The blog's Filipino Librarian of the Month is none other than, Mr. Jay Diola who is the new school library head of the De La Salle Zobel Learning Resource Center. In this blog interview, Jay shares the adjustment he needed to do to transition into the role of a library manager. A year after, he needed to transition the entire school library into the new normal as COVID-19 forced the closure of schools and campuses. He offers tips for school librarians who are coping through the pandemic and encourages everyone in the profession to continue sharing content, knowledge and expertise.
1. Kamusta, Bossing? How has it been for you as library manager?
Hello Ms. Zarah!
How am I at this time of the pandemic? Ok naman po, gaya nga ng sabi at termino ng mga millennials “FIGHTING”.
As a new library manager, it is truly challenging but I am coping and still learning. It’s my second year as the library head of De La Salle Santiago Zobel School (DLSZ). I could say that my first year was really a period of adjustment since it’s my first time to lead the center. I was thinking that I’ll get the hang of it in my 2nd year but fortunately or unfortunately, COVID pandemic came.
As DLSZ shifted to Online Distance Learning (ODL), my 2nd year turned out to be another year of more adjustments. At first, I couldn’t imagine how we can implement LRC library projects and activities. How can we do that? This is something new to all of us and very different from the usual tasks of most librarians. Everything we do and implement is experimental and a great learning experience. Fortunately, I am just blessed to have a wonderful team of library personnel. The DLSZ-LRC Team is really helping me out at these challenging times and I am truly grateful for them.
As a library manager, I believe that one of the most important components to be successful is to be able to lead a community of proactive members who, together, develop good chemistry to create a strong strategic plan for the unit.
I will use the name of one of my favorite story tellers for the tips on how to survive the new normal. It's SARAH.
First, S stands for STUDY. (Online) Distance Learning is something new to all of us, there is no manual to follow so you need to keep on learning. We need to study and learn new skills, new apps, and new approaches to deliver various library services.
Second, A for ADOPT. The basic rule of survival is adaptation. Blend with the situation and adjust the library services to the new normal. Don’t hold back to try out new things to improve the services.
The third is R, RELAX. Calm down, don’t panic. Librarians are resourceful. We are trained to find solutions to every problem. They say, a relaxed mind is a creative mind.
Fourth, ALWAYS THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. Be creative in delivering your services. Always think of new and exciting ways to assist the library users. Don’t hesitate to try out new things. It’s the new normal way of getting the work done.
And the lastly, H which stands for HELP. Help each other out. If you find something that you think will benefit others, share it. If you need help, reach. There are a lot of people who are more than willing to assist you. So, those are my 5 SARAH tips for you.
3. What is the principle behind the Librarians Tambayan? How has it helped the DLSZ Community and Filipino School Librarians?
The Librarians’ Tambayan is a YouTube channel created to provide a venue for posting online content for people in the field of librarianship. I find it ironic that there’s no library specifically for librarians but we have special libraries for lawyers, medical personnel and other professions. At the start of the pandemic, I received a lot of queries from other librarians regarding content creation and online resources. That made me think of creating a channel where librarians could find online content that they could use in their schools and can submit their own creation for posting. It's a virtual space where we can share our materials for library instructions and resources.
A similar channel is created to serve our Lasallian community. Basically, the main idea of the channel is to help each other. The values taught by our founder, St. John Baptist De La Salle- faith, service and communion inspired me and the LRC team to find ways to be of service to the entire Filipino librarians’ community. As a humble librarian- servant, I’m calling all other librarians to join us- contribute online content to the Librarians Tambayan.
Last August 15, Jay Diola and his library staff gave a talk and shared current practices that are in place during the time of COVID-19. A webinar sponsored by PASLI and Regalo Touching Lives, The Library At Your Fingertips: Planning and Developing School Library Programs in the New Normal, the video is available on YouTube.
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