PBBY & PASLI Panel @ the PH Book Festival: Aklatan Ko'y Kanlungan

As learning communities ease back into a relatively new environment, out of their homes and back into society, libraries are systems of support offering services and programs that are empathetic to the learning child and the family.

 In Aklatan Ko’y Kanlungan, a PBBY-PASLI panel for librarians, PBBY board member Zarah Gagatiga will share current research and trends in developing library services that promote safe space; and programs and activities that are inclusive and respectful of diverse and multicultural backgrounds. Children’s Librarian of the Year Awardee, Troy Lacsamana will present the Quezon City Public Library’s best practices in creating inclusive and safe spaces for children while Mr. Brian Ballesteros of the Coordinator of the Media Center, Junior High School ADMU will provide perspectives and processes involved in managing diverse and multicultural school library programs. 

This round table discussion aims to inspire and prompt librarians in the school, public and research sector to review, assess and evaluate existing library services and programs focused on children and their families in a time of prodigious change. 

Questions that will be answered/discussed in the panel or round table discussion: 

1. What is safe space; inclusion and diversity? 

2. How are the concepts of safe space, inclusion and diversity present and applied in the school library and in children’s library services? 

3. What are evidences of safe space, inclusion and diversity in libraries – in general?

 4. What is the “ideal” safe space for children? 

5. How can libraries create, manage and sustain a library collection that is inclusive and diverse?