Wrapping Up the 42nd National Conference of the Philippine Association of School Librarians

Finally!

We were able to stage and execute an on-site National Conference of school librarians in Baguio City! I am grateful to be a part of the Working Committee of the PASLI - Philippine Association of School Librarians, Inc. for this year’s national conference. My involvement in PASLI Conferences in the past has always been as a guest resource speaker, but this time, as an elected officer, I had the honor to roll up my sleeves and labor with the team of dedicated and reliable PASLI Officers, in sickness and in health.

There are areas for improvement, as in all endeavors and projects of this size and diversity pose great challenges but, with collaboration and clear lines of communication from top to bottom and vice versa, the #pasli42ndcon is a core memory that PASLI Officers, members and partners will cherish for years to come.

Here’s why:

1. A bigger contingent from the DepEd School Library sector with librarians from the Visayas in attendance;

2. Visibility of the Baguio LGU in acknowledging PASLI’s presence at Saint Louis University Baguio City. We truly value Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s presence on Day 1;

3. PASLI’s first collab with a university outside NCR. SLU Librarians headed by Ma’am Joey, you rock!. Thank you for bringing in the voices of your young people through the SLU Glee Club. Thank you for reminding us, old foggies, that the heart is forever young by having your SLU Dance Troupe swing, strut and hustle with us at the Fellowship Night;

4. How did we manage to fit in 30 book sellers and distributors in one national conference?!;

5. Resource Speakers from outside school librarianship talking about what we love and what we advocate - books and its technological cousins, reading and critical thinking, access to information, children’s literature, family and community development, inclusion and diversity;

6. The food! The coffee! The freebies and raffle prizes!

7. The community of school librarians who collectively exude a strong sense of pride and empathy.

I have never seen us this way. Or maybe I miss seeing this aspect of our identity because this was my first time to work behind the scene.

We have a legacy to continue and uphold.

Congratulations, PASLI!

Presentation: School Librarians In Action Responding to Changes During Pandemic Times

Priming Activities: Responding to Change in the Pandemic Era

In preparation for my webinar for school librarians on Friday, April 30, 2021, participants are asked to do the priming activities.

Priming Activity 1 is a survey that participants must answer on or before Friday, April 30, 2021. 

Here is the link - https://forms.gle/qBxbsPAzULs16vf96

Priming Activity 2 consists of  two videos for participants to watch.

 Video 1 - How a single-celled organism almost wiped out life on Earth - Anusuya Willis - YouTube

 Video 2 - How pandemics spread - YouTube

 After watching the two videos, choose one and do this activity:

 1. Write 3 insights or 3 new information you have or gathered from the video.

2. Write 2 questions you have on the video.

3. Write a summary of the video.

4. Post your 3 insights and discoveries, 2 questions and 1 summary on JamBoard. Here is the link to the JamBoard -  https://jamboard.google.com/d/1h2UpeM_XP8TVUbtoa38QF9ltcJduYgU66RjBZEZfQyg/edit?usp=sharing

The survey and the videos plus JamBoard activity are entrance pass of the participants to the webinar on April 30, 2021.

 

What Goes Behind Zoom and an Online Author Visit

Family will always matters so I picked Max for the read aloud.

This month is Buwan ng Wika. The theme this year is indigenous languages and "bayanihan". I posted on the blog early this month that I am preparing for storytelling sessions which will be delivered online. Given the circumstances, it is the only way to go.

COVID-19 has turned our world upside down. We are not prepared for this contagion but our DNA is built in with the natural instinct to survive. Thus, we use all the necessary tools and means to create and communicate to each other and with each other.

Other than a recorded storytelling video, I have been interviewed for an Author Visit by the De La Salle DLS Zobel Librarians. A week ago, I was hooked in Zoom with my dear friend Ann Grace Bansig. She interviewed me for a recorded online Author Visit for DLS Zobel's Buwan ng Wika celebration. We talked about my books and the experiences I have writing them. I enjoyed the session and I am pretty excited to see how it will turn out.

This new experience provided us with many advantages. One, we had the time to schedule the interview at our most convenient day and hour. Two, as guest author, I was able to prepare for the interview since I had the outline of the script before hand. Three, there are enough days or lead time for the librarians to edit the video. Just imagine the preparations the DLS Zobel librarians went through. Also, this new media of communication required them to learn the technology of rendering videos online. Overnight, these school librarians became media practitioners.

This is a snippet the recorded read aloud of The Day Max Flew Away in Zoom.

What comes to mind is the preparations I do for when I am a guest in Ang Pinaka in GMA TV. We undergo the same process, except that, the production team of Ang Pinaka are media people and professionals in the field.

I think it would benefit librarians and most specially, the teachers who will use television and media in the delivery of lessons this coming school year to get a crash course on media production.

Let us see where this will lead us!

School Librarians and 21st Century Literacy (2 of 3)

Riding on the themes of 21st Century Literacy, days 1 and 2 of the IASL-PASLI Workshop and Conference covered a variety of concepts, theories and ideas that permeate in today's school library services and programs. Fake news, Metaliteracy, Computational Literacy were among the different kinds of literacy discussed by plenary speakers. Thus, the necessity to build partnerships, linkages and networking is as strong as ever. Even Hanna Chaterina George, IASL Regional Officer, spoke about concerted efforts in Indonesia to make manifests the reading and literacy programs they run in private and public schools in Jakarta. In Day 2, Dr. Diljit Singh enumerated the challenges that school librarians face in the digital age, reminding everyone to stay relevant in a time of constant change.

Former IASL President, Diljit Singh elaborates on the importance of networking and linkages.

Day 2 of the workshop and conference was interactive and engaging. Paper presenters discussed actual projects and research that show the relevant role librarians play in teaching and learning, community building and in the growth of the book industry. Furthermore, presentations on day 2 focused on the importance of research as a means to validate professional practice. An integration and interdisciplinary approach to planning school library services and programs is key to target the new kinds of literacy and the ones that will soon emerge from a technology induced world.

With Charlie Padernal. my "Beybi Bibe, during my presentation on Bibliotherapy.
Photo credits: Thank you for the Ms. Cris Laracas

Five topics and presentations inspired and fueled me to further think through professional practice. These are computational literacy, metaliteracy, Dr. Baylen's session on creativity and collaborative thinking, Dia Evangelista's research on Information Literacy and Dr. Chinee's paper on Design Thinking as applied to space programming and readers' services. Their topics are all under one umbrella - thinking! How interconnected different thought processes can be! As in all professional learning experiences, I have filed them and cataloged them in the journal of my mind for future use and reference.

With my roomies. We know how to shimmer!

At the end of Day 2, members nominated peers for the election of a new set of officers. Dinner followed next and the fellowship night commenced. Dubbed as Sparkle Tonight, PASLI members came in their most dazzling selves. We were all shining! Shimmering! Splendid! My two roommates, Erlinda Soliva and Cathryn Ann Dimapilis won awards as Star of the Night and 1st Runner-Up respectively.

School Librarians and 21st Century Literacy (1 of 3)

The last week of April is when most library organizations in the Philippines have their national conferences. The Philippine Association of School Librarians, Inc (PASLI) is one of them. Many school librarians are on summer break in April and PASLI sure knows where to go to offer its members a conference where learning and fun both happen. I have had participated in many summer conferences of PASLI in the past and I always felt welcomed.

In 2009, I conducted a Storytelling Workshop in the PASLI Conference at Teachers' Camp, Baguio. They went back to the same venue in 2013 where I first presented the idea of BIbliotherapy and ran a workshop. Three years after, I was back with PASLI friends to run two workshops namely, Work Life Balance and Building Professional Learning Networks. The PASLI Conference that year, 2016, was held in IloIlo City. A few days after, I had a stroke. That is why, in 2017, I missed the annual conference at their invitation but I Darrel Marco and Ann Grace Bansig conducted the session on my behalf. They also received the plaque of appreciation that the association conferred to me. It was a surprise! I only managed to post in my blog my "acceptance speech". When PASLI celebrated its Ruby year in 2018, the officers asked for a video relaying my message of good wishes for the association.

And so, when Cris Laracas and Jude Gorsope sent me an email to join them for dinner to meet Diljit Singh, former President of IASL last July 2018, I said yes. Turned out, it was a dinner to begin initial talks on a  regional IASL workshop in Manila. In less than a year, PASLI pulled through!

Last April 24, 25, 26, more than 150 school librarians in the ASEAN region and in the Philippines attended the 5th IASL Regional Workshop and Annual Summer Conference of PASLI cum National Assembly at the Century Park Hotel, Manila. Present were past officers of PASLI imcluding Madame Leony Galvez who was also there as the assigned monitor and observer of the Board of Librarians (BFL) and the Philippine Regulations Commission (PRC). The regional workshop and conference was a success as it gathered school librarians in Southeast Asia with resources speakers and paper presenters from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and even in the US!

The three day IASL Workshop and PASLI Conference was fun, friendly and full of learning insights!

PPT: Inclusion and Diversity in Library Services and Programming

Dear School Librarian in Action: Research and Pressing Issues in LIS

I received an email from Mr. Vin del Rosario who is a School Librarian and pursuing his masters in Library and Information Science in The University of Sto. Tomas.


Hi Ms. Zarah,

I have a terminal paper to work on as a requirement for MLIS. You came to my mind. If I may, I wish to know what you think are the pressing issues, current concerns, and/or info gaps in our profession.

I chose to ask you because I look up to you. Salamat po sa oras.

I will post my response and exchanges between emails in the next few days.

I am a Human Book!

When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground. ~ African Proverb

I made another visit to our neighbour, the De La Salle University Science and Technology Centre (DLSU STC) Canlubang. I was there as an invited guest in the Human Library project. I was one of their Human Books.

The DLSU STC community conducts the Human Library every year with the objective of opening avenues to understand people who come from different backgrounds, experiences, social status and circumstances in life. It prompts participants to listen to Human Books and create opportunities to dialogue with them. This way, stereotypes and prejudices are challenged. In previous years, invited Human Books included a politician, a peace advocate, a Chinese immigrant to the Philippines, a naturalised Indian Filipino, the university's security guard, a sar-sari store vendor, a single parent, a cop with a disability.

With Candy May Schif and Willian San Andres Frias

I was there to tell stories about being a librarian, a blogger and author as well. I had two sessions each with high school students (grade 7-9) and senior high school students (grade 10-12). The younger group was eager to ask questions about books and reading, that my work as librarian is perceived as boring by others, what career opportunities await a library and information science graduate and if I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I don't know where that question came from, but it was probably the design and layout of my presentation slide. I was also very conscious of the time allotment. The older group was more interested in knowing my life as an author and the back stories of each of my published books. Both group of students were interested at knowing life outside the classroom and the grown ups who populate the community they belong to. I honestly answered all their questions with all honesty especially the one with the OCD issue.

I had fun interacting with students. In a way, I also learned from them. Young people are curious. Young people have a lot to say. I think we need to listen to them too.

During the lunch at the common room, I had a good time chatting and knowing the Human Books who were guests like me. I met Susan Quimpo, who was my art therapist two summers ago. I met friends from the DLSU Library System. It was like attending a reunion!

The librarians of the DLSU STC really did a good job putting this together. And, I have to say this, the teaching and non-academic staff gave their all out support. The Human Library is one program that helps develop empathy among people, young and old alike.

Makerspace and The DLSU-STC School Library

One of the features that the DLSU-STC School Library have that struck me when I visited last December 2017 was their Makerspace. Have a look at these photos and the physical set up that the librarians prepared for their young readers and makers.

A Makerspace is a collaborative learning space where creative thinking and a maker attitude are the emphasis and not the tools. Though, tools and technology are needed to keep the creative juices flowing and the maker attitude up and going. Planning and setting up a Makerspace in your school library would attract more learners who may not always find joy in reading books. Makerspaces promote other forms of thinking and learning. This project may be a door way to opportunities that will help learners grow and the library's resources are used by them.

 Here is a link on Makerspace: Basic 101. I have set up a Makerspace in our library. I blogged about it, Makerspace in the School Library. 

A few months after, a reader of my blog picked it up! We had a chat over at Messenger and I documented that as well. Here are the links: Makerspace Convo 1   Makerspace Convo 2  Makerspace Convo 3.

The 39th PASLI General Assembly and National Conference

Open for Learning: On PAASCU Visits and Accreditation

The PAASCU Team who was invited at Manresa School

 Last February 6-7, 2017, I was part of the PAASCU accrediting team that was invited by Manresa School to evaluate their self-survey and analysis in the aims of improving their school's academic pursuits and students services. I was there to look into the school's report on their Instructional Media Center, find out the extent of implementation of the previous PAASCU team's recommendations, and discover new things about school librarianship in general as well as specific best features of the school library being accredited.

The Manresa School Library in the grade school unit has an impressive space and physical design of its reading areas and storytelling rooms. The library staff are very welcoming and their commitment to providing the best school library services to students and faculty is evident in their reading campaigns and promotions. The school, in general, has a vibrant student body and a teaching force that is young and eager to learn.

While many see the visit as an ascension of gods and goddesses, we, the accrediting team emphasize in every interview the role we play in the whole exercise. We are colleagues excited to be engaged in the validation of best practices, We are partners in conversations with educators, just like us, who strive to be better at this craft we call teaching. After every PAASCU visit, I always have "take-aways". Here is a link where I write about Insights from a PAASCU Visit in De La Salle Zobel.

This time, I left Manresa School with these questions in my mind: How can school librarians support the reading development of students transitioning from K-3 to middle grades? How can school librarians firm up his and her role in the teaching and learning processes of a school community?

These two questions are not unique from my PAASCU experience in Manresa School. Somewhere, sometime, an answer to these questions can be found. For now, I am keeping tab of these thoughts.

Is your school library "open for learning"?

I have written about my experiences in previous PAASCU accreditations. Working in a big school previously, PAASCU visits are big events, indeed! How everyone in the community prepares for it!  Death by PAASCU is a humorous take on the PAASCU preparations. PAASCU work is not a one year deal. The recommendations to work on are starting points for conversations, reflections and the identification of courses of actions that should not be seen as a way to please PAASCU. But a plan to inform one's self and the school community that it is fulfilling its mission and goals.

I now think of the relevance of PAASCU visits. For one, it is service. We get very little but the joy of learning from one another. Back in 2009, I have received the Fr. James Meany Award for my involvement as accreditor since 2003. I have been called to participate in the evaluation of PAASCU forms and systems. In 2008, the PAASCU office called for a Consultation and Revision of the GS Resurvey Form. We have been using the revised form since then.

In the field of education, a system of assessment and evaluation among peers is a healthy exercise towards a learning community's path to growth and development.

We never stop learning. It is a lifelong process. PAASCU always teaches me that and reminds me that I need to hold my truth lightly in my hands because, wisdom and knowledge do not spring from one source alone.

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.

The Challenges High School Librarians Face in Light of the Senior High School Program

Last April 25, 2016, on a Monday, three high school librarians from Don Bosco Makati came to see us at the Academy. They were Anna, Zita and Theo. They spent half a day with us in conversation on library services for high school students, the changes that librarians need to manage in light of the Senior High School curriculum and PAASCU accreditation.

With Zita, Theo and Anna of Don Bosco Makati High School

Needless to say, it was an interesting visit since they had a glimpse of the programs and services we do at the Academy and I, once more, heard a first hand account of the challenges that high school librarians face. It is plenty, the challenges, and it is common to all. Perhaps in context, there are differences, but it is all strung on one thread. 

Here are the challenges that stood out from our conversation. All of it are my observations and has no bearing yet on actual research or school library literature. Maybe, someone reading my blog can pick this up for further study or research.

Challenge #1 - The school library is a warehouse.

For many teachers and students, they perceive the school library as a warehouse, a bookstore type of department in the school and not as a structure to support learning. Nor is it seen as a learning laboratory filled with resources of varying formats selected using standards and criteria that are well thought out. Furthermore, the services and programs that the school library provides or implement do not speak of instructional, cultural and community based objectives. This challenge is two-way. It is one thing that librarians know the school library's role and another if members of the community do not.

Something to think and do: How can the librarian transition from technical and clerical roles and move into instructional and educating roles? 

Challenge #2 - The school librarian is a custodial clerk.

Where is the library found in the organizational chart of the school? If it is still in the ancillary services it follows that the school librarian is not an academic staff. School librarians fulfill a teaching role. Deny this, then get another job. If school leaders do not know this, it is the school librarian's professional and moral duty to inform them. This is one of the many reasons why we have a professional license. We must use it well!

Something to think and do: How can librarians communicate their professional worth and relevance to their school leaders?

Challenge #3 - The school librarian works in isolation.

Can we look at the professional development activities we attend? How many library organizations offer mentoring and coaching programs for continuing professional education of school librarians? What agencies and networks can school librarians tap to grow steadily in the profession?

Something to think and do: How can we strike the balance between growing personally and advancing professionally?

Challenge #4 - SHS  resources are scarce.

I am not talking about textbooks, but resources that will supplement and enrich the SHS curriculum. 

Something to think and do: How do we plan our collection development program that mirrors the SHS curriculum? 

Challenge #5 - Who is the young adult reader?

If you don't know them, where do you get the context for your library services and programs?

Something to think and do: It's about time we talk about YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES in the country. I will start this through my blog.

See what a library visit can do? Amazing, isn't it?!

Reconnecting with PASLI: Learning with Colleagues

With young school librarians who asked for an autograph

My last speaking engagement with PASLI was in 2013 in Baguio City. Three years after, I was back to reconnect with colleagues in PASLI as facilitator for two sessions during the 38th National Conference and General Assembly in Iloilo City. This reconnection with my PASLI friends is one for the books.

To briefly share with you, I had a medical crisis a day before the PASLI Conference. I thought I was going to be admitted to the hospital, but my urologist cleared me safe to travel. I had to rest the following day to prepare for the flight on Wednesday morning. PASLI Officers Rhodora Espiritu and Gemma Murillo-Cuna did everything so I can come and deliver my seminar-workshop at the conference. It was bad enough that I missed the PLAI Congress due to a medical crisis (again). I know I had to do the PASLI Conference.

And so, with God's grace, I came. I delivered. I did my job.

What joy! While participants posted their photos on FB showing the fun they had during my sessions, I admit that I learned from them. This is what I always look forward to in speaking engagements: the insights and learning experience I derive from interacting with delegates and colleagues.

I realized that there are school librarians who have shown leadership in their learning communities. Their stories of best practices must be heard. This implies the changing role of PASLI. Apart from the conduct of conferences, perhaps, it will help Filipino school librarians to see and hear more stories about best practices from colleagues. PASLI can be a platform for them. So, PASLI is taking on a mentoring role to its members, peers and colleagues.

With delegates and PASLI Officers

The program boasted of esteemed speakers from the academic libraries. Their presentations are products of research and scientific study of LIS. I imagine now a PASLI Conference, where papers, thesis and research are presented alongside best practices. This can firm up the practice of school librarianship as well as discover topics for further study that will enrich the LIS literature in the country.

In my session, I discovered the possibility of doing a research on professional competencies and continuing professional development of school librarians. During the session, I posed a challenge to the delegates to look at the extent of impact a Personal Learning Network can do to a school librarian and its effects on the school library he/she works in. We have always talked about improving our school libraries. It is time to focus on personal and professional development because, school libraries will not grow if school librarians are not growing.

Ready for a workout?!

I also noticed the number of young school librarians in attendance. I wondered how many of them will stay as school librarians in the next ten years. Because, I have seen good school librarians quit the profession due to varied reasons. Again, this is an avenue for research. Oh! If only I have the time! Lastly, being with colleagues last week made me see hope. Hope for the profession. Hope for Philippine School Librarianship.

I am grateful to my own learning community, The Beacon Academy, for allowing me to be involved in my professional community. I am thankful for PASLI for sending me the invitation as early as February and assigning a topic they know I can handle well. In the middle of the three day conference, I asked myself why, despite the infection and stones, I continue to do this. Many reasons surface. But this one, I will say it here: I do it because it is my way of giving back to the profession who has given me so much!

Photo source: Thanks to Mae Pagatpatan Diesta and Rhodora Espiritu for the photos

PASLI 38th National Conference: Creating Professional Learning Network

Personal Learning Network for School Librarians from Zarah Gagatiga

PASLI Summer Conference 2016

PASLI in Iloilo this Summer, 2016.

The Philippine Association of School Librarians (PASLI) will be having its 38th General Assembly and National Conference in Iloilo City on April 20 - 22, 2016. Details of the conference, registration information and formal invitation can be downloaded in the association's blog. Visit the PASLI blog here for your information needs.

For this year's PASLI Conference, I am an invited resource speaker to discuss on two topics that I have been practicing and living out over the past years. These are the development of a Personal Learning Network and the "struggle" between work life balance. Both topics are culled out from my personal experiences and thus, I shall be presenting it with a discovered insight, backed up by research and theoretical concepts in psychology. This is a first for me, to talk about topics outside the library discipline, and focus more on personal care.

The Personal Learning Network topic is going to be a success story presentation and the Work Life Balance is a hands on session where I will share with the participants ways to get in touch with one's creative self; start with an easy to do workout routine; and provide tips on distressing and achieving a balance for a healthier mind, heart and soul.

I hope to see you in the PASLI Summer Conference, friends and colleagues!

PPT: Designing an Information Literacy Skills Porgram for the New K-12 Curriculum

Il k 12-school_libs_aug2015.ppt from Zarah Gagatiga

Back at the Academy: Setting the Pace and Taking Perspective

Day 2 of In-Service: Learner Profile and ATL allignment

I was not excited to go back to work last week. In previous years, I used to feel giddy and optimistic at the beginning of in-service week. Gone are the blooming flowers and rays of sunshine that nestled in my heart at the start of work coming from a long vacation. I found this odd and discomforting. In order for me to sync back, I must "feel" it. I didn't feel anything. In fact, I started Monday with a very practical and pragmatic outlook on the work that is ahead. This bothered me.

It was good to see my colleagues again but the game we played reminded me of past experiences and present needs. There is so much to think about that I could not channel into my emotions to help myself ease in and do the work that awaits me. First day back at work and I was already stressed.

By mid-day, all I wanted to do was go back to the library and finish the annual report. Then again, no one misses the Head of School's address on the first day of work so I stayed on with no choice at all but to listen.

That was when the complete turn around happened. You see, our Head of School has an uncanny talent of making you see things from a different perspective. He does not force or impose. He presents and shows possibilities, what ifs, where we are and where can things can go. He makes you think and wonder. This can be empowering, if you let it.

The things he shared were not promises resting on false hope. These were experiences culled out from the daily grind. It was inspiring. It was amazing how he does so with so much conviction through telling stories. So, there. The power of stories. It got me. Hook. Line. And sinker.

Day 4 of In-service: This is a course outline. Yes?!

I got my groove back but it didn't end there.

When the Dean of Faculty gave a session in the afternoon I was reminded of familiar things and memories of happier days with teachers and mentors you don't mess around with. Hermosa. Ocampo. LDR. Villanueva. Padilla.  My desire to go back to school and study once more surfaced.

What started as a lukewarm Monday ended with a hopeful perspective on the mission I am set to do and a direction to continuously grow professionally. Reflecting on the week that was, I can say that I am fortunate to belong to a community who continuously learns and mentors its faculty and staff.

Back in Bangkok for the Pre-CONSAL Workshop on School Library Development in the ASEAN

Faculty of Humanities, Srinakharinwirot University

Being in Bangkok once more fills me with nostalgia. The experience is like going full circle one more time. I was here back in 2003 for a three day workshop on School Library Services in the ASEAN. This workshop was an IFLA and UNESCO sponsored event. At the time, I was with Susan Torres, Hermie Salazar, Ma'am Lou David and Madame Elizabeth Peralejo. We were the small contingent representing the Philippines.

I have fond memories of that workshop. During fellowship night, we danced the tinikling and tried to sing together a folk song. It took us a while to decide what song to sing, not for the lack of songs but for the reason of song choice. Bahay Kubo? Leron Leron Sinta? Dahil Sa Iyo? Yes, we were that bad. Hahaha!

Our group also had the opportunity to watch a puppet show by a Thai puppetry group. The name of the group escapes me now as well as the place. The show, I remember it vividly. It was Rama and Sita! What made it memorable was the puppeteers performance. Puppeteers were on stage holding the puppets, like marionettes but with sticks. The puppeteers animate the puppets and they dance with the puppets. Three to four puppeteers held one big puppet and as a group, they move together as one. It was amazing!

My second time in Bangkok was as speaker in the TK Reading Conference. This was in 2012. For stories of my adventures in the TK Conference, click these links: visiting TK Park, my plenary presentation on the Role of School Libraries and School Librarians in the Digital Age, where the Five Principles of the ASEAN was discussed. On the last day of the conference, we had dinner in Cabbages and Condoms.

Dinner with Dr. Diljit Singh, IASL President and our very good fried. Beside me is Waldet Cueto, librarian of Rizal Library

And now, third time is the charm.

I will be presenting a status report on Philippine School Libraries. I have focused on highlights and sustainability measures that groups in the government and NGO people are tirelessly working on. I look forward to today's workshop. Yes, I promise to blog, to share and post photos. Like I usually do.