2019 Monthly First Post

As I keep up with this blog tradition, I am also reminded of how fortunate I have been this 2019. The year is awfully hard and I could not have made it this far if not for the support of friends at work, in the book industry and in Philippine School Librarianship. As the year ends, I can only say thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

January - Prayer for the New Year - I should have gone back to this every time I needed to. Reminder to self for 2020, pray more. Pray harder!

New Year’s Prayer for the Family

God, thank you for a new year. May everyone in our family be willing to begin anew with a clean slate. We know that you are always ready to forgive us. Help us to be willing to forgive ourselves and to forgive one another.

As we begin a new year, remind us of our truest values and our deepest desires. Help us to live in the goodness that comes from doing what you want us to do. Help us to put aside anxiety about the future and the past, so that we might live in peace with you now, one day at a time.

Amen.

February - Teacher and Librarian Collaboration - My work always involves collaborating with faculty and academic coordinators.

I had a productive meeting with our Dean of Faculty last week. 

March - A Hymn to Time - I can no longer remember the context of the post, but I should post more poetry, di ba?!

Time says “Let there be”
every moment and instantly
there is space and the radiance
of each bright galaxy.

April - Pilgrim's Pit Stop - Because I also write for the Magis Deo Newsletter.

Sometime in early February, I felt weighed down, irrelevant and vulnerable. Work made me listless and dissatisfied. Changes in family life left me confused, even lost. Under the circumstances, I would rather protect myself by staying in my comfort zone. I did recognize the invitation to be brave. Being brave, however, would mean taking risks, going the extra mile and stretching an arm and a leg. I found myself asking, “what for?” and at “what cost?” I was tired.

May - School Librarian in the 21st Century - This is part 1 of a three part post about my participation in the 2019 PASLI Conference in Manila. When you visit the post, do read the entire series as I have shared some insights and reflections too.

The last week of April is when most library organizations in the Philippines have their national conferences. The Philippine Association of School Librarians, Inc (PASLI) is one of them. Many school librarians are on summer break in April and PASLI sure knows where to go to offer its members a conference where learning and fun both happen. I have had participated in many summer conferences of PASLI in the past and I always felt welcomed.

June - Summer Writing Workshop - Something I do every summer. And yes, I will be doing this again in June and July 2020.

Points for discussion:

 ⁃ Story Grammar: formats and elements

 ⁃ Children’s Literature Today

 ⁃ The stories that shape our childhood

 ⁃ Why write for kids

 ⁃ Writing workshop: writing, critiquing and revising

 ⁃ Note: if you have stories for workshop and critiquing bring 4-5 copies

July - Books. Tech and Design Thinking - Some random thoughts on the topics of tech, books and design thinking.

Since my summer began in early June, I have been to several round table discussions and meet-ups with friends in the education sector and in the book industry. Our topics of conversation range from reading, to books, the creation of information and knowledge, ways to communicate these resources to them and the behavior we apply as we consume them. I discovered and validated three things.

August - Library Skills Sessions at the Beginning of the Academic Year - What I do in the Academy

I am preparing for next week's library orientation and research session with our Griffins. The teacher in me is excited to go back to school, officially, and meet new and returning students. Another part of me is missing vacation already. Such is life.

September - Bookish Convo and Self Publishing - Meet up with Techie Lopez who was, at the time, starting out a book project.

Von Totanes, Director of the Rizal Library, introduced me to Techie Lopez via Messenger. Techie is an aspiring author who is at a crossroads. She has written a story but could not decide where to bring her manuscript. Finally, after chatting online, she decided to self publish. 

October - Filipino Illustrations in Picture Books - A Q and A over SMS led to a post in the blog and lead to a talk on illustrations and picture books.

I am sharing this exchange I had with a dear fiend in the book industry on identity and book illustrations. 

November - Game Changers in Philippine Librarianship - Thanks to John Hickock for this feature and study of librarians in the SEA region making a difference.

It is in October when the Rizal Library conducts its international conference. I have participated in this academic and scholarly endeavor countless times and I have always felt welcomed by the library community there. Each visit, be it for work, professional or personal matter, feels like a day of hanging out with my favorite cousin. On its 8th International Conference, I was there once again as a social guest by John Hickok of the American Library Association. He attended the conference as a paper presenter.

December - Room To Read Book Project - Yes. 2019 has been a good year. Everything is grace.

The news that our book, Masaya Maging Ako (Gagatiga and Bauza, Lampara Books) is included in this brochure and will soon be out for publication surprised me like a thunderstorm. On this day when typhoon Kammuri passed through CALABARZON, the Philippine Children’s Book Industry has something to smile about. And that is on top of all the gold medals that the FIlipino athletes are raking in the 2019 SEA Games. 

The Blog's Monthly First Post of 2018

Keeping up with a blogging tradition, here are the blog's first post of every month in 2018.

January: Prayer for the New Year I began 2018 with a photo of the moon and fire works.

February: The NonLibrarians in Our Midst Musings on licensed librarians and the controversial assignment of Dir. Gilbert Adriano as National Library of the Philippines administrative director.

March: Priming Session for Digital Learning Talk at Southville International School A pre-activity for participants of the Reading Congress in Southville International School. I have been using the blog as an online teaching tool to extend learning experiences for my workshops.

April: Art, Music and Storytelling Stuff I do that truly matters to me because it keep me sane. Art! Music! Storytelling!

May: Consortium of the South  Here is where you can read the interview I had with officers of the CoTS or Consortium of the South, a library organization of colleges and schools in the southern district of Metro Manila.

June: Teacher at Center Stage: Ana Bacudio I continue the blog's series on Filipino teachers making a difference and being an inspiration to many. For this post, I interviewed Ana Bacudio who is organizing reading centers in Mindoro.

July: Keynote of Pepper Roxas During the 2017 National Children's Book Day (NCBD) at the CCP is a throwback post and a preparation or PR to the 2018 NCBD.

August: Nostalgia and Hero Worship Every summer, we visit museums. The ones Zoe and I visited were the Vargas Museum and the Bulwagan ng Dangal that are both found in the UP Diliman Campus. We saw Toym Imao's installations and sculptures and viewed the art exhibit by CANVAS.

September: Ino at the MIBF 2018 Of course, I blogged about Ino the Invincible and its availability in the Manila International Book Fair. I heard it had good sales!

October: Pilgrim's Pit Stop: On Midlife Because the blog is also my personal space.

November: Picture Book Month In Retrospect I tried keeping the Picture Book Month alive, but failed. Epic.

December: Mini-Books by Teachers It is always a joy to teach and share with teachers the delights of book making. I always begin in small and simple steps. Hoping that it will grow and develop into a big project in their learning community.

And so, this is the blog's 2018. Let's see what 2019 will give us.

Monthly 1st Post of 2016

Here's keeping up with a blog tradition of posting first posts of each month of 2016.

January: Movie Review of #WalangForever 
We watch a movie every Metro Manila Film Festival. Last year, our movie of choice is #WalangForever. 

February: UP FLIPP's Seminar and Unconference
The format of the seminar lent engagement and more discussion among peers and colleagues. More of this because the method is proactive, collaborative and collegial.

March: Book Trailer for Big Sister
Lampara Books, my publisher, made a neat book trailer for Big Sister, my fourth stand alone picture book.

April: The Hourglass Model of Research
The month of April was research month at the Academy. I blogged about the processes we went through to standardize and formalize research instruction. 

May: The Challenges of School Librarians in the Senior High School Program
This is a post I need to go back to and further explore. Young Adult Library Services in the Philippines is an area of growth and more discussion.

June: A Thesaurus of Philippine Children's Literature
An interview I had for Tericel Tamayao, librarian at Bent International School Manila.

July: Of Dreams, Innovations and Memories
One of the best workshops I attended in recent memory! The insights I gained from attending the NBDB series of workshops last July were important ground work for my practice of the profession.

August: #griffinsread: The Reading Journey
An infographic I made for our reading guidance program in school.

September: Illustrator of the Month: Ruben de Jesus
A feature on Mr. Ruben de Jesus, illustrator of Big Sister

October: Be Heard! Be a Blogger
A short video clip I used for my lecture in the University of Perpetual Help, Binan Campus

November: The 2016 Picture Book Month
I am a Picture Book Month Ambassador  and this year, I was website administrator too. It was a lot of fun reading and interacting with the 2016 Picture Book Month Champions!

December: Hosting an Author Visit Program
My tips for librarians who are planning for a successful Author Visit Program in their schools and learning communities.

My top three favorite among the twelve posts are:
1. The Challenges of School Librarians in the SHS Program
2. Of Dreams, Innovations and Memories
3. The 2016 Picture Book Month

I invite you to read on the 12 posts. If you are feeling generous, let me know what you liked best by posting a comment or sending me an email/message.

PPT: Be Heard! Be a Blogger!

Be Heard! Be a Blogger! v.2 from Zarah Gagatiga

Be Heard! Be a Blogger!

I will be giving a talk on blogs and blogging tomorrow at the University of Perpetual Help, Binan. I will use this video as one of my resources.

Monthly First Post of 2015

In retrospect and in keeping up with a blogging tradition, here are the monthly first posts in the blog for the year 2015. The first sentence of the blog post for each month is a link to the complete article.

December - First of all, I wish to thank everyone who prayed for me and my family during our medical crises.

November - Rainbow Rowell is back with Carry On, a fascinating but sad depiction of magic and man's obsession with power.

October - It is the eve of World Teacher’s Day and I write this — a short piece on the teaching role of a school librarian.

September - This is one of my favorite illustrations in our new book, Big Sister (Lampara House, 2015).

August -  Museo Pambata has chosen me as one of the six storytellers to be included in the roster of artists and creatives who push for the development of literacy and children's rights.

July - Dare Me Again is a novella set in the Dare to Love series by Carly Phillips.

June - I will be taking on Concurrent Session 1: Children's Literature 101 for Librarians. I hope to see you there!

May - It's Mother's Day on May 10!

April - This is the new school library of the Laguna Sino-Filipino Educational Foundation.

March - Early in February, I joined the peer mentoring program of International Librarians Network's.

February - This is the Valentine's Day post I promised to do a few weeks back.

January - Yes.

SLIA: A Decade of Blogging

The blog turned ten years old yesterday! There is reason to celebrate! So, from here on, I'll be posting throwback posts that consists of Top Ten lists about the blog and topics I have written about the past decade.

For the meantime, here is a screen shot of my first post in 2005.

Von Totanes greatly figured in my blogging life. He remains an inspiration.

At the time I started out, my agenda  was to promote school librarianship; the work I do as a school librarian; advocate reading and literacy; and use the online space as a way to address topics and issues relevant to the profession. Along the way, I realized that blogging helps me learn new things. I am still learning new things. SLIA opened opportunities for me to grow professionally by being a main platform for my own personal and professional learning network. Blogging gave me avenues to be creative.

It has been an exciting ride. It is one where I had encountered bumps along the way and where I was able to pause, to reflect and pick myself up to move on. I've reached a decade of blogging and, perhaps, a "dot com" website is inevitable.

On Blogging and Getting Income From It

I am sharing another email convo between myself, Tarie Sabido and Neni Sta. Romana Cruz on blogging. The context of the conversation came from Ms. Neni's Author Visit in a school where a middle grades student asked her these questions: How does one start blogging? How does one get income from blogging?

My replies:

How does one start from blogging?

There are easy to learn blogging web apps, no fees to pay, like Blogger and Wordpress. I learned by doing :). With new stuff cropping up online every now and then, I am still learning. Along the way, I met a group of Pinoy bloggers: Dean and Nikki Alfar; Von Totanes; Connie Veneracion who became my "role models". But what makes blogging fulfilling for me is the articulation of my purpose and goal. It gives me direction as well, on thinking, of themes and concepts to blog about. From there, I can organize and set my content for writing blog entries for a week or a month.

How does one earn from blogging?

Yes. There is such a thing as problogging, professional+blogging. I know some bloggers who attended workshops before they plunged into the money/entrepreneurial aspect of blogging. I also know many writers, PR officers, communication arts people, academicians, even librarians  who sideline as probloggers. But they know better to understand the rules of the game before going professional. Probloggers need to monitor their blog traffic regularly.

When I did freelance work for two years, I earn through blogging via adds and link exchanges. Nothing big. Just enough to pay my internet subscription at the time. I stopped when I was offered full time work. I think I earn from blogging but not through monetary gain. I get invited to library workshops and literacy talks by different organizations and they say they "discovered" me online.

I think blogging credibility and integrity is built over time. Maybe that student can be successful in her age group or demographic. My kids subscribe to blogs of online celebrities and you tube sensations. I do not know who these people are but my horizon expands when my kids tell me about them: a young Swedish you tube comedian specializing in black comedy and satire; Mikey Bustos' Pinoy tutorials; musicians from Korea... Ang dami!

I suppose blogs, and other online media are things we need to take a closer look at since our kids are engaged in them. Their thinking are also shaped in this environment. It is a good thing that, that student asked a question from a responsible adult. I respect my kids' and students' online experiences but I also want to be part of that world.

SLIA's First Monthly Post of 2014

In keeping up with a blogging tradition, here are the posts made at the start of every month and the first sentence for each.

January: Family Selfie 2014

February: Dear Nanay

March: Blog Tour: Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin

April: I have claimed my gift card and bought myself a collection of stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

May: If Day 1 was pretty exciting, Day 2 was even more because of two things: Jaime Bautista and Bomodok Falls

.

June:I am looking forward to this round table discussion with stakeholders of the book industry.

July: In the FB page of the PBBY, I started an interactive post on Philippine Children's Book Publishers.

August: Read in order to live

September: EE Infographic: Tension of the Opposites

October: It is a very busy month for me this October

November:  Catching up on some blog posts. I'm beginning with Filipino Friday #2 that was scheduled last October 24, 2014

December: Book Selfie: A Grade 10 student sent this entry for the BA Lib's #griffinsread photo contest.

Social Media Perks: Followers & Gift Cards

One way to know that blogging works for you and that your blog has a good following is when you get blog exchange promos.

Grammarly did just that with this blog. I wrote a review of Fangirl and got an Amazon Gift Card. I spent it for a copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Collected Stories. I ordered the book last March 31st and received it last Monday, May 5.

Collected Stories came right in time for an in Memoriam reading from one of the great magic realists of this day and age.

Moving to another social media-file sharing platform, Slide Share, I had a pleasant surprise when I learned that Joyce Valenza started following my slides.

JOYCE VALENZA.

Joyce. Valenza. is. following. me.

I am still freaking out!!!

Blogging Benefit: Amazon Gift Card

I have claimed my gift card and bought myself a collection of stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. YAY!

SLIA Hits Top 35 Yesterday!

SLIA's First Post for Each Month of 2013

Keeping up with a blogging tradition, here are my first post for each month of 2013 with the first sentence of every post.

January: Happy New Year

February: I am starting February with a featured author, Ms. Becky-Santos Gerodias.

March: My, how time flies.

April: PASLI Summer Conference 2013

May: After wrapping up A Tale of Two Dreams with Bernadette Solina Wolf and sending the revised book dummy back to the press, Jomike Tejido posted a spread of our book project, My Daddy, My One and Only!

June: The 30th National Children's Book Day

July: A CURIOUS BUFFET Ang I.N.K. Group Exhibit

August: I gave a "homework" to participants of the seminar-workshop on Information Literacy (IL) sponsored and hosted by MUNPARLAS last July 19, 2013.

September: Audrey Anday has been a librarian for fourteen years now.

October: In my visit to three public schools in Batangas last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting two teachers who are in charge of the distribution of Library Hub books.

November: November is National Books and Library and Information Services Month.

December: During the NCBD, you both said that your parents allowed you to write (MJ) and draw (Dom) at home.

This was a meme I got tagged when I started this out a few years back. So, I am tagging three bloggers: Xi Zuq, Tarie Sabido and Honey de Peralta

SLIA: First Monthly Post 2012

The blog in review of 2012: first post per month and the first sentence of the post. I posted a video in January, a poster in July and a photo in December so, no first sentences.

January - Libraries and Transliteracy

February - Break the Stereotype

Two posts from librarian friends made it to the blog last month in response to the Challenge of the Year: Break the Stereotype. Peachy Limpin and Ann Rosette Crelencia shared a piece of their mind on the topic.

March - World Read Aloud Day 2012

I read aloud to my kids when they were younger.

April - Libraries and Librarians Making an Impact

This is a carry over from my interview in the Mania Bulletin last 24 March 2012.

May - Tandem Telling: Juan Tamad and the Rice Pot

The Regional Conference on School Librarianship: Directions for the Future of School Libraries in Bacolod was, indeed, a memorable conference. 

June- Bibliotherapy @ the SAS Gurong Kaakbay Conference

It's Day 3 of the SAS Gurong Kaakbay Pilipinas Conference at the Science Education Complex, ADMU.

July - NCBD 2012 Poster

August - Call for Entries: Salanga Prize 2013

The 29th NCBD and the 2md Best Reads NCBA have been recently concluded. 

September - My Life as a Librarian

Finally. I am now able to answer the set of questions sent by Mr. Egipto of St. Louis University.

October - Librarians Role in Children's Library Services

I just came home from the National Library of the Philippines. 

November - Jose Aruego and Albert Gamos Tributes

Last September, the UP College of Education Reading Department, otherwise known as REGALE, conducted the annual MILES, Manhit Institute of Language Education Seminar series, in honor of Jose Aruego and Albert Gamos, two dearly departed Filipino illustrators for children. The tribute is in part of the Weavers of Magic forum of MILES.

December - Christmas Reading Table

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.

Eight Insights on Blogging

So what have I taken from blogging after eight years? What benefits have the blog and blogging given me as a librarian and as a netizen? What learning experiences have I derived from blogging? These are some questions I played around in my mind in the wake of the blog's eighth anniversary. I have identified eight answers --

1. Blogging is a big responsibility

2. A blog is an investment

3. Blog identity and credibility count

4. Content is KING

5. Blogs, when used properly, can be gateways to learning

6. Blogging can increase the blogger's professional network

7. Blogs can be used to raise funds and to pursue an advocacy

8. Blogs are nifty tools to self publishing

Each will be explained and expounded in the coming days!

SLIA: Going Great @ 8!

Today marks the eighth year anniversary of the blog. School Librarian In Action was born in 2005. To this day, I thank Von Totanes, the blog's "ninong" (godfather), for egging me to step out of the dark and explore the blogosphere. It has been a wild and successful ride. For the next few days, until the month ends, I will be posting eight blogging milestones of School Librarian In Action.

And while I go back to memory lane, brushing off online dusts from the blog's archive, I found an article written by Ronald Lim about my blogging exploits way back in 2006. Here is the link of the full article, Meet the Blograrian, which was featured in Manila Bulletin on 1 October 2006.

I remember being interviewed by Ronald Lim after my talk on blogging for librarians at the Manila International Book Fair. I was, at the time, blogging for over a year and the experience was exhilerating, like I was on uppers. Now I can say that, way back in 2006, I was professionally hungry. In the article, I was quoted as saying --

"I wanted a venue for my voice to be heard. I wanted to communicate with other people," she explains. "Librarianship is a very lonely and routinary profession. I’m not satisfied with my interaction with my fellow teachers and students. I wanted to have a wider reach."

Blogging has been, and still is, giving me opportunities to grow professionally and personally. I will expound on this in another post. But, as Mr. Lim wrote in the article --

Gagatiga says that maintaining her blog has empowered her like never before. When before she couldn’t understand how to manipulate HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML) — the codes needed to manipulate and maintain a website and a blog — she has now steadily increased her knowledge, and through her blog, has been able to reach people willing to teach her.

I have reached out to many and developed a professional network and online presence that would have been impossible if I stayed an anonymous blogger.

Lastly, I learned how to manage my time for blogging as well. Indeed, time and technology can be managed. Being constantly online is pretty cool and yes, it connects me to the world but there's also a world I need to connect with first and foremost: my self's own world and my family's. I said in the article --

"When I was just starting out, I almost let my blog run my life," she explains. "If I didn’t have kids, I would have been addicted. Just after I’d post, I’d wait for comments to show up. And if I happen to post at school, by the time I’d arrive at home, I’ll connect to the internet and check the comments I have."

Now, I know better. I still blog and with eight years blogging experience, I can say I am blogger who has grown wiser.

SLIA: First Monthly Posts

In keeping with a blogging tradition, here are monthly first posts from December 2011 to January 2011, along with first lines from each post.

December 2011 - Reading List for Teens: Just today I finished putting together a list of recommended reads for teens.

November 2011 - Picture Book Month: Picture books are for all ages!

October 2011 - 19th Children's Month @ the NLP - Photos from the Opening Ceremonies of the 19th Children's Month at the National Library of the Philippines.

September 2011 KISS Bookreview - I have been reading.

August 2011 Books for My Birtrhday - August is my birthday month.

July 2011 Lolo Jose: Nagbabasa, Binabasa - It is July and the PBBY will spearhead the celebration of National Children's Book Day on 19 July 2011.

June 2011 Filipino Librarian: Jocelyn Ladlad - While in Baguio for a conference last month, I was billeted in a cottage located at Teachers Camp.

May 2011 Repairing and Restoring the Noli and the El Fili - The Germans! They are here!

April 2011 Tales From the 7,000 Isles Book Cover

March 2011 On the Wings of Literacy - Been riding on the wings of literacy the past few weeks and here are some pics to share with you!

February 2011 Loving Books and Libraries in the Time of ICT - January is done.

January 2011 The Games We Play: RPG Metanoia Movie Review - You know you've seen a good movie when you talk about it with great interest hours after having watched it.

Some Blogging Success

Just a note to share with my readers.

This September, the blog has been presented with opportunities for growth and networking. Neal-Schuman sent a press release of a new book on 21st Century Literacy which found its way in the blog. Artspace of New Haven Connecticut has invited me to contribute in an online exhibit on personal libraries and top shelf reads. More on that in the coming months. Yeng Remulla, writer of Productive Pinoy has sent me a copy of his book for review. I am reading it at the moment and, of course, will blog about it before the month ends.

Lastly, the blog got another paid link ad. Check the Network and Connection feature at the left and there you'll find the link!

Some indicators of blogging success. I'm one little happy blograrian these days!