This blog will not be updated until 24 April 2008 at the earliest. Its owner is too busy to blog. Wish him luck.
Too Busy to Blog
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About Filipino Librarian,
About Vonjobi
Promoting Libraries
Labels:
Libraries
The screenshot above, showing that there was "No event for the [sic] Wednesday, March 5 2008" is from the National Library's Events page. It doesn't seem to be fully functional yet, but it's actually encouraging that the website is even up and that the catalog is working, considering that I've noted in the past that it wasn't always up (see this and this). So why the screenshot? Well, according to "107th Anniversary of the National Library of the Philippines" (Manila Bulletin, 5 March 2008), March 5 was the National Library's anniversary. The editorial's writer could have been mistaken—after all, I did receive an announcement last year that the National Library was celebrating its 120th anniversary on 14 August 2007—but this only goes to show that the National Library needs to do a better job of communicating with the public, not to mention journalists.
Another article, "eLibrary offers 800,000 literary works" by Rizalene Acac (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 March 2008), indicates that the Philippine eLib has "800,000 items on Philippine literature [that] have not been explored fully by students and researchers, according to a top National Library official." Well, I think it's unreasonable to expect that people will go to the eLib so that they can read novels. And then there's the prepaid card factor. As another blogger wrote last year,One would have to buy a prepaid card in the National Library and then use it to download one’s selected content. Which sort of defeats the purpose of an e-text website, since the reason why I visited it was precisely because I did not have the time to drop by the actual library.
In contrast, there's the FEATI University Library. It doesn't have a separate website with a searchable catalog (maybe because it's not necessary?), but it just finished its "FEATI U Library Week 2008," which featured movies, music and poetry at a "Riverview Cafe." It seems to have been well-received by the community and encouraged participation not only during, but even before the event. Pictures of the different events, available on the FEATI website, accompany the post-event article, which reports that suggestions have been made to turn the cafe into a permanent feature.
Different libraries have different problems, of course, but what I wrote in the misleadingly-titled "Sex in the Library" is applicable for most libraries, especially "Promotions" and "Positioning." You may also want to check out "Proactive Librarians," which has suggestions that can be used to promote libraries.
Manny "Pac Man" Pacquiao vs
Juan Manuel "Dinamita" Marquez
Labels:
Pacquiao
"Many people think Manny Pacquiao is a Mexican killer, I don't think so. And on March 15 I will demonstrate who's better."
That's what Juan Manuel Marquez says in the video above. In English. (Even though someone translates the questions for him into Spanish.) In contrast, Manny Pacquiao goes beyond talking or singing (!)—in Tagalog and English—and is now writing for a tabloid. The name of his twice-a-week column is Kumbinasyon, which actually reads more like it was dictated to someone =)
Marquez was, of course, referring to his fight with Pacquiao on Sunday, 16 March 2008, which will be shown in Manila starting at 9 am on GMA. (Note: Due to time zone differences, the fight actually takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, 15 March 2008, 6 pm.)
Anyway, the usual go-to sites are HBO, if you're in North America; and GMA's Unfinished Business, if you're in the Philippines. But you should check out Pacquiao Video, where you can view the full 30-minute video of HBO's "Countdown to Marquez Pacquiao II," see the list of venues where the fight will be shown on a big screen for a fee or free (all over the Philippines!), and read tips on how you can watch the fight online for free!
If none of these work for you, you'll just have to wait for Pinoy Rickey to upload clips in his usual uploaded-within-minutes style. And if you really can't watch the fight on TV or online, news updates will be available on Inquirer.net's "The Pacquiao Files," Google News, Yahoo! News, and Topix.net. Or you can check out what bloggers are saying on Technorati and Google Blog Search.
Finally, Pacland has the latest news about Pacquiao from different sources, plus information about all previous fights and a forum for his fans.
By the way, for the benefit of those with editor-itis—and search engines LOL!—PacqUIAO is not spelled PacqUAIO or PacqUIO.
Of Budgets, Leadership and the National Library
Labels:
Clippings,
Leadership,
Libraries
Below are links to a few articles you may have missed, plus my comments.
Public libraries don't get enough funding. From "Public library gets budget for repair, new books" (Cebu Daily News, 20 February 2008)
For the first time, the Mandaue City Public Library is getting a budget to buy new reading materials and repair the building.It's good news of course, but it's really sad that the fact that the library was allotted a budget, which is taken for granted elsewhere, is considered newsworthy. If Orque, as the article reports, has been with the library for 20 years, does this mean that the library has been operating without a budget all that time? Probably not... but I wouldn't be surprised, either, if the answer is "yes."
Acting librarian Marrieta Orque expressed relief that the government has allocated a budget for the purchase of new books for the library.
A town in Leyte seems to be in better shape. From "Poor town has modern library" by Joey Gabieta (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 21 January 2008):
This sleepy agricultural town has what other municipalities in the province lack—a modern and fully air-conditioned library.What's the difference? It's obvious that the town has a leader who thinks libraries are important. I don't really like the fact that no mention is made of the librarian (I certainly hope they hired one), but a new library building is certainly much more welcome news.
Credit goes to its young mayor, Bernard Jonathan Remandaban, who said his "bias" for education was the main driver for the construction of a two-story library building on a one-hectare lot that was once a swampy area at the town center.
And then there's the National Library of the Philippines. From a column by Wilson Lee Flores (Philippine Star, 21 January 2008):
I urge the state to build more public libraries and to rebuild our National Library, instead of more waiting sheds, basketball courts or cock-fighting pits. Why is it that a private-sector bookstore like Fully Booked in The Fort is nicer than our republic’s so-called "National Library," which I believe should be renamed "National Disgrace"!There is, of course, a simple answer: the private sector has more money than the state. And the state has never really considered libraries a priority. So I wouldn't really count on the government allotting a budget for libraries. My suggestion? Get the private sector involved (e.g., naming rights), but before that can be done, we need leaders!
The Philippines: Singular and Plural
Labels:
The Philippines
Today is the anniversary of the final day of the 1986 EDSA Revolution.
And since I've been reading too many Philippine history books lately—even though I'm not doing my PhD on Philippine history—I thought I'd share two of the best paragraphs written about the Philippines by non-Filipino historians.
The first, from David Joel Steinberg's The Philippines: A Singular and a Plural Place, reminded me of "The Philippines are or is?" and is probably the best description I have ever read of the Philippines:
The Philippines is a singular and plural noun. The name Philippines refers both to an island archipelago and to a country of over 75 million people. It identifies a unified nation with a single people, the Filipinos, and also a highly fragmented, plural society divided between Muslims and Christians, peasants and city dwellers, uplanders and lowlanders, rich and poor, and between the people of one ethnic, linguistic, or geographic region and those of another. To understand the Philippines, one must understand the conflict between the centripetal force of consensus and national identity and the centrifugal force of division and instability (4th ed., 2000, p. xiii).The second, from Stanley Karnow's In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines, makes a very important point usually forgotten amid all the political and personal "issues" that plague Philippine society:
Filipinos readily accepted American styles and institutions. They learned to behave, dress and eat like Americans, sing American songs and speak Americanized English. Their lawyers familiarized themselves with American jurisprudence, and their politicians absorbed American democratic procedures, displaying unique skills in American parliamentary practices. But they never became the Americans that Americans sought to make them. To this day, they are trying to define their national identity (1989, p. 198).While some will probably argue that the authors are guilty of oversimplifying, it cannot be denied that there is a lot of truth in what they write. Ours is, in fact, a nation divided. We have an official national language that nobody really speaks (see "Buwan ng Wika 2007"), and students are forced to memorize countless "national" odds and ends (e.g., national bird, national tree), but what is it exactly that makes inhabitants of the Philippines truly Filipino? I would say that my identity as a Filipino lies in the numerous political, religious, and cultural influences that have shaped our history. Then again, I'm sure many other Filipinos will disagree.
Filipino Librarian is Three Years Old!
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About Filipino Librarian
Three years ago, I wrote that, "I am not really a blogger but I thought of setting up this blog as a way of establishing a presence for Filipino librarians on the Internet." Well, I've since become a real blogger (one symptom: feeling guilty if I don't blog) that now I always identify myself as the owner of the blog Filipino Librarian whenever I am asked for a short bio—in addition to saying that I am a Filipino librarian.
During past anniversaries, I have reviewed the "accomplishments" of this blog, but this time I will just take comfort in the fact that many more librarians and libraries are blogging than when I first started, and invite you to comment on the changes I finally got around to making. Perhaps the most noticeable will be the fact that I've decided to stop hiding behind the Philippine flag, and use my photo as a way to let people know that not all librarians are female, wear glasses and... have hair =)
By the way, this blog's design is still a work in progress. In the next few days, I hope to return all the bells and whistles that this blog used to have—especially the ones that I think are worth keeping.
For an overview of this blog's "journey" to its third anniversary, check out the following posts:
Mabuhay! (first post in 2005)
Six Months!
Filipino Librarian is One Year Old!
Filipino Librarian is Two Years Old!
Singles' Awareness Day
The poster above by Alan V may be dated, but I say it's timeless. It used to be that I was just a member of Samahan ng Atenistang Walang Iniibig (SAWI), but now I think it's so much more comforting that there's actually an official Singles' Awareness Day (SAD).
For more information, see the "official" Singles' Awareness website and the Singles Awareness Day entry on Wikipedia. If you would like to celebrate it yourself, you may wish to attend some of the seminars listed below (based on another blogger's list):
1. The Basics of Cross-StitchingI don't really know where I'll be on February 14, but I don't think I'll be blogging. So advanced Happy SAD! =)
2. Advanced Cross-Stitching (Single Since Birth Only)
3. Speed-Dating for Dummies
4. Surviving Weddings and Other Family Gatherings
FO: Plays
Labels:
Filipiniana Online
Thanks to a comment left by Aurelio, I thought of looking for plays that are available online. The works listed below are available in their entirety on The United States and its Territories (USIT), Literatura and Pantas.
The following are some of the plays found on USIT (click on the link to see the rest). These were published between 1904 and 1938 in Tagalog, Cebuano and Hiligaynon. I don't know how good these plays are or how many people watched them, but I think that the fact that a publisher actually thought they were worth printing says something about their quality and/or popularity. I don't think many plays in Philippine languages ever make it into print nowadays, but I'd be very happy if someone can prove me wrong. Leave a comment =)
FLORENTINO BORROMEO
Ang kagawasan
FRUTO CRUZ
Pagcabunyi nang mahal na Sta. Cruz
E. DE LA RAMA
Ang basa-basa
GABRIEL BEATO FRANCISCO
Ang Katipunan
EMILIANO GABUYA
Tirana
ANGEL MAGAHUM
Ang gugma sang maluib
JOSE J. SANCHEZ
Kasingkasing sa babaye
PIO B. SEAN
Talikala
JOSE MARIA RIVERA
Cinematografo
VICENTE SOTTO
Ang dila sa babaye
The Palanca Award-winning one-act plays listed below, in contrast to the USIT plays, are the only ones on Literatura with their full text available online. Excerpts of other plays—including the authors' email addresses—may also be found in Literatura 8, 10, 12 and 13. Please note that permission from the authors must be obtained before any of the plays listed below are performed.
DEAN FRANCIS ALFAR
The Kite of Stars
ALFONSO DACANAY
First Snow of November
GLENN SEVILLA MAS
Her Father’s House
Two more plays are available as PDF fles on Pantas:
WILFRIDO MA. GUERRERO
The Condemned
JOSE RIZAL
Sanggunian ng mga Dios-Diosan
The Mario Feir Collection
Labels:
Libraries
The photo above was taken at Mario Feir's residence in Makati City last September 2007. Mario had left a comment on my blog during the previous year, saying that he was retiring, going back to the Philippines with his books, and willing to open his library to researchers and bibliophiles by appointment.
I had, of course, heard of book collectors, but one who actually went out of his way to invite people to use his collection was quite unusual. And so, of course, I made an appointment to visit when I returned to Manila last year, and found a Filipiniana collection that is more complete and better preserved than those in many public or academic libraries in the Philippines. The environment is much more comfortable, too.
True, the books are neither cataloged nor arranged in a manner library users are accustomed to, but since the collection is relatively small and there is a certain order to the arrangement of the books, it is in fact possible to find specific titles. You can also just turn to Mario and he'll point you in the right direction.
But what I liked most was the fact that I did not have to make any requests for books to be brought to me—which is what usually happens at most closed-stacks Filipiniana sections. Instead, I was free to examine and handle the books. Very few were the rare kind that crumble when you hold them; many were reprints because, as I understood it, the "collection policy" (though the term was not used) was to have a complete collection, and not necessarily to acquire first editions.
Anyway, if you or anyone you know is doing research in the Makati area, keep the Mario Feir collection in mind. Contact information is as follows:Unit 11-A One McKinley Place
Visit the website of Asian Rare Books for more information. And remember that you need to make an appointment ahead of time.
26th Street Crescent Park West
Fort Bonifacio Global City
Phone: (02)856-0957
[Please call during office hours, Monday-Friday.]
And if you're into stamps, ask to see Mario's stamp collection. I found the stamps in the photo below interesting because I did not realize that stamps had been issued in 1949 to raise funds to rebuild the National Library. If you look carefully, you'll see that the stamp in the middle actually features Filipino librarians. Guess who? =)
Filipino Librarian: WikiPinoy of the Year?
Labels:
About Filipino Librarian
Thanks to Noemi, I learned almost two weeks ago that this blogger was cited in a list that accompanied an announcement regarding the WikiPinoy of the Year. Recognition is always good, but the reason it has taken me this long to write about it, aside from the fact that I've had a lot to do, is that I have mixed feelings about the "award."
First of all, the announcement was made through a newspaper print ad (see Manila Bulletin, 6 January 2008), with no corresponding page online until much later. I find it strange that an online entity like WikiPilipinas would choose to honor Filipino bloggers, who are known for writing online, through an offline ad. It doesn't compute.
Second, the citation begins with the following: "WikiPilipinas honors the Filipino Blogger in 2007," and ends with a list with the names of 3 bloggers and 7 blogs whose owners went unnamed. It's possible that those on the list were intended to represent "the Filipino Blogger," who must number in the tens of thousands by now, but no such explanation is made, and neither is the selection process spelled out. Who was eligible? Who made the decisions?
Third, this blog has always been known as "Filipino Librarian," and so I wonder why it is listed as "The" Filipino Librarian. It's flattering, of course, to be thought of as "the" whatever, but I'm the kind of person who is wary of people who make mistakes about simple but very fundamental things. It makes me wonder, "What else did they get wrong?" But more important than this is the fact that the category I'm in is "Communities." What does that mean? As I commented on Noemi's blog: "what did i do to be classified under 'communities'?"
I suppose this is just an elaborate form of linkbait, and that's why other bloggers haven't commented on the issues I've raised above, but I just had to get this off my chest =)
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