Bibliotherapy Mini-Workshop (3 of 3)

As of writing, Taal volcano's alert level has been lowered by PHIVOLCS. From Alert Level 4, Taal volcano's seismic readings and activities have gone down to Alert Level 3. Many families were allowed to go back to their homes but children and the elderly stayed behind in evacuation centers or went home to families and relatives in Batangas. 

There are evacuation centers that have closed down and there are a few that are still operational. Our outreach and community service will continue. We are monitoring the volcano on a regular basis since its activities are dependent on our courses of action. Good weather permitting, the Librarians Association of Quezon Province (LAQUEP) had an initial visit in an evacuation center in Dolores Quezon last Sunday, February 2, 2020.

Audrey Anday, one of the lead facilitators, shared this in our Facebook Group:

PLAI-STRLC in cooperation with the LAQueP-LInc had a relief operation for Taal Volcano Eruption Victims in two ways: a) sharing of packed goods for the 120 families and b) storyelling, art and play workshop for kids. #BangonCaLaBaRZon
Thank you for your generosity fellow librarians!

This initial visit by LAQUEP fulfills one of the three plans of action discussed during the mini-workshop.

Specifically, the action plans for interested volunteers are as follows:

1. You can volunteer to join groups who will visit Dolores, Quezon and Cabuyao, Laguna. To follow are information of contact persons.

UPDATE - The evacuation center in Cabuyao, Laguna has closed. The one in Brgy. Bucal, Calamba, Laguna is still operational.

2. You can pledge donations and sponsorship. Information on what to donate and who to sponsor will be posted in the FB Group.

3. Contribute titles of books and resources for art, play, music and movement and Bibliotherapy sessions. We have created a submission form for this purpose and the link will be posted by 6pm tonight. From this list, we will create an open database of resources accessible for everyone. Your contribution to this database will be beneficial in the Bibliotherapy guide and module I am putting together.

Here is the link to the Bibliotherapy, Art and Play Center 

Keep these in mind when recommending sources and resources:

1. Our readers and learners are children in the K-3 grade levels. Consider their development stages in reading and information processing.

2. Our target readers and learners are children from Batangas who are affected by the eruption of Taal volcano. Context matters!

3. Universal themes such as hope, perseverance, kindness and the like are just as important as the readers’ context and developmental stages. Your recommended books and resources can go beyond topics and concepts on natural disasters, displacement, loss, and evacuation.

For interested volunteers and to people who wish to help, feel free to comment on this post, send an email or get in touch with us via Facebook. Check our group, Bangon CALABARZON.

Librarians as Community Developers

I started a read aloud demo.

Last week, I was a witness to the important role librarians and libraries play in building community. The story begins like this.

In March 2017, DepEd Cabuyao Superintendent Jonathan Forelo Bernabe wrote a letter to the Philippine Librarians Association Inc., (PLAI) requesting for a workshop on library development. The letter reached PLAI President Mike Pinto in mid-April. Mr. Pinto, through PLAI Secretariat, got in touch with DepEd Cabuyao with a recommendation to contact Mr. Rene Manlangit, current regional representative of PLAI Southern Tagalog Region Librarians Council. These two gentlemen, once they established linkage, immediately worked together to set up a three day training workshop for teachers on school library development.

DepEd Cabuyao took charge of all logistics, operational costs, DepEd requirements and the mandate of having 91 K-12 teachers and principals present in the workshop. PLAI STRLC made sure to create and design a training workshop on school library development 101. When Mr. Manlangit got in touch with me on this endeavor, it was too difficult to turn down.

I remember what I wrote in the blog about librarians and libraries building communities of learners and readers back in 2015 :

For librarians who are helping teachers, community developers and people in Non-government organizations set up libraries, remember to begin with the knowledge of the community and their experience of libraries. We are creating learning spaces and avenues of thinking. The books and formats of information we organize must be contextualized to a philosophy and a culture. That culture and philosophy is in part found in the community to which the library belongs to.

My participation in the 3-day workshop was to conduct a four hour storytelling workshop with the participants. But, I included activities in my workshop that would help teachers look at the bigger role of libraries as community centers where learning and thinking takes place.

Sharing time: I like listening to insights of teachers.

I reflect on this experience and if I get involved in another workshop like this, I will:

a. Consider, first and foremost, the context of the K-12 teachers as builders of knowledge through by facilitating critical and creative thinking skills activities;

b. Apply differentiated activities for participants, especially for K-12 teachers as they are teaching learners from different stages of development;

c. Conduct more reading into writing activities that focus on the creation and communication of knowledge and ideas;

d. Use local knowledge and history as resources for workshop activities.

And so, I pray for good health and a kind and forgiving heart. I feel I have so much more to do for others. I know I will get by with a little help from my friends.

Storytelling Workshop at DepEd Cabuyao

My storytelling workshop with teachers and principals of DepEd Cabuyao last week was another engaging encounter. For four hours, participants listened, joined in the games, worked in groups, created story flashcard and told stories! Here are some photos of the fun we had!

During the workshop, teachers illustrated their own story flashcards.

Selfie and photobombers!

Happy teachers at work!

Teachers told stories during the workshop using story flashcards which they made earlier.

I thank the organizers of the workshop, DepEd Cabuyao and the Philippine Librarians' Association Inc., Southern Tagalog Region Librarians Council (PLAI STRLC) for putting together this training session for teachers. We hope to see their efforts and initiative grow in the near future.

Live blogging: PLAI-STRLC's Summer Conference in Palawan Day 2

Before hitting the sack last night, we had a socials and fun games. The hall was filled with noise! No one to hush us in silence, not even the nuns!

To group the delegation into smaller units, Audrey Anday, conference chair, asked us to pick a paper from a cup and create the sound the animal makes. In no time, we were like the Bremen Town Musicians! I was grouped with the cows. Hilarious games like biggest plastic baloon, writing words using one's butt and Paint A Picture gave us so many reasons to laugh away the night.

Today, as I write this, Dir. Lou David of the Rizal Library is giving her session on Staff Development.Just like Madame Cora Nera's session yesterday on Accreditation for Libraries and Librarians, the participants have so many interesting and insightful questions. This goes to show that they are concerned with their work and the delivery of expected responsibilities. The city tour and optional trip to the Underground River here in Puerto Princesa is scheduled on Saturday, but it seems that the participants are focused to the facilitators' and speakers' input.

Dir. David is taking all the questions thrown at her with answers that are both practical and sensible. Theory is important but experience is the best teacher, indeed! Her years of service and work experiences in many divisions and areas of Library and Information Science is already a mine field. I see many heads nodding, intent at listening and taking nuggets of wisdom and useful techniques when she gives her answers and responses. Likewise with Madame Cora Nera last night. She had to extend her talk last night eating half an hour to dinner. But the dialogue between resource speaker and participants is considered an enriching experience!

I am standing on the shoulders of giants.

Live blogging: PLAI-STRLC's Summer Conference in Palawan Day 1

The first day of the PLAI-STRLC Summer Conference in Palawan kicked off at 8:00 this morning. Madame Cora Nera and I were at the same flight that was rather uneventful until the foggy sky greeted us at Puerto Princesa and a bumpy landing.

The weather is gloomy here. Thanks to the occasional rain showers, though. It's given the participants something to long for -- a sunny weather on Friday so they can enjoy the city tour and the trip to the underground river.

As I write this, Madame Cora Nera is in the main hall of the St. Ezekiel Spirituality and Development Center finishing up the last session of the day. Mine had been a lively and engaging session on storytelling, so the participants told me at break time.

Earlier on, Madame Cora Nera provided updates from the Board of Librarians. Here are some news worthy stuff I gathered from her presentation:

a. Curricular offerings for the Bachelor of LIS and Master in LIS (Library and Information Science) have been modified;
b. Doctoral degree/program is being formulated;
c. Adoption of prescribed Code of Ethics and Code of Technical Standards;
d. Conduct of ocular visits in colleges and universities offering LIS.

More photos and insights tomorrow!

PLAI- STRLC Summer Conference in Palawan

I will be joining the PLAI- STRLC Summer Conference in Palawan on April 28-30, 2010 as workshop facilitator. I'll be doing two sessions -- Storytelling at the Library and Creating Online Presence for the Library. It will be my first time in Palawan. As they say, one will never forget the first time.



If you are regular reader of this blog and you're attending the conference, don't be shy, say hi! See you there!

Enverga Library Blog

In my talk cum workshop on blogging at the PLAI STRLC conference last October 8, 2009, Madame Rose Villamater of the Manuel Enverga University Foundation proudly informed me of their library blog which was created using Wordpress.

I visited their new and spankingly clean blog a few weeks after. I could not help but admire the professional look of Wordpress templates. The Enverga Library Blog has all the basic information about their library. It is only a matter of time for the staff to beef up the content of the blog and offer something unique for readers of the blogosphere.

What I like most about the blog is its link to the Library Staff. Notice the big smile on everyone's face? Seems that they're a happy lot! One is never fully dressed without a smile, so they say. Now that's painting a positive image of librarians. To the staff of the Enverga Library of Lucena Quezon, I wish you success in your blogging endeavors! More happy blogging days to come your way!

Workshops! Wheeee!

A week before Ondoy, I was in Baguio with the Philippine Public Librarians League, Inc. (PPLLI). There I gave a seminar-workshop on Children's and Young Adult Library Services. Our public librarians are carrying on despite limitations in funding and resources. It was inevitable to talk about the limitations but thanks to public librarians who've shown tenacity and leadership in the face of adversaries. They were able to inspire others with projects that they were able to implement.

What struck me from their sharing was their focused and practical approach to planning and implementing programs and services for children. It's a one-day-at-a-time technique for them. Coming from the big school set up, this was all something new to me. In the big school we plan in years --three years to five years planning with in between assessment and evaluation.

Yesterday, I was with the PLAI-STRLC for a seminar-workshop on bloggig. They are a social and congenial bunch of librarians, I tell you. Plus, I find the council's networking skills effective and efficient. From stories shared in the long table, the officers boasted of a well represented council. They only need to search and spot for a librarian from Romblon to fully complete the roster.

Their output on blog evaluation, they reviewed Von's blog and their council's, was inspiring since they're positive to explore blogging to render an improved reader's services in their own libraries.

And now, here I am at Phoenix Educational Systems, Inc. wrapping up a workshop entitled, I'm A Librarian. Hear me ROAR! Will blog about it next!