Filipino Librarian of the Month: Ma. Fatima D. Delfin

Our Filipino Librarian of the month is Ma. Fatima "Phia" D. Delfin. Phia graduated with a Bachelor in Secondary Education degree, major in Library Science at the PNU. In 2008, she earned her Master of Education in Library and Information Science at the same university. She is a librarian of the Makati DepEd Library Hub. 

Read more about her work and the challenges she face as a library hub librarian. Her story is pretty inspiring!

How long have you been working as a Library Hub librarian in the Division of Makati?

I started working on February 2, 2009; it has been 7 years now.  The Division Library Hub is serving the 28 Elementary and 10 Secondary Schools in the Division.  

What challenges do you face and encounter as a Library Hub librarian?

*Provision for New Books.  

Our Hub had the same books since it started its operation in August 2009. 

I often hear the question, “Wala na ba kayong bago libro?!” from teacher-librarians.  The ‘Sawa’ factor might kick in anytime soon.  Though there have been minimal donations from institutions and individuals, I believe it is still not enough to satisfy the need or demand.

There is a provision prohibiting the purchase of books through the MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses)

*School Libraries/Teacher-Librarians Concerns.  

For seven years, I was able to build relationships with the teacher-librarians in each school.  I have heard all their sad stories and difficulties, and sometimes it saddens me that school libraries are always taken for granted.  I believe that supportive administrators always equate to beautiful and functional libraries.

How do you overcome these challenges?

It would be beneficial if you change the way you look at things and to never stop thinking and finding ways to overcome these challenges.   

What are you happiest about your job?  

Just the sight of a child reading makes me extremely happy.

The Makati Library Hub Steps Up on Professional Development for Teacher Librarians

With Phia Delfin

The Library Hub in Makati City is alive and functional. Catering to more than 40 schools in the division, it is manned by a licensed librarian, Ms. Phia Delfin and aided by a library staff. I first met Phia in 2010 during a workshop for librarians and teacher librarians (full time teachers assigned to do library duties) who were assigned to run the hubs.

It was a workshop sponsored by Adarna House. I have blog entries about it. One is about the outline of my seminar workshop while the other post featured Mrs. Digna Aquino who was then the assigned teacher librarian in the Pasig Library Hub. At the time, the library hub in Pasig was the exemplar of best practice. Now I wonder what has happened to the library hub in that city. Mrs. Aquino is a retired teacher who made wonders for the library hub. She is probably in her 70s now. Is she still working as a library hub teacher librarian? If not anymore, who replaced her? Is the hub being sustained as an exemplar of best practice? The challenge of succession, leadership and sustainability are issues that many libraries and communities willing to have functional reading centers, at least, face constantly.

Since Phia has been with the Makati City Library Hub for six years now, she has been able to build relationships with the teacher librarians in each schools. The workshop she organized last Friday, February 5 at the Makati Elementary School was the first for the year. I got the impression that there will be more in the months to come.

Here is the presentation I used in the workshop.

Dep ed libraryhub_makati from Zarah Gagatiga

Teacher Lorima read aloud their book to a listening adience.

I live blogged the morning session of the workshop. It was an input session on basic library organization and programming. In the afternoon, Mrs. Leonila Galvez of the Library Hub DepEd Central shared more reading promotions and projects. After an hour of sharing exciting activities on reading, I was back to facilitate the book making and story writing workshop. These are staple workshop activities I do in all my teacher librarian workshops. It may not be a new activity since they have had experience with this kind of workshop before.

As a storyteller and published author, I believe that creating stories, writing and reading them aloud to an audience is a creative experience. The exercise will not lead them to publishing instantly. The point is for participants to look at themselves as a collection of stories. A living and human library. With in them are life stories that are worth sharing to others. To code and write down these stories into self made books empowers them to create and communicate. What happens when there are no books? The answer is, tell stories. Life stories.

Tell personal stories. Code it. Write it. Read it aloud.