Filipino Librarian of the Month: Manuel Tamayao

My staff and I have been working on our library's migration project. Moving from one library management system to another requires careful study and collaboration with partners within the school and community resources. This transition requires agility, patience and openess between partners. And so far, it has been a learning experience for us.   

One of our key partners in this new and exciting challenge of migrating from one system to another is  none other than Mr. Manuel Tamayao. He is the blog's featured Filipino Librarian. This is his interview.

1. What is your librarian origin story?

I’ve been asked this question so many times but now I can say that It is because of God’s grace that I became a librarian. I was a late enrollee in 2000 in PUP Sta. Mesa and because of that, I could not enter the Computer Engineering course I wanted. But thankfully my friend’s mother was the head of the Admissions Office and she offered me the course Bachelor in Library and Information Science. “Ano yun? Sige nalang, magtransfer nalang ako after a year,” I told myself. But during the orientation, some graduates visited and gave a talk and it opened my eyes to the opportunity that the competition was less because there were very few librarians and very high demand. And then, I became a father when I was in 3rd year so I need to stop studying.

Thankfully, after 3 years I was able to come back and with the help of our hardworking professors in PUP, I was able to finish the degree in BLIS. My first library-related job was to sell and support library software named Maelisa. Because of that, I was exposed to different library software. After 6 months, I was hired as a one-man librarian in a church library where I did my internship. Then a year after, I became a licensed librarian. In 2009, the door closed at the church library but a window opened to another institution. They were looking for a library and archives Head, only one position is available. I applied and did not get the position but by God’s grace, I was hired to be part of the team. And until today, I am thankful for my work as a librarian and archivist of SIL Philippines. 2. What has been the most challenging library task or work for you during the pandemic? I can say that managing my time working from home during the pandemic is the most challenging task. At first, it was going well since we were all adjusting to the situation. Since I would like to be productive, I spent a lot of time working in front of my computer answering emails, attending workshops, meetings left and right, and doing other work-related tasks which resulted in extended working hours. It was overwhelming that it affected me physically, emotionally, and mentally. 3. How were you able to manage this challenging task? I am grateful that I still have the privilege to work from home until today. I learned to manage the challenging task of working from home by having a schedule and setting a limit of my working hours. I already established my routine like having my morning devotion with God, making sure to spend time with my wife and kids, doing my cardio exercise at night, these among others helped me manage to keep myself grounded, focused, and be more productive. A very strong family support system helped me a lot in dealing with all of life’s challenges.

4. As a library consultant/programmer/IT specialist, where do you see PH Libraries are going post-pandemic times? As a library consultant, I see that we will continue to integrate our library workflow online. This pandemic shows that librarians are not bound and limited only in the four corners of the library. We can do our job and serve our clientele physically or remotely. During this time, it became more evident that having the right tools helps a lot. Librarians use different technological tools to reach and provide services to our clientele. Having an online catalog, providing access to digital collections, and using messaging apps are some innovative ways we used to serve our clients. For some, they were successful in implementing these services but others struggled. For those who are successful, they have someone in their team capable of implementing these technological tools. One of the tools I love is Koha, an open-source integrated library system (ILS) that has a complete module and powerful features to serve your clientele. The OPAC can be your website, and can promote your library online. It is mobile-ready, you can share your digital collections, it can link to your different databases, and you can integrate a third-party messaging app into it. These are some of the things you can do with it. Though not all librarians can implement it and this is where we can be of help as a consultant and support specialist.

5. What tips and advice can you give to young librarians who are eyeing to venture into this sector or area of LIS? Being a consultant and support specialist is a high learning curve. I am still learning and I'm thankful to my colleague who helped me a lot and taught me where I am today. I can still bug him and pissed him off whenever I am stuck on something. And for those young librarians who would like to venture to this area of LIS, here are some tips that may be of help. 1. Be part of the community and be engaged with them. 2. Look for a mentor who can help you. 3. Ask, ask a lot and don't forget to share it also to others. 4. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. 5. Provide quality service and build relationships. Mr. Tamayao is online. Visit his website and social media sites.

Website: tulongaklatan.ph Twitter: @tulongaklatan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manny.tamayao