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During my first week in the United States last June 2006, I got an email from Stephen Francoeur, another blogger, that demonstrated just how blogging can be useful as a networking tool. Apparently, he'd noticed that I had just arrived in his country, and offered to take me around his library in case I passed by New York. He added, "Having been to the Philippines once and having received a very gracious welcome from everyone I met, I'd like to return that favor." And that's how I came to visit the Newman Library on 28 July 2006.
I had not heard of Baruch College before, and did not know that it had been at the top of the list of "the most ethnically diverse institutions of higher education in the United States" (US News & World Report) for the past eight years, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a Philippine flag on the library's premises. And then there was the counter where students borrowed laptops (!), which just blew my mind. Computers may be used on the premises in libraries in the Philippines, but I don't know of any that actually lend more than a hundred of them to students. For free!
It was a very short visit, so I did not get to meet Stephen's Filipino-American wife, but since I hope to go back to New York City in the next few years, maybe our paths will eventually cross. Incidentally, Stephen has been a victim of plagiarism. See his post entitled, "My bit role in a Wikipedia soap opera."
Category: Libraries
Baruch College's Newman Library
