Biñanense News: Updates on the Biñan Public Library

A couple of years ago, I visited the Biñan Public Library and Museum. Click the link and read up on how it was and what it was back in 2015. Four years after, the library and museum has become an art, culture and tourism center in Laguna as recognized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Kudos to its librarian, Ms. Sheila Gilbuena Legaspi and Sir PJ Borja, Tourism Officer of Biñan for keeping the community involved in its growth and development. This goes to show that the local government unit of Biñan is in full support of the programs and activities of the library and museum.

In my meet up with Ms. Sheila, I learned that they have retained the Rogelio Limcaco museum and the trade and industry exhibit in its halls. As expected, of course. Seminars and workshops are programmed annually. One of the more successful yet is the Thesis Night where in senior high school and college students had the opportunity to consult experts in research writing. 

The Biñan Public Library is affiliated with the National Library of the Philippines. I have a library to visit in the coming days!

Rediscovering Tagaytay (3 of 3): Flowers, Plants, the Lake and the Cat and Dog Cafe

Is that you, Garfield?

The last leg of our Tagaytay day trip rounded up with a trip to Mahogany Market, a view of Taal Lake and the volcano and a 45 minute stop-over at the Cat and Dog Cafe.

As expected, Mahogany Market is a showcase of Tagaytay and its lovely personality. Flowers, plants, fruits and coffee were the stuff we bought from the market. It was a colorful and texture rich experience. Driving down to Silang road, we experienced heavy traffic. Ditching the drive in Picnic Grove was a smart move since we did not wish to be trapped in Tagaytay as there was work and school the following day.

Stopping by at yet another flower and plant store by the road, Zoe was able to get a view of the volcano. With a fast right hand at sketching, she was able to draw the contour of the lake and the volcano in one spread of her sketch book. She is taking her art lessons to heart.

What replaced the Picnic Grove visit was a stop-over at the Cat and Dog Cafe. This is a place where you can enjoy your beverage of choice in the company of cats and dogs. The girls, Alnah and Zoe most especially, enjoyed petting the cats. For 200 - 300 Php, one can spend 30-45 minutes destressing with these four legged, furry animals. From there, it was a smooth trip down to Sta. Rosa and Binan. We closed the day with dinner at Chicken N Beer in Paseo de Sta. Rosa.

This day trip had been educational for the girls, rejuvenating and refreshing for us "titas" of Laguna and definitely a bonding moment to celebrate friendship and sisterhood. Cheers to more day trips and travels in the future!

Meeting Friends Old and New at Perps, Binan Laguna

I was happy to have been a guest of the learning community of the University of Perpetual Help, Binan Campus. I was there for a talk on blogging. My audience were students of the College of Education which included LIS students in the undergraduate and graduate levels. I have been neighbors with Perps for a few good years but it was only last week when I learned that it is the only university offering BLIS (Bachelor of Library and Information Science) and MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science) in Laguna.

Perps peeps! Friends and colleagues from the UPH learning community.

I am thankful to Dr. Lindie Masalinto for inviting me over. I enjoyed my lecture since I felt the genuine interest of the students present in the audience that day. According to the Dean of the College of Education, Dr. Remedios de la Rosa, the talk is part of their Alternative Learning Program (ALP). I do believe in alternative learning because it is a non-traditional way of reaching out to learners. Formal education is meritorious, providing theory and conceptual framework to student learning. On the one hand, I think, ALPs provide the "action" part in formal education. I paraphrase John Dewey's philosophy that it is in doing where we learn much. What do we do now with the experience? This where reflection comes in, and yes, another opportunity to act on reflections as learning gateways.

Learning is indeed a lifelong process.

At the Beacon Academy, where I gave them a tour of the campus

Before my talk, my hosts brought me to the main library. I was impressed at its physical layout, arrangement and over all appearance. The staff were friendly; the reading area is spacious, well lighted and had sufficient ventilation. There is a corner for research made evidence by books in the reference area and the rows of computer terminals hooked to the internet. Headed by Dr. Elizabeth Malabanan, the library and its staff are poised for accreditation in the coming days.

As my neighbors, Dr. Lindie, Dr. Elizabeth and Ms. Pam brought me back to the Academy. There, I returned the favor. I gave them a tour of our campus. There were talks of further collaboration and resource sharing. After all, that's what neighbors and communities do. It is only a matter of time when we shall meet again to find ways on how we can network and help each other out.

The Binan Public Library and Museum

The stained glass reminds me of my lola's house.

I made the visit to the public library of Binan, Laguna last week. Thanks to Dr. Merlene Alon who accommodated me that afternoon. Dr. Alon is a proud Binanense who volunteered to help develop the library and the museum. The public library is housed in the old municipal hall which is flanked by the public market on the left and the church on the right. There is an azotea overlooking the town plaza and the skeleton of the old Alberto House. That afternoon of my visit, I was given an application form for a library card!

The library has a spacious reading room; a viewing room; an Internet station; and a working area for its staff and volunteers. That afternoon, the reading area was empty but there were teenagers who were using the computers for research and, yes, Facebook.

This poster about Rogelio Limaco is found in a room dedicated for Binan's World War II hero.

There is also a museum on the second floor. It was impressive since it has a gallery of photographs that show Binan's industry and trade since the time of the Spanish conquest. There is a room dedicated for Roger Limaco, one of Binan's local hero as well as past mayors and the memorabilia that are marked by each's term of office. I learned from Dr. Alon that more and more, family members of past mayors have contacted her to donate more memorabilia from their collection. This is good news indeed and the local government unit better take good care of these archival and historical objects, documents and donations.

As a librarian, visiting this library is already a treat. As a member of the community, I feel I need to do more. So, the extra books we have identified for donation in our school library will be having a new home in this public library inside a heritage house. More photos on my next post!

Filipino Librarians of the Month: The Deped Calamba Library Hub Librarians

L-R Elinor, Zarah and Myra

Last October, I was at the Deped Calamba Library Hub for a training session on reading activities among teachers of the Calamba public school system. This reading session came after my three day stint at the 6th Rizal Library International Conference. Organized by two librarians, Elinor Hemedes and Myra Ortega, the reading session went on smoothly to the delight of the participants.

I did not lecture nor presented theories that are way too big since they all came from a week long training session by the DepEd. We just read and talked about what we read about. The teachers felt relaxed. One of the participants said, "Bitin ang training, ma'am." (The training is too short).

But at the session's core are Elinor and Myra who work together in the Deped Library Hub system of Calamba, Laguna. Both afforded me an interview for the blog. Here are Elinor's answers to the interview questions.

1. Why did you decide to work in the DepEd library hub system?

I have decided to work in DepEd because I can't let this kind of opportunity pass. Also, I wanted to experience managing this unique kind of library system.

2. What are the challenges you face in managing the library hub? How do you overcome these challenges?

The main challenge that we face in managing the hub is increasing our borrowers, only few schools are patronizing our hub. To overcome this we seek support from our schools' division management team. We also plan our activities that will highlight the services of the hub. So far, we promoted the hub by organizing a training for the teacher librarians. We hope that through the training they were able to see the hub as a reading center. The hub books were also used during the storytelling contest for the reading month. Through this teachers were able to visit the hub and utilize our collection.

3. What are the success stories you have so far?

The pupils enjoy the library visit and participating in reading activities. The hub offers fun filled activities such as storytelling and word games. They were enthusiastic when they get to choose the books they want to read during their DEAR time. And lastly, successfully organizing a training for teacher librarians for the whole division of Calamba city, then receiving lots of positive feedback from the participants after [is an accomplishment].