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

Filipino Librarian of the Month: Jay Diola

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. 

2. Please give 5 tips for surviving and thriving in this new normal. The contest is school library work.

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.

Filipino Librarian of the Month: Mariquit “Kit” Pedrasa

The Filipino Librarian of the Month is Ms. Mariquit "Kit" Pedrasa, licensed librarian of Lyceum, Calamba Laguna. She is the 2018 Outstanding Librarian conferred by the Consortium of the South. In this interview, Ms. Pedrasa shares with us a slice of her life as a researcher and licensed librarian.

What was your approach and attitude during the panel interview?

During the panel interview, I shared my experiences to describe the background of my activities such as the organization of the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Library, writing a paper about it, and presenting it to an international conference, and some other activities which presented the range of skills I have which I think validated the submitted documents. ​

I considered the interview as mere conversation with colleagues so I will not feel nervous. 

What has been the best thing that has happened to you since you became a licensed librarian?

There were numerous remarkable things happened to me since I became a license librarian. 

It includes writing papers, leading a team in organizing the NCIP Library, oral presentations, etc., but the most memorable for me is the experience of mingling with colleagues in an international event who listened to my paper presentation. ​

We exchanged ideas, which made me motivate to write more papers about our profession, present them locally and internationally to share whatever knowledge or learnings I have. 

Where do you place yourself in the bigger scheme of Library and Information Science (LIS) in the Philippines?

As of now, I still consider myself as newbie or novice in the profession who still has to learn the motion, but at the same time I would like to be governess to young LIS learners by sharing whatever learnings I earn while learning and mastering the waves.

 Tell us something about your research on Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines.

The research describes the challenges and opportunities in organizing an Indigenous Peoples Library. The challenges includes the classification, organization, and digitization of IP reading materials, and other artefacts, establishing library services, generating reports, installing a library system. 

These challenges were all addressed through an approved Library Operations Plan which served as the guide in implementing the innovations. The opportunities include the commission considered a job order for a full time licensed librarian to manage and sustain the implemented innovations, counting the NCIP Library in the commission's budget proposal, and the linkages with other agencies to strengthen its resource network.

What do you wish to see in the LIS profession today?

In the near future, I would like the LIS profession to become dynamic leaders not only in their library organization but to their mother institution as well, actively engaging in research and community services to make an impact to the society. 

Filipino Librarian of the Month: Neriza Delos Santos-Oraba (2 of 2)

Here is part 2 of the interview of Ms. Neriza Delos Santos-Oraba on the INELI-ASEAN Children's Literature Database Project.

What support does it need from Filipino librarians and allied professionals?

For the resources and contents to continuously grow, we need contributors such as authors, aspiring authors, institutions and publishers to supply the contents (published or unpublished children's literature) and content managers such as public librarians to manage/update existing content, collect & create new contents, and promote the use of the database to their library patrons and other stakeholders.

What has been the project’s notable accomplishment so far?

The project was able to compile children's literature e-resources. Contents are supplied with bibliographic information of the e-book, others have links to free download or online access, and location (address or Googlemaps location) of the nearest public library where the printed books are available and can be borrowed.

With the project, the team was awarded Best in Collaboration because it involved libraries and institutions in the region to resolve a common problem and to optimize results.

Update:

Although a new team leader was chosen, Kolap never really left the team because she's always there to offer her help and guidance. Because of her and her brother Bora, the ACL database was born. She promised she will continue the project with the team. Aside from the team's mentor Ms. Rashidah, Kolap was there to guide on how to lead the team. She supported Libranovators  throughout the project.

Filipino Librarian of the Month: Neriza Delos Santos-Oraba (1 of 2)

The blog's Filipino Librarian of the Month is Mrs. Neriza Delos Santos-Oraba of the National Library. She is the project leader of the INELI-ASEAN Children's Literature Database. In this interview, she narrates the challenges she faces in the conduct of the project.

Briefly describe the objectives of INELI-ASEAN and the Children’s Literature Database and your role in the project.

International Network of Emerging Library Innovators-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (INELI-ASEAN) is a three (3)-year project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries (GL) initiative and implemented by the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) that involves ASEAN member countries to leverage appropriate solutions that will enable public library leaders who share a common vision for economic, political and socio-cultural development and integration particularly focusing and strengthening capacities of public libraries in the region.

The Collaborative Project’s general objective is to provide one gateway access to children's literature in ASEAN.  This is not only to bring the visibility of free online children and young adult literature from ASEAN to wider audiences and a way of meeting their needs, but also to promote better understanding between people of ASEAN through literature. Moreover, these resources can help instill multicultural understanding and appreciate the diversity of the ASEAN people. It also

I am the Team project leader.

How did you prepare for the project?

All of us are required to access the INELI-ASEAN online learning portal where we need to answer and complete the 10 modules that will help us to prepare and work towards the completion our project,  and be able to collaborate and communicate with the team members from different Asian countries.

The modules taught us on how to work on teams, develop innovation skills, manage team projects, develop communication skills, conflict management, time management, risk management, develop leadership skills, improve service quality and project completion.

What are the challenges you encounter and how do you overcome them?

The team encountered so many challenges that almost made the project unsuccessful. Pointing out  the major challenges below:

a. Copyright Issue
 - This is a major risk that challenged our team. Due to the Copyright Law, the team was not able to collect enough resources to be uploaded onto the database.

This resulted in the  shift, to create a resource list as part of the major content of the database.

b. Lack of concentration and focus towards the project - Submissions, targets, online meeting, and timelines were often neglected due to their full responsibility for the primary jobs that needs to prioritize and other concerns.

In spite of the problem with limited communication due to busy schedule, different time zones and unavailability of members, the team used and maximized communication tools available to communicate with available members, sending their concerns and queries at their most convenient time, responding with inputs or feedback as soon as matters/ideas/feedback were received/read.


c. Another challenge faced by the team was when Kolap, who was leading the team in the early stage, pulled out due to work commitments.

Through online discussions, the team  identified and selected a new leader. This was one of the tests of group dynamics amongst LIBRANOVATORS.

d. Inadequate skills for the project - A majority of the team lacked the knowledge and skills in information technology such as development, maintenance and troubleshooting of a database.

Creation of the ACL Database/Website was made possible with the assistance of professional IT personnel from Cambodia (Kolap's brother and colleague) who developed the ACL database/website for the team  free of charge. They also helped the team with the troubleshooting of any technical problems encountered during the test run.

e. Funding/Budgetary concerns
While the team was very lucky to get a temporary sponsor for the hosting of the database/website, however, the limited capacity/space available proved to be another challenge for LIBRANOVATORS.  Members were not able to upload all collected e-resources due to the limited capacity/space of the database.

The Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (PUC) (Cambodia) temporarily hosts the database /website for the implementation and presentation of the project. We are hopeful that this challenge could be resolved if/when there is an institution that could fully host the database and provide sufficient space for the growing collection in the future. Currently, we are working out on a possible sponsorship for the hosting of the website/database