Pursuing Persephone: School Library Advocacies That Keep Me Alive (2 of 2)

 This pushed me to seek what is out there to further my advocacies. What I discovered are an abundance of blessings and miracles big and small. I have learned to take the good with bad and which ever came my way, there is always grace. Allow me to tell you three short stories of recent advocacy activities and campaigns I pursued before the pandemic and during the pandemic.

For this part of my presentation, I will use the ROADS as framework. I invite you to listen and to think with me. Let’s do this together.

Advocacy Campaign 1 – Storytelling Festival @ the Children’s Book Summit 2017

Proponent: Zarah Gagatiga, PBBY Board Member Representing Librarians

Goal: To promote children’s literature, reading and literacy skills development

Objective: To gather volunteer storytellers who will tell stories to children

Partners: PBBY and NBDB, Publishers of Children’s Books, the UP Diliman Community

Readers	School aged children in K-6; public school students; volunteer storytellers
Opportunities	Build a community of readers and storytellers
Advocacy	Promote children’s literature, reading and literacy skills development
Development	Contributes to the growth of the book industry; the readership of PH children’s literature and the support needed by teachers and parents through the participation of storytellers
Sustainability (human capacity)	Long term investments on children’s literacy through partnerships with PBBY, NBDB, publishers and learning communities

 

Advocacy Campaign 2 – Storytelling for Growth and Healing Workshop for Volunteers of the Taal Evacuees

Proponent: Zarah Gagatiga, member PLAI-STRLC

Goal: To aid and assist first responders helping evacuees of the Taal volcanic disaster

Objective: To instruct and facilitate basic skills and know-how in the conduct of a developmental bibliotherapy session

Partners: PLAI-STRLC (Dr. Lindie M and Ma’am Rose V), DLS Zobel Librarians, The Nook, Co-working Space

Readers	Families with young children (K-6)
Opportunities	Learn basic developmental bibliotherapy; partake in community and empathy building
Advocacy	Promote children’s literature, reading and literacy skills development; Developmental Bibliotherapy
Development	Skills in developmental bibliotherapy; the readership of PH children’s literature; pakikipagkapwa tao
Sustainability (human capacity)	Strengthen skills and competencies of librarians and allied professionals in storytelling and bibliotherapy

 

Advocacy Campaign 2 – Reading Gives Hope! Books Bring Sunshine

Proponents: Zarah Gagatiga, Triccie Cantero, Enoy Ferriol

Goals: To promote and uplift the book industry especially the creators of children’s literature and to spread the message of BTS and what they stand for: inclusivity; hope; diversity and loving oneself

Objective: To conduct a book drive and book donation campaign for Ayta children of Sapang Uwak, Pampanga

Partners: Pearl ARMY; Peace Kamp; Dear Books; Volunteers from the PH Children’s Book Industry

Readers	Ayta Families with young children (K-6)
Opportunities	Learn about the culture of the Aytas; partake in community and empathy building; break the prejudice on ARMYs as 15-year-old screaming fan girls
Advocacy	Promote children’s literature, reading and literacy skills development; Understand an IG, marginalized groups as well as ARMYs
Development	Readership of PH children’s literature; growth of the PH children’s book industry; pakikipagkapwa tao
Sustainability (human capacity)	Spirit of volunteerism

 

These advocacy activities and campaigns are not perfect but I learn many things from the process and the people I meet and work with. Planning and implementing them is exciting and yes, labor intensive. Evaluation is essential especially in an operational or logistics level. Financing such advocacies are crucial too. Amazingly, when you work among and with like-minded groups, the money is enough but the gains in terms of relationships is limitless. My number one take away from all these experiences is that, the causes I believe in never grows old. They are always new and fresh but I consider them as constants.

I now have my eyes set on mentoring young school librarians or at least inspiring them to advocate for children’s books, reading, storytelling for growth and healing towards peace that is nurtured internally. Please wish me luck and do pray for me as I do same to you.

 

Maraming salamat! Borahae!

Source: What is Advocacy? American Association of School Librarians: Transforming Learners. https://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/definitions. Retrieved November 3, 2021.

Pursuing Persephone: School Library Advocacies That Keep Me Alive (1 of 2)

 The essay discusses children’s literature, bibliotherapy and peace education as advocacies that the writer has been pursuing for more than a decade. Contextualized in the school library experience, examples and stories of activities and programs on the above advocacies are pieced together. Collaboration and community involvement are given emphasis as key factors that drive the success of advocacy campaigns.

We are celebrating the 31^st Library and Information Services Month with the theme, Library Building ROADS: Readers. Opportunities. Advocacies. Development. Sustainability. As an invited speaker, I am truly honored to be sharing with you the advocacy campaigns and activities I have been doing since I started out as a school librarian in the mid-90s. But before I begin, I am making a disclaimer that, while I am affiliated with PASLI and the PBBY, what I say and present today being a school librarian are my own. It can be said though, that my participation as officer of PASLI and my role as sectoral representative of librarians in the PBBY are in part evidences of advocacy. Then again, the experience I will be opening up today are mine. What I am grateful for is to have found communities of professionals who believe that the advocacy I pursue are valuable to society.

By definition from Webster’s, advocacy is the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal. As a school librarian, I believe in many causes rooted in the nature of the profession. Literacy development. Access to books and reading resources. Bibliotherapy and most recently, Peace Education. These causes to make an impact would require collaboration with other members of the internal learning community, units, departments and stakeholders, even agencies and institutions in the government and the private sector. To quote the AASL, Advocacy is the “on-going process of building partnerships so that others will act for and with you, turning passive support into educated action for the library program.” It is a political act, if you think closely. And this is not an easy thing to do. In the school, being an advocate of the library’s programs and services requires skill, competence, integrity and the continuing commitment to grow, first as a person and then, as a professional (well, sometimes the later would come first and personal growth is then affected by professional development).

Needless to say, school libraries and school librarianship must be advocated for. While I have specific causes that I deeply care for, being a school librarian and the school library are advocacies worthy of pursuing. To be honest, this is the very reason why I remain a school librarian to this day. My work has become my advocacy and vice versa.

DOST - PLAI Webinar: Pursuing Persephone: School Library Advocacies That Keep Me Alive

 DOST – PLAI Webinar 2021

November 8, 2021 / 2.30-3.00 PM / Plenary Session 1

Resource Speaker: Zarah C. Gagatiga

Zarah Gagatiga is a school librarian, author of children’s books, storyteller, and literacy coach. She is the PRO of the Philippine Association of School Librarians (PASLI). She is recognized by peers in the school library profession for her contributions to the growth of children’s literature in the country.

Zarah is currently developing modules and toolkits on the conduct of online book clubs, bibliotherapy sessions, and webinars and talks on the restorative values of stories through storytelling for children and young people.

 

TOPIC

Pursuing Persephone: School Library Advocacies That Keep Me Alive

ABSTRACT

The essay discusses children’s literature, bibliotherapy and peace education as advocacies that the writer has been pursuing for more than a decade. Contextualized in the school library experience, examples and stories of activities and programs on the above advocacies are pieced together. Collaboration and community involvement are given emphasis as key factors that drive the success of advocacy campaigns.

Keywords: advocacy, children’s literature, bibliotherapy, peace education, school library, collaboration, community development

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Zarah Gagatiga

09209672882

http://lovealibrarian.blogspot.com

@thecoffeegoddess  (Twitter) / @authorZarahG815 (FB)  / @zarah815 (IG)

zarah.gagatiga@gmail.com

Library PR and Communication: Welcoming a New Teacher or Staff

How do you welcome a new teacher or staff in the library? Most often, the Human Resource Office introduces him or her to the community through a formal memo or letter. At faculty meetings and assemblies he or she is introduced as well. The school library, being a department that supports all aspect of academic and student life can initiate means to reach out and communicate to new faculty and staff.

I would do this by writing them a letter sent through email. This is good public relations and communications practice. Partly, this communication to new faculty and staff is a way to advocate the library's role in the school community. The new employees are also informed of the services and programs that they can avail of, as well as the staff and personnel they can collaborate with.

Here is a draft of the letter I often use to welcome new employees.

Dear _____, 

I hope you are doing well and have taken strides in getting to know the BA community. We, at the BA Library, formally welcome you as a valued member.  

The BA Library is one of the departments in school that supports your program and department. A budget for information and instructional resources is provided for your department under _________. This means, you can recommend and request for sources, references and other information materials that can enrich, enhance and improve your programs. We are also open to receive information materials from your department that will help our students in __________.  

Feel free to see us anytime or access the library catalog to check the titles of books and resources. 

Attached in the email is a list of online subscriptions and links to the BA Library portal and web OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) and the BA Library personnel's profile. We highly encourage you to make use of the resources of the BA Library since these went through a process of review, evaluation and selection. 

Thank you very much and we hope to see you soon in the BA Library!

           Ms. Zarah G

As a school librarian do you welcome and recognize the new employees in your school? What creative ways do you employ to make new employees feel they are part of the community? Feel fee to share! 

Filipino Librarian: Joy Fajardo Nera

Filipino Librarian of the month is Mrs. Joy Fajardo Nera. If her last name sounds familiar to you, it is because she is the daughter-in-law of the one and the only, Madame Cora Nera of Philippine Librarianship. Once in a conference where we both had the pleasure of presenting papers, she candidly introduced herself as the "joyful" Nera. She is a bundle of joyful spirit. Assumption College San Lorenzo is lucky to have her as its head librarian of their integrated library.

In this interview, she reveals to us her library journey. It has been a delightful one. Read on!

What’s my your story?

First of all,  my baccalaureate degree is not Library Science. I’m a Bachelor of Arts major in Political Science graduate. I also have my Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service. I earned these degrees from the Lyceum of the Philippines University (used to be Lyceum of the Philippines) in Intramuros. I never imagined that someday I will  have a Library Science degree and that I will be working in a library. Although I have an aunt who was a librarian from Bulacan, Library Science was not included in my choices of courses to take after I finished my secondary education.

After  finishing my ABPS and BSFS, I was offered to teach part time  in Lyceum. While taking my MA in Public Administration (also in Lyceum), I taught one or two Political Science subjects (Philippine Constitution and  Intro to Political Science). Later on I was offered to work in the Sotero H. Laurel Library as a Library Assistant. Because I love to stay in the library  when I was still a student and perhaps out of curiosity, I accepted the offer  and I was assigned  in the Engineering Library.

Having no idea of what librarianship is all about, I decided to take up  first some  units  of  Library Science instead of  continuing  my MA in Public Administration. When I inquired in CEU for their LS  undergrad course, I was advised by Dr. Teresita Calma (the former Ms. Tess Hernandez) to enroll in the Graduate Studies program and take the required 18 units in the MA program instead of the undergrad. 

 I was very thrilled to study library science. At first, I  found the technical subjects very difficult especially the Cataloging and Indexing. What do I know about Library of Congress? I could explain the word congress  if it has something to do with the Lower House or Philippine Congress because of my political science background but not Library of Congress.  I had to exert more efforts  because I didn’t have any LS background at all. Some of my classmates were  senior librarians while a few were already Head or Chief Librarians.  Having Mrs. Corazon Nera as our  Cataloging and Indexing Professor added fuel to the fire.  I really had double my efforts   to be able to cope up with all the requirements.  Everyone was given the same  treatment whether one  was already a practicing librarian or somebody who was  “trying to become a librarian.”  But honestly speaking, I had so much fun and my LS education was filled with   lots  of wonderful experiences.
So to make the story short, after a couple of years, I earned my MA in Library Science in October 1995. I  took the  Board Exam the following year. Luckily,   I took my oath as a professional librarian in December 1996.

After being sworn as a professional librarian, I decided to give up my  teaching career in the field of Political Science or Foreign Service. I just found myself   having a great time in  my new found profession. 

However, having my MALS  diploma  didn’t stop me from studying more. I was looking for a university offering a Ph. D in Library Science. Because there was no university offering this specialization, I took my Ph. D with Specialization in Educational Management  instead with library science as my field of concentration. My dissertation is a qualitative study of the Phenomenology of the Information Technology : Its Demands and Challenges in Managing Academic Libraries.

What has been the greatest challenge you’ve faced so far as a licensed and working librarian? Why do you say it’s a challenge?

The greatest  challenge I’ve faced  being a librarian was when  I decided to give up my being an academic librarian in order to enter the world of  a school librarian. Working in  an academic library for almost 10 years, I was challenged to embrace a different set-up and services of a school library in 1998 when I joined Assumption College High School Department.

Having spent almost ten years in an academic environment, I had a temporary culture shock during the first few months of  dealing with high school students. I saw myself starting from scratch. Aside from the LC classification system, I also had to familiarize myself with DDC. From a once every start of semester library orientation to college students, I found myself preparing Library Instructions not only to High School but also to Grade School students which were scheduled on a regular basis. My  typical quite research type library  scenario for almost ten years was replaced with an environment where I had to remind little girls not to run and play hide and seek inside the library.

I thought I will not be able  to finish my contract and come back again to an  academic library. However, as time goes by, I realized that my new environment added more colors to my professional life. Dealing with children who are always dressed  up with their favorite book characters during our  yearly  Reading Month activities gave me a new meaning  and deeper understanding  of what a librarian really is.  Whether I am dressed as a character in the book  Chinese Cinderella  or as   Esmeralda in the book The Hunchback of Notre Dame is always something to look forward too every November.

It’s already my 16th year as a school librarian  and everyday when I go to my work,  I look forward to  an extra ordinary and more colorful library experience  I will have with the students.

What is your area of expertise in LIS?

Being the coordinator for almost 16 years, I guess its library management I can call my field of expertise.

What do you think are the requirements and necessary preparations necessary for becoming a LIS  professional?

Personally, I think if one would like to become a LIS professional, he or she should  be open to working with people,  technology and lots and lots of information.  He/she should be a “ jack of all trades and master of all too.”  Future librarians should have passion for not just for knowledge  but for everything of value and interest.

As for the other requirements, of course, there will always be  educational and licensure requirements.

When it comes to skills requirement,  a prospective librarian should have technical knowledge and training. He/She should be equipped with computer skills and knowledge. He/She  should also posses organizational and management skills,  interpersonal skills/customer service skills as well as research and evaluation skills. 

What rewards have you reaped from being a LIS professional?

I usually say I owe it to my profession why I became a member of the Nera clan. My life and love story might not be this way  if I didn’t join the field of librarianship. I met my husband through my mother-in-law who happened to be my professor and thesis adviser in my MA program. My life might not be this happy and colorful if I didn’t follow my instinct of becoming a librarian.

On a more professional note, I think the happiness I gained knowing that I am part of a child’s education and learning experiences is something I might not have felt  if I didn’t become a librarian.

I mentioned  before in one of the talks I shared to fellow librarians that it always makes me happy  knowing that I have shared the love of reading to children.  It’s a different fulfillment  every time a student  comes to me sharing me what she  learned from a book she  just read. The joy of knowing that I have inspired children to read is something I will always be proud of.  

Here are just some of the letters I received from students which  made me realized I was correct in choosing this profession :

Knowing that I have touched a child’s life to the extent that she  hoped  that I will have a happy, safe and healthy life is something I will  always cherish for the rest of my life.