The Beacon Academy is an ALA Big Sister Library Partner School

Mr. John Hickok of the American Library Association (ALA) and the California State University, Fullerton paid the Beacon Academy a visit last Tuesday, October 18, 2022. He presented and discussed with Mrs. Zarah Gagatiga, BA’s Teacher Librarian the ALA Big Sister Library Project among school libraries in the ASEAN. The Beacon Academy is an identified partner school. The project kicks off in January 2023 via online platforms.

Partner school libraries in the ALA Big Sister Library Project will be involved in the following activities:

·     *   receive descriptions of their sister libraries' best practices

·      * receive photo profiles of each other’s' libraries

·     *  enjoy librarian-to-librarian communication for idea-sharing 

·       * be introduced to the ALA Sister Library program for later (possible) partnering with US libraries

This project supports friendship, idea sharing, and communication only.

For more information on the project, visit the website: https://libraryguides.fullerton.edu/aseansisterlibraries

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.

Japan Trip 2015: Comparative Librarianship

The OICC - Osaka Internattional Convention Center

One of the new things I learned from the 5th LibrAsia Conference was about comparative librarianship. I have read and participated in international librarianship, but it was my first time to encounter the term, comparative librarianship. Turns out, it has been around since the 70s and that, my engagement with IASL since 2005 is part and parcel of ICL, International and Comparative Librarianship.

Here are links to ICL websites:

ICL Definitions
IFLA - Interest Group: ICL
Peter Johan Lor on ICL

Thinking through this experience, I realized that my current involvement in the International Librarians Network's peer mentoring and partnership program is an ICL activity. I have been exchanging emails and blog entries with my Polish friend, Wanda Sliwowska, a school librarian in Poland, for over a month now. You can read the ILN introduction I wrote in this link. Wanda has made a blog since our "convo" and email exchanges. I also learned from her that they have a school librarian association in Poland. Our last topic of discussion in the ILN program was about games in the school library. While Wanda has started organizing a game board collection, I still have to study and explore this possibility in our school library.

Receiving my certificate from Dr. Patrick Lo

In my introduction, this is what I said on my purpose for joining ILN: I joined ILN because I know little of the world. I wish to expand my worldview in the context of my work as a school librarian. I am excited to know more about my peer mentor hoping that I can also contribute or give back a little of what I know. It has been an enjoyable and enriching experience. There are times when I do feel alone in the work place. No offense meant to my learning community. But being with one's kin or kind inspires and uplifts me to do more; to push myself; and to look at my small self in a bigger world. Such experiences affirm that the little things I do matter.  To quote June Carter, "I just want to matter."

Going back to the 5th LibrAsia Conference where comparative librarianship was a topic of presentation, Dr. Patrick Lo shared his research on librarians in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. It covered librarians working in schools, academia and universities. In a nutshell, there is work to be done in school librarianship across Asia. 

We can start rolling our sleeves and go to work by answering this survey:

 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/philippinesschoollib - Where we can mull over on our roles and feel good afterwards.

https://surveymonkey.com/r/hkcomics - Where we can think about comics and how it can change our services to readers.

These are all for now on the IAFOR / 5th LibrAsia Conference.