School Librarians Responding to Change During the Pandemic

This is the video I prepared for the PLAI Congress 2021. I gave a talk on my paper, School Librarians Responding to Change During the Pandemic.

School Librarians During Pandemic Times: AASL Chart of School Librarian Role

In April 2021, I conducted a survey among school librarians whose libraries are subscribed to Scholastic's literacy program. The later was earnestly bent on helping the former survive through the pandemic. As an invited speaker, I had the chance to develop a survey on the status of school librarians during the pandemic. In the study, four roles of the school librarian were identified. I then further developed the result of the survey into a webinar that has a priming and post activity for participants to do asynchronously.

Around July, when the PBBY had a round table discussion with librarians, PASLI President Ms. Ching Basagre and NLP librarians presented the services and programs they have been running during the pandemic. All these information prompted me to go back to the survey of April 2021, reread the blog posts I have on SLIA and whip up a proposal for the PLAI Congress. This month, I received a letter of acceptance.

As I have been developing the paper for the past two weeks now, I found this chart by the American Association of School Librarians that spells out the varied roles and responsibilities that school librarians do in and for the learning community during the COVID era. What makes this chart valuable is the identification of different learning modalities, vis-a-vis the functions and purposes of school library work. This will definitely help me shape the paper I am writing. Also, it lends insight into the work I do in the Academy and the advocacies that go along with the practice of librarianship.

Have a look at the chart. Send me a PM or reply in the comments below. Let's talk!

Dear Ms. Z: Answers on Library Management System (2 of 2)

And so, here is my reply to the questions I got from an academic coordinator who is up for developing their school's library during this time of the pandemic.

What a joy to hear from you! Happy to help you with your questions and concerns. 

So, to answer your questions here goes -

1. Library Management System - I am recommending that you get in touch with Mr. Manny Tamayao of Tulong Aklatan (tulongaklatan@gmail.com) or Mr. Romy Sebastian of Platonix LMS (rej2k2@gmail.com). They offer services for libraries on the automation of library services and development of databases. 

2. Ebook Lending System - We are subscribed to EBSCO Ebooks right now. Students and faculty can borrow ebooks through EBSCO. You can get in touch with Mr. Josef Halos (09178550491).

3. Internet Archive and Open Library - Another way to access and read ebooks is through the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/index.php) / Open Library (https://openlibrary.org/). All you need is an email address to register and sign-in. Make sure that your laptop/PC has a PDF reader to allow downloads. Some books can be borrowed for an hour or more. Most can be borrowed by a week or two. Take note that big publishers in the US have a legal issue on the Internet Archive. But the Internet Archive is very strong on its belief regarding the right to access information, especially during the pandemic. I leave it to your institution to decide. As for local books, The National Library of the Philippines has an open database of Filipiniana (NLP Digital Collection).

4. Access to these e-resources should be easy with a web app. EBSCO has its own platform and it is web based as well. You may also want to explore Open Access Journals and Open Educational Resources. The information and resources are out there actually. It is a matter of knowing how to find them and deciding on what specific information a reader or user needs that makes the difference in using online materials. This is why many schools and institutions have developed modules on research and information and media literacy. 

I hope this helps. 

Thank you once again!

          ~ Ms. Zee~ 

Dear Ms. Z: Questions About Library Management Systems (1 of 1)

Here is an email I received from an academic coordinator asking about Library Management Systems. I will post my reply in a few days. 

Hi Ms. Zarah!

I attended the webinar for librarians sponsored by Scholastic where you were the invited speaker last April. I was inspired by your talk and how you make your school library still very much functional even during this time of pandemic.

Admittedly, this is one issue our school still has to address. I'm not sure if you'd be able to read my e-mail and have the time to respond, but I'm truly hoping you'd be able to give us a few tips. Also, if it's not much to ask, would you give us any referrals of library management system providers? We would also like to open our own version of your Library Drive-Thru. You have mentioned about preparing an online database for borrowing books. Could you also give suggestions how to do this, like do you use any web2.0 apps for the online catalog and borrowing of books?

I really hope you'd be able to help us in this endeavor.

Sending thoughts of health and peace!

PASLI's Top 5 School Library Programs in the New-Normal

 And here's another "little project" I am very much proud of. This one is with the Philippine Association of School Libraries, Inc. (PASLI).

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

Pandemic Libraries: Children's Section, Reference Services Division, National Library of the Philippines

As I am preparing for talks and articles on libraries pivoting and shifting in the new normal, I have requested librarians to answer interview questions. I am posting some portions of the interview in the blog. Here is the interview of Melanie Abad Ramirez of the Children's Library Section, Reference Services Division, National Library of the Philippines.

How did the Children's Services of the NLP pivot and shifted their services and programs online at the start of the lockdown/quarantine?

NLP had to close its services due to the pandemic, it gave us an opportunity for our children's services to transition to online services. We promoted our e-resources portal and used online platforms like Facebook and Zoom becomes as an avenue for storytelling, puppet shows, and arts and crafts sessions.

What were the challenges that your division encountered in light of this shift and transition? How were these challenges met and overcome?

Some of the challenges that we encountered are copyright concerns about the materials to be used for the storytelling sessions and how effective the postings will be. To answer the issues for copyright, we are able to create a partnership with The Asia Foundation to provide us with stories from their Let's Read Asia digital library and other publishers by sending them an email requesting their publication. To ensure that the postings will reach our clients, we share it to our personal accounts and to other Facebook groups. We also encourage our viewers to share them in their own accounts and groups as well. 

Visit the NLP's Book Cart Project for videos of Melai "Kuwentistang Librarian" Abad Ramirez telling stories and her colleagues conducting arts and crafts activities online.

Pandemic Libraries: The Public Library Division, NLP

 As I am preparing for talks and articles on libraries pivoting and shifting in the new normal, I have requested librarians to answer interview questions. I am posting some portions of the interview in the blog. First up is the group from the public library sector.

Thanks to Ms. Bless Velasco and Mr. Mike Reyno of the Public Libraries Division of the National Library of the Philippines for lending their time in this interview. 

How did public libraries pivot and shifted their services and programs online at the start of the lockdown/quarantine?

 Almost every organization was greatly affected by the imposition of quarantine measures and public libraries were not an exemption. During the start of the lockdown, public libraries were generally at a “loss” as it took us by surprise. However, we always kept in mind that public library services and programs are not hampered by the four corners of the library. More than ever, the quarantine and Covid-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for public libraries to look into making our services and programs available and more accessible in the digital platform.

The Public Libraries Division (PLD) of the National Library of the Philippines (NLP), in order to tailor-fit its activities with the current scenario, conducted series of virtual meetings, consultations, and brainstorming among its librarians and staff who are either assigned in the Training Section or the Field Libraries, Establishment and Affiliation, Monitoring and Evaluation Section. All ideas were very much welcomed and entertained. In one of our meetings, we even had Director Adriano who joined us to obtain his ideas and thoughts about our proposed activities. Towards the end, our ideas were put into writing to serve as our guide/blueprint. From there, we were able to identify which activities can be transitioned to online/digital services (eg. capacity building of public librarians through webinars and online learning, virtual monitoring, and evaluation of affiliated public libraries, regular coordination with the Locally-Funded Programs, etc.) and which activities need to be “shelved” first (face-to-face/classroom-type training, physical monitoring of public libraries, annual book allocation program, etc). Through the conduct and cascading of our identified virtual activities, we were able to provide guides and procedures our public libraries may also adapt to in this new work environment.

What were the challenges that public librarians face in light of this shift and transition?

The main challenge public libraries face in this new normal environment is having stable or reliable network connectivity within their area. We do know that as a country, not all areas in the Philippines have a strong signal for internet access - be it wired or wireless. Without a network, implementation/execution of online services remains a difficult task to do. Furthermore, if these public libraries face difficulty in this area/aspect, more so are the users as having a smartphone is often not enough if there is no internet connection at all or they rely exclusively on networks provided by telcos (Smart, Globe, etc.).

Another challenge is the budget allocated by the LGUs to their public libraries to acquire resources. Online resources for library-use tend to be expensive. If during the old normal, public libraries often experience budget cuts or cost-saving measures, more so now that we are in the pandemic where the focus of LGUs is on Covid-19 response. To augment e-resources collections of existing public libraries, NLP offers tekno@aklatan resources that can be installed in their laptops/desktops, it can be accessed also through NLP’s website. For the newly affiliated public libraries, NLP acquired e-resources and printed books as initial resource allocation to them, and this approach started in 2016. Previous years only allocate print and non-print materials such as maps, DVDs, CDs, etc.

Nonetheless, we always advise our affiliated public libraries to always make themselves present virtually, “digital presence” is very essential nowadays to become more relevant in this time of pandemic as the services we provide may not have a direct contribution to pandemic response, but the impact it creates produces a resonating effect to the community. Also, in one of our memos released last February in celebration of the 62nd Public Library Day every March 9 in the country, we also encouraged public librarians to coordinate with their LCEs for the provision of a stable network connection within their libraries.

• Internet Connection in the library, budget in purchasing online resources, and implementation/execution of online services to the community.

•   Internet access of the users. Having a smartphone is often not enough if there is no internet access at all or relies exclusively on a connection through their smartphone.

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