IASL Day 4: Assembly of Associations, Presentation and Workshop

Highlights of day four of the IASL Conference include the inspirational message of Indonesian authors to tell and write stories in their culture; the plenary session of Rachael Hodgson who shared her reading journey and the remarkable role school libraries played in the development of her reading skills and interests; the assembly of associations where I shared about the National Children's Book Award, the Salanga and Alcala prizes as well as future seminars of the Philippine Association of School Librarians.

After lunch, I attended two sessions. One on Bibliotherapy from Australian librarians and the other on Linguistic equity. Barbara Reid and Siobhan Roulston shared web 2.0 strategies to disseminate books for bibliotherapy. Andrea Paganelli and Cynthia Houston presented research findings on ebooks and linguistic equity. This prompts me to look at ebook purchases and how I can develop our ebook collection that is balanced and equal to all readers.

At my bibliotherapy workshop, Day 4 of the IASL Conference in Bali.

My workshop on Bibliotherapy, being the last session in the conference was attended by twelve participants. All appear to possess a genuine interest on the different models of conducting Bibliotherapy programs in their context and school culture. Kerry Pope from Australia found my topic and workshop as "bursting with potential". This comment inspires me to reflect on my current practice of bibliotherapy in my school, The Beacon Academy, and of the viable and realistic ways to improve it. Claire Napoleon, a librarian and music teacher, requested for the recommended reads I compiled for my students in school. It was a great way to establish links and contacts.

That evening, the Philippine delegate attended the gala dinner and grand auction. The food was good. The company was great. The grand auction was a success! Proceeds of the auction will go to IASL's fund for Books for Children Award, where a school library in dire need of book budget can apply for the grant.

Below are select photos:

At the gala diner with our mentor, Ibu Lourdes David. Ibu in Indonesian means teacher or mother.

Wayang Kulit for auction. I was able to buy a smaller one at the airport.

IASL 2013 Pre-Conference Workshop: School Libraries on the Agenda: An IFLA/IASL Project

The IASL 2013 Conference here in Bali hasn't kicked off yet. But I had a full morning sitting in the Pre-Conference Workshop on School Library Advocacy.

Finally, I met Dianne Oberg, Lourense Das and Luisa Marquardt whose names and professional articles I only read in the IASL mailing list and online journals. The trio handled a session on School Library Advocacy with a special input by Dr. Lesley Farmer via audio-presentation. They were all fantastic.

Lisa Marquardt is an epitome of dedication and commitment. Italian school librarians should better take care of their champion because advocates like her are rare. Dianne Oberg was quick to add and amplify points discussed during the workshop. I found Lourense Das' facilitating skills as learner centered, drawing out insights and from the participants and binding significant concepts or "take aways" at the end of the session. This reminds me of the Harkness Discussion we do in school. Inquiry is encouraged and the expression of thought processes come into play to construct and deconstruct ideas, create knowledge and further question the construct.

Rosa-Jane French, school librarian from New Zealand arranges our group's stickies.

The clamor for stronger advocacy for school libraries is not, for me, a new idea. This has been discussed in the conferences I attended in Bangkok (IFLA-UNESCO, 2002), Hong Kong (IASL, 2006). With current professional upgrades in the professionalization of librarianship in the Philippines, Filipino librarians are challenged to rise above the standards even more. There is a need to WALK the TALK; for more collaborative efforts, not just with colleagues, but with lawmakers and stakeholders.

Lastly, the workshop was the highlight of the session for me because it gave me a chance to listen to librarians from "all over". This is why I am so eager to attend the IASL again. I am hungry to join in the conversation.

Jude Gorospe's moment. Go! Filipino Librarians! Go!

I look forward to reading the revised IFLA School Library Manifesto and meeting Ross Todd, Carol Kuhlthau, Judy O'Connell and Mahdu Bhargava in person.

IASL Annual Conference 2013: Program & List of Speakers

The conference program of the 42nd IASL Annual Conference in Bali, Indonesia is already online. It can be viewed in this link, Main Program. My workshop on Bibliotherapy is scheduled on August 29, 2013 under Concurrent Session 5.

I'm going over the list of sessions and ticking which ones to attend. The pre-conference workshops look good too. I am excited to meet school librarians I know online. I'll definitely sit in Ross Todd's session and Carol Kuhlthau's too. I will have to muster enough courage for a photo op with them. I'm on fan girl mode!

Here are links to blog posts on my first IASL Conference, circa 2005.

Blogging in HKU (Hong Kong University). In this post, I wrote about my initial impression on the Hong Kong University. I still remember the lotus pond in campus.

IASL Conference Day 3. Here is where I wrote my reflections on the concurrent sessions I attended. It was 2005, and at the time, I was already wondering, ruminating on the use of technology in instruction; that it is grounded on sound pedagogy. My question was this: As a school librarian, how can I promote elearning that is grounded on effective teaching practices and productive pedagogy?

I think I need to go back to that question and further reflect on my experiences from 2005 to the present time.


IASL Conference Continuation. Wow. This post surprised me. I did not realize how brave I was then. Here's what I wrote, way back in 2005 --

Pinoy School Librarians may be busy with ICT's and library automation, but to use ICT's to create, manage and share knowledge is still left to be desired. We're still hampered by traditional roles that somehow do not answer realistic needs of our clients in the school.

Lastly, here's the last post of an echo session of the IASL 2005 Conference I did in a previous lifetime. 

What insights will this IASL Conference bring me? I sure have a lot of reflection to do in connecting the past with the present time.

Acceptance Letter from IASL and ATPUSI

This is not my first time to deliver a library paper/workshop to an international audience. But being accepted as paper presenter and workshop facilitator in the 2013 IASL Annual Conference means a lot to me.

An 44 workshop from Zarah Gagatiga