the IAFOR in 2015 where I met wonderful people in the company of amazing friends in the LIS profession. Colleagues in the field of international librarianship were all praises on the paper presentations of Team Filipino Librarians. We participated in a Haiku workshop by a Haiku Master. We saw the sights, not as tourist but as travelers, and met old friends and made new ones too. It was my first foray into comparative librarianship thus, meeting and establishing linkages with Dr. Patrick Lo of Tsukuba University and his colleagues.

From the IAFOR ACAH and LibrAsia 2015 forum, we've kept in touch for a research project on different school library practices in the Asia-Pacific region. The product of the research is a book that Dr. Lo hopes to see published this quarter of 2017. If all goes to plan, he will be presenting this research and book in the International Association of School Libraries Annual Conference in Longbeach, California in August 2017.

Sometimes, we look at the money we give out for professional development activities and look for the exact or equal pay back. Food. Conference kits. Number of participants in attendance. All elements that quantify and measure success or learning give us a sense of security or stability. But learning is lifelong and the rewards often take a long time to be felt and to be seen.