Blog Tour: Guardians of Tradition

In case you missed it, there's a blog tour on this fantastic non-fiction book written by a friend of mine, Mae Astrid Tobias. Her book, Guardians of Tradition: Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan, is being reviewed and featured in these blogs:

KUTING-mate Agay on Agay is a Girl

Mina V. Esguerra on Publishing in Pajamas

Sol on The Belle of A Boulevard

Monique on Marginalia

In case you've not purchased a copy yet for your library, head on to the Adarna House website for orders!

The 8th iBlog Summit

I still remember the first iBlog Summit I attended in 2005. The following year, I was a speaker presenting a topic on blogs in education. How time flies! How far has Pinoy blogging gone since then?



I am being maudlin all over. Here is the link of the presentation I gave in 2006 during the 2nd iBlog Summit. The title of my presentation was, Blogs as Teaching Tools.  The full paper can be read via this link: Blogs in Teaching and Learning.

Responsible Blogging

My blogging topic schedule has been disrupted by many events the past few weeks. I am staying true to my promise of setting eight blog posts to celebrate the blog's eighth birthday. So here's the first on responsible blogging, a lesson I have learned over the years.

Blogging has given me a voice. At the start, it was a shaky one. Unsure at one point and very opinionated at sometime. That was not good. If you want readers to believe you, your voice must not only be convincing. It should have conviction. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Readers will know when you're bluffing and when you're saying your ideas with all sincerity.

Having said these, what you want to communicate out there does not always have to be your opinion. Maybe you have an idea, a strong opinion on a topic but these have to be well established on facts and information. A personal belief is one thing. An unsupported opinion is another. Hold that opinion or personal idea for a while. Research. Investigate. Try out your hypothesis. Cite your sources. Do not claim what is not yours.

A blog is a media that does not undergo strict editing. So, the blogger is his or her own editor. When I started blogging, there were no blog awards yet. But, there was the iBlog Conference in 2005 where influential bloggers came and gave talks, lectures and tips for beginning bloggers like myself. One unforgettable blogger in the group of speakers was Connie Veneracion. She was a living testament to responsible blogging. One memorable line she delivered then was this: "Our online persona reflects who we really are." That would mean, that despite a pen name or anonymity, we show our true selves when we blog.

Blogging can be fun. And yes, there's a promise of earning a bit of cash. But, the voice and the freedom of expression found in blogging must be taken with great responsibility.

Filipino Friday: Reading as a Hobby

August 19 - How did you become a reader? What factors influenced you to take up reading as a hobby and why do you enjoy it so much?

I became a reader because my grandmother told me stories. I became a reader because my mother read to me. Books and writing materials were always available at home. We were not rich, but my parents made it sure that I grew up reading. Thanks to the reading genes as well! My parents and teachers didn't have a difficult time teaching me how to read and making me love it.

In my case, when it comes to reading, nature agreed to my parents' desire to nurture a reader for life.

Peers were also a great influence in my reading habits. In grade school, I remember a classmate who was so fond of dinosaurs I showed her the dino books my mom borrowed for me in the library where she worked. By sixth grade, I was using references and non-fiction books for my projects and assignments courtesy of mom's library. It was at that time when I met Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. To my surprise, a boy in class is a Hardy Boys fan as well! These books were the only books I borrow from our school library. In high school, more reading friends surfaced and we had mini-book talk sessions during recess and lunch. It was such a great joy to have friends whom I could share insights and feelings on books I have read. At that time, there were no blogs so I had to wait for days to connect and communicate with friends who read.

Now, as an adult, I keep in close proximity reader friends and a reading community. I also try my best to pass on to my children this love and culture for reading. I think I am successful with my daughter. My son, who is fourteen is turning out to be a challenge. I will blog on this next time since teenagers these days have different reading styles and varying tastes!

At the start of the year, a dear friend gave me a gift. She gave me a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's my favorite read so far for 2011.

Filipino Friday

Filipino Book Bloggers unite! See them wield power and influence at the 32nd Manila International Book Fair via the First Filipino Reader Conference. Here are details of the event from the blog -

Filipino Readers Make It Social!
The 1st Filipino Reader Conference
When: September 14, 2011, Wednesday, 1-6 PM (during MIBF)
Where: SMX Mall of Asia, Meeting Room 2

Objectives:
1. to provide support, instruction, and social time for book club members and book bloggers
2. to celebrate readers and reading in the Philippines
3. to promote a closer connection between readers and writers and/or publishers

Carloe Javier is the keynote speaker. Pinoy Book Bloggers (PBB) like Tarie Sabido and Charles Tan, to mention a few, are panelists.

In line with the event, the PBB's are creating noise in the blogosphere by memes, blogs and social media, of course. To start off, there's Filipino Friday where in book bloggers blog about the topic of the week. Officially, Filipino Friday is a weekly meme used by Filipino Book Bloggers to discuss more about book they read, the events and happenings that affect the world of literature. For now, as a part of an upcoming event, we are using this meme to promote the upcoming The Filipino Reader Convention on September 14 and to promote the Filipino Readers.

I'm not sure if I can go to the ReaderCon so I'll simply blog my reading habits and book choices along with the PBBs. Visit the Filipino Friday website for a list of meme topics till 14 September, 2011.

I was six years old when I read my name on the list of accepted applicants of grade one pupils. I knew then that I will be reading for life. It helped that my mother read to me as a child and that she brought home a lot of books for me to read. She did not buy them in bookstores. She borrowed them from the library. At the time, I considered it a privilege -- getting my books from the library. Ang yabang ko!

I was the only girl in class who knew Dr. Seuss and that there existed animals as big as buildings, as wide as mountains and as fierce as a pack of hyenas by the hundreds. I was friends with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I idolized Judy Blume and hated myself for not understanding Asimov's sci-fi world. I put down Bradburry in my teens to devour Sweet Valley High and the classic Newberry's. In college, I discovered Filipino writers and children's books by Filipino writers. There were so many things to know; so many things to see; so many things to experience from a book written and made by another human being who is just like me in so many ways.

Now, I know better. Having access to books and libraries is not a privilege but a right.

Now, I know better. Books, reading and libraries are a culture. It is not exclusive to one nation or elite groups of peoples.

Now, I know better. Reading is power. And those who can wield that power even has the greater responsibility to share it and empower others!

Till next Filipino Friday.

More Blogsights: Web 2.0 Tech Focusing on Blogs and Blogging

Mula naman kay jsdesingano --


Sa bilis ng pag-usong ng teknolohiya  sa panahon natin ngayon kailangan nating makasabay sa takbo nito. Ang paggamit ng Web 2.0 technology at ang pagbablog ay ang paraan para magawa ito. Bilang librarian o library staff maraming bagay tayong kailangang isaalang-alang:

-       Time (time management)
-       Being Responsible
-       Considering ethics
-       Environment (institution or individual)
-       Resources

Ang lahat ng bagay ay kailangang magsimula sa ating sarili, kailangan nating tanungin ang ating sarili kung kaya natin o hindi? At dito magsisimula ang lahat. Ang pagbibigay ng inpormasyon para sa iba, paglalathala ng mga sariling saloobin tungkol sa sarili o para sa institusyong kinabibilangan, mga bagay-bagay na gusting bigyang kasagutan.

Ako bilang library assistant ay napakapalad ko para mabigyan ng pagkakataon para makadalo sa seminar na ito. At kung matutunan ko ang pagboblog, maging responsible ako sa paggamit at paggawa nito. Maraming salamat po, Ms. Zarah Gagatiga.


From Paula Crescini --


As I browse one of the blogs about the Coffee Goddess, I feel so great that there was a prayer for our Maguindanao people who were victims of massacre last year. For me it is of great help, since it is a prayer intended for them, if a million browse and read that blog, then there are millions who prayed for them. Hope their souls are all in peace.


With regards to Philippine news and history, I browsed the Visconde Massacre where I was not able to get through it by the time it was happened before. I don’t have resources to follow the story and how it happened, but through the inquirer.net blog, I was then able to read the past and up-to-date story about that.


About Feathers in the Wind blogs, it gave me an idea to share how am I became a Librarian and also to give back the gratitude to my benefactor, the Peace Corps Alumni Foundation for Philippine Development. The foundation gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dream.


Blogging really involves communication. It is also one way of sharing your ideas and thoughts and especially the gratitude if you don’t have time to talk with those who you wanted to thank for.
Sharing small ideas with will really help some people to lighten their burden, if you share the word of God that give you strength and proven and seen to you. As a blogger you really is of great help to other.

Interview by Rocket Kapre

Paolo Chikiamco, writer and blogger, is posting a series of my interview via his blog, Rocket Kapre. It's a three-part feature that chronicles my life, so far. I feel so old and institutionalized. Haha! Then again, it's just me.

The first part appears today. Click the links!

The 2010 NCBD Fever

Invites have been sent to friends and affiliates of PBBY for this year's NCBD celebration. PaperTigers has run a blog post on this year's NCBD. Many thanks to Corrine Robson and the many dedicated individuals who make the core of Pacific Rim Voices. They continue to lend support in spreading the news, and the love, on Philippine Children's Literature.



At the home front, Tarie Sabido will be covering this year's NCBD and a host of blogger-writers too!

Impressive

The news is so flattering!

This blog is included in Walt Crawford's book, But Still They Blog,, that presents how liblogs has changed and evolved since 2007. Crawford has posted a sample data of what to find and expect in his book via his blog, Walt at Random. Clicking this link, you'd see this blog's profile based on Crawford's survey/study. What's more, he described this blog as "impressive". Probably due to its "reaction" lines? I hope it's for the over all impact.

If anything, this bit of good news will encourage me to keep on blogging!

Hi-FIVE!

It's my blog's birthday!

And it's five years old, not six as posted last week. Thanks to Von Totanes who has a better sense of time.

On it's fifth year, SLIA will feature and re-feature more interesting articles and blog posts in this side of the blogosphere. There's even a contest for avid readers and the curious first timer. So drop me a comment or an email for your questions.

Do you blog? iBlog!

It's the 6th iBlog Summit on April 16 and 17, 2010 at Malcolm Theater, UP College of Law, UP Diliman. It will run from 8AM to 5PM.



Memories of my attendance to the 1st and 2nd iBlog Summits come rushing back. Enter sentimental music.

The Library Blog Awards

I got this wonderful email from Peter Tobey of Salem Press --

Congratulations. Your blog has been nominated for a Library Blog Award by readers of it. You should be thrilled so many think so much of what you have to say. You are among a number of nominees that our judges will consider. Best of luck to you. We hope that our awards will publicize the most interesting, entertaining and provocative library blogs out there. For more on these awards, please go to Salem Press".

Easter brings good news, indeed! Thank you for the readers who nominated my blog. It is enough to keep me writing, posting, ruminating and sharing information relevant to librarians in the Philippines and the world!

Blog With Integrity

By displaying the Blog with Integrity badge or signing the pledge, I assert that the trust of my readers and the blogging community is important to me.

I treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.

I believe in intellectual property rights, providing links, citing sources, and crediting inspiration where appropriate.

I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.

When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.

I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability.

I own my words. Even if I occasionally have to eat them.

SLIA 2009: In Review

In view of a blogging tradition, I'm posting 2009's monthly first post. This is not the blog's best of 2009 but I hope to do one right after New Year's day. It's more like a mirror or a glimpse to how my blogging life had been in the year that shall come to pass.

December
The Philippine Board On Books For Young People (PBBY) had an early Christmas party at Nina Lim-Yuson's lovely home in Makati.

November
The launching of the Crucible-KUTING Art Stories for Children series will be held on November 17, 2009, 3-5pm at the Filipinas Heritage Library, Makati Avenue, Makati City.

October
I would like to thank the following people for extending an arm and a leg on my call for help –

September
I've heard a lot of things about the Lopez Museum, its famed library and its collection cum vault of rare books and documents.

August
Corazon Aquino, the heart and soul of the original People Power died today at 3AM after more than a year's battle with colon cancer.

July
I have been terribly busy the past two weeks and to break this bit of news after a blogging hiatus in this blog is not very good at all. But news, good or bad, must be known to all. We are, still, in a democracy.

June
Sometime in 2006, I had a telephone conversation with Lizanne Alcazaren who runs Aklatan ni Mika, a children's library in a halfway house for children with cancer.

May
I've been running a series of teacher training seminars for the past weeks and I will fly to Donsol, Sorsogon for yet another teacher training seminar sponsored by CEMEX and Sa Aklat Sisikat this week.

April
During the celebration of National Children’s Book Day (NCBD) on July 21, 2008 in the
Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY), after surveying hundreds of public school children all over the country (with the significant help of Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation), unveiled the 25 Best-Loved Children’s Book Characters Exhibit by Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang InK).

March
This collection of posts in this blog from 2006 is long overdue.

February
This is juicy.

Januray
For the past two years, I have been posting the monthly first posts of the past year at the beginning of the new year.

Happy New Year! Thank you so much for the love and support for this blog!

Enverga Library Blog

In my talk cum workshop on blogging at the PLAI STRLC conference last October 8, 2009, Madame Rose Villamater of the Manuel Enverga University Foundation proudly informed me of their library blog which was created using Wordpress.

I visited their new and spankingly clean blog a few weeks after. I could not help but admire the professional look of Wordpress templates. The Enverga Library Blog has all the basic information about their library. It is only a matter of time for the staff to beef up the content of the blog and offer something unique for readers of the blogosphere.

What I like most about the blog is its link to the Library Staff. Notice the big smile on everyone's face? Seems that they're a happy lot! One is never fully dressed without a smile, so they say. Now that's painting a positive image of librarians. To the staff of the Enverga Library of Lucena Quezon, I wish you success in your blogging endeavors! More happy blogging days to come your way!

Many Thanks!

I would like to thank the following people for extending an arm and a leg on my call for help --

Igor Cabbab, Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz, Luis Gatmaitan, Maricel Montero, Noreen Parafina, Chris Pangilinan, BCGG Mt. Olivet, Eli Prieto, Sally and Anchit Chuachiaco, Liwa Malabed, Kate Osias, Carlo Go, Carlo Chong, Mona Dy, Elyss Punsalan, Gwen Galvez, Dianne De Las Casas, Augie and Mike Rivera, Vanessa De Guzman-Natividad, Von Totanes, Louren Dacanay, Evelyn Nabus, Sally Labanda, Enoy Feriol, Vhina Dimanalata, Faye dela Cruz, Kenneth Yu and the many FB friends who made a repost of my profile for donations.

The help and concern that you have given me and my family came in various forms and in different kinds. Your sincerity is greatly appreciated. It definitely lifted my spirits and my family's too especially in this time of loss.

As of writing, I am busy planning and organizing a series of storytelling workshops to raise funds for our house repair project. My hands are full and I'm still confused and bit disorganized. There is a need to move on and continue with life. But greater is the pressure on our shoulders to rebuild and recover. Just thinking of the overwhelming response of people to reach out and help sees me through.

I know thank you is not enough. In the near future, my family and I will be able to pass this act of kindness and generosity. May God bless you and all of us who are going through this trying moment in our lives!

Blogs & Book Reviews

I found this blog on book reviews of children's literature and young adult fiction.

Tarie, is Filipina and she blogs and writes about children's and young adult literature. Mostly western. It's a good source for titles to buy and order for the school library collection. Her reviews are worth reading. It's the author and illustrator interviews that floored me though.

Click the link and peruse her blog. It's a very interesting read!

And speaking of reviews, Chasing Ray has an event coming up on August 12. One Shot, a day featuring authors, illustrators, reviews and related news in children's literature in Southeast Asia will be up on her website. I'm going to turn in some worthy news on the industry from our part of the world so if you have something to share, keep clicking the links and spread some Pinoy Pride in the blogosphere!

Lifting Book Duties

In a previous post about the The Great Book Blockade of 2009, I mentioned the silence that pervaded Filipino librarians on this side of the issue. While it is good to note that Filipino blograrians were up in arms to blog about TGBB 2009 in their individual capacity, there was no collective voice from professional associations or teachers of LIS to rally or petition the lifting of book duties. Unless, of course, I have not been looking at the right places. I can be wrong.

iRead2 put a fullstop on my musings through this post --

Now even if the duties were scrapped the common man would not be able still to get or even buy a book. There is still a need to develop other avenues by which everyone can avail of the book and one of this is develop our public library system. Promote and develop them.

Not everyone can afford to buy a book. Not everyone has a credit line to buy a book. This is where or this where a library, public or otherwise can fill the gap.

I'd like to think that most Filipino librarians are battling their own professional issues and problems that to make a noise on the TGBB is just too much to do for now. I would like to think that somewhere out there, Filipino Librarians are quietly transforming their libraries into places where the public can freely access information from printed and online media.

The Impact of Blogs In The LIS Profession : An Essay Writing Contest

This is a reminder for all readers of this blog that the deadline for the essay writinng contest  on the impact of blogs in the LIS profession is on April 25, 2009.

Click the links for details and guidelines of the contest.

Whew! Patience Please.

This blog is four years old this month.

If you're reading this entry via Multiply, I suggest you click the link above and see for yourself the nifty layout I got from Blogger Styles courtesy of Falconhive. It is so me - coffee, pen and open diary/journal. Take note of the paper clip on the right frame. My journals have them too. I think I'm going to stick with this layout for a while. And yes, it's a three-columned layout! Ah, the fulfillment of my blogging dreams!

But, I'm still working my way through the new features of Blogger and Feedburner. So many things have happened in a year's time that I'm catching up with the wave of Web 2.0. I still have so many links to put back, though I know for one, I have the essentials. The whole process demands so much of my time and patience. I'm reading through a lot of instructions online too. So, really, blogging is a highly cognitive and metacognitive activity.

Now, if you're a tech savvy person and a frequent reader of this blog, kindly help me out because I could not get rid of the word "undefined" under the title of my posts. It's in red colors and bold font. Geeesh. I'm trying to figure it out in the html code, but I can't seem to find it. I'm putting it in the parking lot for the meantime. There is still tomorrow to go back at the clutter.

As for now, I'm loving the changes in the blog. I hope you do too. Leave a comment and tell me what you think.