My Library Mentors, Teachers and Guide

It has come to pass - my talk at the University Library of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. The talk for New Professionals Series was organized by the University of the Philippines Future Library and Information Professionals of the Philippines (UP FLIPP) in cooperation with the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) and various student organizations from the different schools and universities offering Library and Information Science.

 I agreed to the invitation despite the short notice. New professionals need to see models, choose mentors and seek guides. The journey in finding one's self, a community to belong to and a niche in this world is filled with challenges. And if I could help a bit in these young people's journey, then I am glad to do it. As a new professional two decades ago and more, I had met teachers, mentors and guides who have made a big dent in my life. I have blogged about them and now that I was given a chance to teach and share, I remember them with fondness.

It is already a given that my mother and teachers in the Philippine Normal University are my mentors. Their advise, freely given and unsolicited remain with me after all these years. Working as a school librarian, I have Mrs. Del Hernandez to thank for inspiration as well as her husband, Marc Hernandez for being the father figure while I was a young professional in Xavier School. Up to the time when I was an administrator, I turn to Mr. Hernandez for consolation.

In UP Diliman, I give my gratitude to Hon. Lourdes T. David when she was my professor in graduate school. I learned so much about life as a professional librarian from her. Every time I hear her speak at a conference, I feel affirmed, happy and inspired. I know I am doing something right. Peers and colleagues as well as Library Organizations can be mentors too as they guide and help towards skills and development of competencies.

 This experience of interacting with a community of professionals has stretched far and beyond the archipelago.It was a great joy meeting my idols in the profession at the 2013 IASL Annual Conference  in Bali in 2013. Who would have thought that my LIP idols would become my friends and my support group in the long run?

Reflecting on these events inspires me to do a Research on Mentoring in the LIS Profession.

What makes a mentor and a guide? How does it help a new professional? Who among the Filipino Librarians are at the top 10 mentor list of millenial LIPs? Interesting questions waiting to be answered!

PPT: Pursuing Personal Advocacies

Here is the presentation for my talk on advocacy for UP Flipp's New Professional Series. I am scheduled to deliver my talk at 9AM in the UP Main Library. Excited to meet and engage with students of library and information science and new professionals!

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!

UP FLIPP: New Professionals Series

Because I was invited as one of the reactors to the seminar and conference.

Also, I support future LIS professionals whatever college, university or school they hail from. I have always asked myself when will I ever teach LIS in the college level. It looks like it is going to be a long time coming. It won't happen in the near future though, I feel it in my bones that teaching in the university is a path I can take. A possibility, if things go my way as planned.

What excites me about this seminar and conference is the discourse that will follow after the resource speakers' input. I am eager to hear new voices in the profession. I know I can learn from the younger set of LIS professionals as well as from students studying LIS. Since I blog, do expect a live blog entry. And yes, I will be using social media too.

Such conversations need to cut across groups and communities using media and technology. Who knows what conversations will transpire online line even after the seminar and conference folded up?

UP FLIPP's LibSpeak 2011: Evolve. Engage. Energize

Railway Tales: Storytelling In the MRT