Filipino Librarians of the Month: Librarians of the Filipiniana Section, UP Diliman Main Library

Dahil Buwan ng Wika noong Agosto at International Literacy Day naman sa Sabado, Setyembre 8, 2018, mga librarians ng Filipiniana Section ng UP Diliman Main Library ang tampok na Filipino Librarians sa blog. Pinangungunahan ni Mr. Rhoel E. Rondilla, ang grupo ng mga librarians na ito ay naghahandog ng mga kuwento sa estilo ng Sabayang Pagbigkas o Readers' Theatre. Basahin at alamin ang kanilang mga kuwentong buhay sa panayam na ito. Higit sa lahat, malalaman nibyo ang mga paborito nilang aklat! 

Sino ang may sabi na hindi nagbabasa ang mga librarians?

Sila ay binubuo nina Mr. Rhoel E. Rondilla, Reslyn Espino, Eliza May Jayag, Thergie Ablin, Maria Ester Cruz at Elmer Tolentino.

Bakit kayo nagtayo or nag-organize ng isang readers’ theatre group?

Ang FI Books Section Readers’ Theater group ay itinayo hindi lamang upang kumatawan sa UP Diliman libraries sa mga storytelling activities kundi pati na rin makapagbahagi ng aming kaalaman, ng aming oras at ng aming talent. 

Ano ang kinalaman nito sa pagiging laybraryan ninyo?

Bilang Filipino, nais naming makatulong upang iangat ang mga gawa't likhang pinoy. Adhikain naming na ipadama at ipaalam sa lahat na ang likhang pinoy ay mayroong katuturan at yaman. Bilang mga laybraryan, ito ay aming ambag sa komunidad ng unibersidad at sa pamayanan na aming kinabibilangan.

Paano kayo nagsimula bilang isang Readers’ Theater?

Hindi sinasadya ang pagkakatayo ng Readers’ Theatre group namin. Nangyari lamang ito noong nagkaroon ng forum ang aming aklatan na inorganisa ng Filipiniana Books Section na kung saan kami ay nabibilang.

Mukhang seryoso kayo sa inyong advocacy. Ano pa ang balak ninyo sa mga darating na panahon?

Ang pagkukuwento bilang isang grupo ay aming karangalan, kuewntong lahat ay may aral, aral na dadalhin ng mga nakikinig. Sa mga darating pang panahon, nakahanda kami at  tutugon sa mga imbitasyon at makikilahok sa mga programang naglalayong makapagtaguyod  ng pagbabasa ng mag akdang pinoy.

Maari bang magbigay ng bawat miyembro ng kanilang mga paboritong aklat at dahilan kung bakit?

Rhoel Rondilla 

– Alamat ng Pinya. Ito ay patungkol ito sa mag-ina na si Aling Rosa at Pinang. Patunay na dapat sa lahat ng bagay at anuman oras, kinakailangan ng mahabang pasensya. 

- Hunger Games. Ito ay tungkol sa pagpapakasakit para sa pamilya at sa anumang uro ng relasyon. Ito ay patungkol din sa pagtutulungan. Nagpapaalala din ito na ang kasamaan, kailanman ay hindi nagtatagumpay.

Elmer Tolentino

- Marami-rami na din naman akong aklat na binasa ngunit mabibilang lang sa mga ito ang aking natapos.  Marahil dajhil na din sa kakulangan ng oras . Ilan sa mga paborito ko ay ang mga aklat ni Bob Ong. tatlo sa kanyang mga obra ay meron ako. Ang Abnkkbsnplako ay ang unang aklat na binili at naibigay sa akin ng aking asawa na kasintahan ko pa lamang noon.  Kaya may sentimental na halaga ito sa akin. Nasundan pa ito ng Bakit baligtad magbasa ng libro ang mga Pilipino.  Nagustuhan ko ang estilo ni Bob Ong (di niya tunay na pangalan) sa pagamit niya ng humor sa pagtatalakay at pagpapamulat sa ang mga bagay-bagay sa pang  araw-araw na buhay at kultura ng mga Pinoy ito man ay positbo o negatibo. 

- Isa rin sa aking paborito noon pa man ay ang mga Pabula ni Esopo.  Naalala ko pa noong akoy bata pa na lagi akong binabasahan at kinukwentuhan ng aking ina. Kahit pay itoy paulit-ulit nang naikwekwento. Ngayon dahil  sa akoy may sarili ng pamilya at may sarili na ring mga anak ako na ang siyang nagkukwento ito sa kanila.

Thergie Ablin

- Aklat na akin ng nagamit sa pagkukuwento, “Bakit matagal ang sundo ko" ni Kristine Canon, dahil ito yung first story na aking ikinuwento sa mga kabataan ng GAwad Kalinga. Hindi koi to makakalimutan dahil nagkuwento ako para sila ay maaliw at hindi hanapin ang kanilang ga magulang o tagapag-alaga na masipag at tulong –tulong na nagtatayo ng mga kabayanan sa Gawad Kalinga sa ilalim ng matinding sikat ng araw.

- Aklat na paboritong basahin noong ata pa until now siguro, Cinderella kase, the story itself teaches us how to dream, belive and achive our dreams and also, true friends regardless of the sizes and looks they will help you because they love you.

Ester Cruz

- Ang paborito kong aklat sa ngayon ay Charlotte’s Web dahil sa konsepto ng pakikipagkaibigan

Elizza Mae Jayag

- Every day by David Levithan at Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Mahilig kasi akong magbas ng novels, mg love story and comedy. Sa local naan is yung “Mass” ni F. Sionil Jose and “Para kay B” ni Ricky Lee.

Ang larawang ito ay kuha noong July 29, 2018 sa Museo Pambata kung saan, naghandog ang grupo ng isang pagtatanghal ng Ang Matandang Mananahi (De las Casas at Gagatiga, 2011).

What I Forgot To Say In The Philippine Children's Literature Forum

And so, it came to pass. The forum, for me, in most parts had been fun. Thank you very much to Gwenn Galvez of Anvil for organizing the event. To Roselily Medrano, librarian of the College of Fine Arts, professors and teachers of the College of Education, a job well done for staging this event with Anvil. To Prof. Chito Angeles and the dynamic librarians of the UP Diliman Main Library, thank you for supporting the PBBY and the book, Bumasa at Lumaya volume 2. I am happy to be with my kin in the profession discussing and being involved in the growth and development of children's literature.

Literacy advocates all!

However, there are some things I forgot to say during the open forum and that blogging about it will make sleep come easy. The question about curriculum and how reading can further enrich it are two of the topics I wish to expand on this blog post.

First of all, I use the curriculum as one of my guides in developing the library's collection particularly the non-fiction books. What the library has, in its holdings and resources, must adhere and answer to the school's curricular offering. Budgeting would follow since prices of books differ from one subject matter to another. This is a measured and safe technique in collection building. Using the curriculum as a selection guide in the acquisition of library resources would lead to an alignment of pedagogy and practice. What happens in the classroom can be extended in the library in the form of a research activity, reading assignments and writing tasks that pertain to requirements in the subject areas.

I also use the curriculum as my selection and acquisition tool to widen the breadth of the collection as well as to deepen it. Not only am I acquiring books and resources that meet the competencies, skills and concepts in the curriculum, I also look at areas in the curriculum that inform me to acquire materials that will enrich and amplify teaching and learning experiences. The exciting and challenging part is, I do not do this alone. I work with academic coordinators and teachers in developing the library's collection.

Other than this, there are the circulation reports, feedback from students, parents and our own evaluation that matter in collection development. Once the library has stocked enough learning resources, the librarian can now recommend useful resources. What happens when there are few resources? Librarians reach out to linkages and network through inter-library loan, open source and library consortiums.

Many academic libraries follow this model. Schools, especially high school libraries, recommend their students visit colleges and public libraries for research and reading tasks. I think, it is about time to have consortiums set up at the level of school libraries. In the K-12 age, resource sharing may be a solution to the scarcity and shortage of learning resources.

Kung Bakit May Children's Books sa Isang High School Library

Kung Bakit May Children's Books sa Isang HS Library from Zarah Gagatiga

UP College of Fine Arts Conducts Outreach and Book Donations

FA Library doing outreach program

Today at 2PM, the UP College of Fine Arts Library is set to do an art and storytelling workshop with Ruben 'Totet" de Jesus and Rey Bufi as workshop facilitators. Organized by Roselily A. Medrano, FA Librarian, she chose the students of San Vicente Elementary School as participants who will be interacting with Mr. de Jesus, an award wining illustrator and with dynamic storyteller, Kuya Rey Bufi. This is in the college library's outreach activity in line with the celebration of Arts Month.

Ms. Medrano has headed and organized book drives and book donations that benefited public schools and institutions in Cagayan Valley and recently, in Najuan, Mindoro. It was in 2011 that they started reaching out to schools and children. Their donations have reached daycare centers in Lasam Central School and Lasam Academy in Cagayan. Book donations came from CFA Faculty and staff, alumni, students and friends of Mr. de Jesus.

Roselily Medrano donating books at Lasam Academy, Cagayan

In line with this, she has coordinated with Anvil Publishing house and the UP Diliman Main Library for the forum on Philippine Children's Literature in the 21st Century on February 23, 2016 at the UP Main Library Lobby. The forum begins at 2PM. The objectives of the forum are:

 · To deepen our understanding on the importance of children's literature in the development of their reading skills; 

· To foster children's appreciation on the different literary genres;  

· To acquaint students on the current trends and development of children's literature in the Philippines.

Panelists are:

ANI ALMARIO – is a Board Member of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) and former President of the Reading Association of the Philippines. Ani is on the Management Team of Adarna Publishing House Inc. and she also the Directress of the Raya School.

ZARAH GAGATIGA - is a Children’s book author and Chief Librarian of Beacon Academy in Laguna and former President of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY).

RAYVI SUNICO-is a children’s book author and publisher and Board member of the Philippine Board of Books for Young People.

RUBEN DE JESUS -is an award winning children’s book illustrator, founding member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (INK) and Board member of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY). He is also a faculty member of the College of Fine Arts, University of the Philipiines Diliman.

PORTIA PADILLA - is a member of the Reading Association of the Philippines and a faculty member of the UP College of Education, University of the Philippines Diliman.

For details visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1033448366697599/ 

Insights From UP FLIPP's New Professionals Series Seminar & Unconfenrence

The young and the restless: UP Flippers, Mdme Salvacion Arlante & me.

I wish to congratulate the officers of UP FLIPP (Future Library and Information Professionals of the Philippines) for a successful LibSpeak 2016. I have had the pleasure of being invited several times over by this vibrant and young group of students. Every engagement is a different experience but laden with learning and insights as always.

This year, LibSpeak 2016 had two simultaneous events, a conference graced by three esteemed UP SLIS alumni and the "first" New Professionals series seminar and unconference. The former follows tradition. Something tried and tested. The later deviates a bit from the path more traveled. That was where I found myself yesterday.

It suited me just fine.

The New Professional Series is meant to foster mentoring, build networks and linkages, and open up opportunities for continuous professional growth and development. Sounds familiar? Same objectives that many professional organizations have. What made this different was the format in which the seminar and "unconference" was conducted. The methodology went like this: a resource speaker gave an input on the theme; two senior colleagues gave a response; a breakout session followed and in each group, a sub-topic that was related to the theme was talked about; next was the feedback and reporting; open forum; and then, a closure. For some, this may look like a small scale PLAI Congress or a format done by organizations off shore in conferences too. Not entirely new, but it was modified to fit a particular context.

What I really liked about the format and method employed by the Flippers was that, it surfaced many voices. Participants were given choices of groups to belong to. Voice and choice. Two important features of instruction that is centered on the learner. The design of the seminar and unconference also lent for discourse, though, this kind of conversation needed refinement of thought and thinking processes.

I think we need meaningful discourse to prepare us for more difficult and challenging cognitive tasks: reading, writing and research.

Joseph Marmol Yap was in top form. The young LIS professional I met in Bacolod in 2012 is not the same man I listened to yesterday. Congratulations to the UP Flippers for a job well done! I am sure your mentors are proud of you. Thank you once again for bringing me along in the journey of the path less traveled by. It was not a lonely walk, but an interesting one where conversing with the future LIS professionals gave me hope to keep on doing what I have considered as my life's mission. It was an inspiring morning!

Filipino Librarian for January 2014: Elvira Lapuz (1 of 2)

SLIA begins another year of postings on Filipino Librarians. This January, the blog's first featured Filipino Librarian is none other than, Ms. Elvira Lapuz, Head Librarian of the General Reference and Electronic Resources Section, Main Library of UP Diliman. Here is the first part of her interview.

What's your lib story? Describe how you made the choice of majoring in LIS and what was college life like for you as a LIS major. You can cite challenging stories and success stories while studying the course. 

Everything started in Gonzalez Hall. 

It was 1988 and I was about to start my sophomore year. I was working as a Student Assistant at the UP College of Law Library, a job that gave me an early exposure to Library Work, even before I was an LIS student. It was also around that time when I realized that I had no future in Theater and the performing arts.  Being my mentor, I had to consult Prof. Vyva Aguirre on what to do next. I need to find a college and a course program that would ensure landing a job after graduation. The decision was made when I went up the 3F of Gonzalez upon her instruction. So I inquired for a slot at the then Institute of Library Science. And I should say that it was the start of a truly colorful, memorable and full of learning three years of college life. I had no difficulty integrating and finding my place at the Institute. The ILS being a small unit, it was quite easy to get to know everyone. I remember that during that time, there are more students enrolled in the graduate classes and only a handful, around 30, undergraduate students. It was easy to make friends with the other students. I get to see the same names and faces in most of my major classes. I was also very involved and was actively participating in the various activities of college based student organization. Unlike now that there seem to more organizations than the number of students, we only had then the UPLISSA (UP Library and Information Science Students’ Association) which was a student organization and also the student council. I can say that it was like a big “barkada” then. My active participation with the activities of the UPLISSA gave me the opportunity to meet library science students from other schools. We participated in the activities of LISSAP (Library Science Student Association of the Philippines), an inter-university students organization. I distinctly remember Fr. Paul De Vera, OSB as one of our faculty advisers. 

Ms. Lapuz is also a DJ in the radio show, LibRadio DZUP 1602.
Catch her on-air every Wednesday with Elijah Dar Juan and Annie Lim

We had the most brilliant professors and instructors. We studied and learned both through the traditional and modern methods. The use of computers was integrated in our courses, which during that time entitled us to some bragging rights. I would forever be thankful to one truly remarkable lady, Ms. Patricia B. Cariño. She was my professor in Information Handling and Library Management, and though for some, being in her class would be a terrifying experience, I found her teaching style very challenging. She thought us more than what was in our syllabus. I learned from her facts and details about life and living for she was one teacher who would find time to really talk to her students. As the faculty in charge of our Practicum during my senior year and as we are identifying the libraries to which we will be assigned, she asked that one very important question which somehow defined for me that path I should be taking. “Where do you see yourself working in the future?” A very simple question but it made me realize that in less than a year, I would be armed with a degree in library and information science and I should be making a decision as to which type of library I should consider applying. My reply came almost automatically. I told her I could only see myself working in an academic library, and hopefully the U.P. Library  She seemed to be very pleased with my answer and immediately made arrangements that for my Practicum, I would be assigned at the U.P. Main Library. 

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? 

Though Librarianship has always been identified and regarded as one of the less stressful jobs, the challenges that a librarian and information professional face on a daily basis seem to be never-ending. Working in an academic library was not in any way different. From the student who is totally loss in the library labyrinth to the faculty member who has ran out of patience waiting for his requested reading, the challenge of being able to provide the most efficient and effective service to clients is an everyday fare. An academic librarian could only shift from one role to the next, a teacher and instructor to a student trying to find that most elusive reference for his Literature class assignment, expert colleague to faculty members compiling bibliography and class readings, and a walking manual to library clients trying to make sense of all the gadgets and electronic resources present in the Library. 

Ms. Lapuz is a fan of Richard Yap.
See how their clothes complement each other!

One real challenge to me and I supposed to any librarian for that matter, is how to make more with less. Financial limitations and budgetary constraints make it extremely difficult to proceed and move further with what was originally included in many proposed library development plans. Librarians are expected to do budget planning that takes more than just the knowledge of how to allocate and work on expenditures, it should also provide for alternative fund sources. I have yet to hear a librarian say that he has more than enough for his Library. It seems that the Library for all its supposed importance and significant contributions to the Institutions is always the Unit that is left to fend for itself. 

Libraries and Librarians Making an Impact

This is a carry over from my interview in the Mania Bulletin last 24 March 2012. The last question, how libraries are making an impact, culturally and professionally, in the community it serve has kept me thinking to this day. I felt my answer was "bitin".

Good thing I have this blog to, at least, catch up on some ideas. I mentioned three libraries in the article that people should see to understand the dynamic role libraries and librarians play in cultural and professional growth of the learning community. These three libraries are the Rizal Library of Ateneo de Manila, UP Diliman Main Library and the De La Salle System libraries.

I should have mentioned that the Rizal Library of Ateneo de Manila University accommodates fourth year high school students to do research using the library's vast collection, and that, since 2004 (I hope my memory serves me right), Rizal Library has been staging international conferences for librarians.

The UP Diliman librarians, on the other hand, are on-air every Wednesday to talk about books, reading and issues on librarianship and information services via LibRadio, UP Diliman's campus broadcasting network. This can be heard over local AM station. Gosh. I just could not recall the frequency. But I have links highlighted! So, click away!

The DLSU School Library system is very much involved in outreach programs providing access to books in barangays and near by communities. To be specific, DLS Zobel has been conducting and touring the Muntinlupa area for their book mobile activity. They target public schools in the barangays. Their librarians do storytelling activities and book activities to develop book consciousness. I think DLSU Lipa is doing the same.

With these activities, libraries and librarians are making an influence, if not an impact, in the development of a reading culture and in the continuous professional growth of the learning community.