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Deal or No Deal: The Librarian Edition

Deal or No Deal: The Librarian Edition
How do you replace the librarian stereotype? Well, some have tried complaining, but I think the best way to counter the stereotype is to go outside the library, get involved with the community and present the "other side" that very few ever get to see. The students and faculty of the University of the Philippines' School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) did this so well at the recently-concluded annual Lantern Parade that Rina Jimenez-David, a widely-read newspaper columnist, wrote that of all the presentations during the parade,
the most memorable was the dance number from the College of Library Science and Information Services, with the teachers posing as the “briefcase girls” of a popular game show, though they held books in place of briefcases.
She didn't get everything right (e.g., the school name is sooo wrong), but it's a good start. It's a good thing bloggers were there to record the event for those, like me, who were not able to go. Igor took the photo above, and provides more details on the librarian version of "Deal or No Deal":
To further promote the lantern and rather than just walk beside it during the whole parade, the 26K Dancing Librarians was formed. Borrowing from Deal or No deal, they carried books instead of briefcases as they danced to the TV show's theme (nakakapagod daw, pero sulit naman [they said it was tiring, but worth it], I admire their energy). The books, when opened, spelled out "University of the Philippines".
Headmasterjonel put together a video, but the performance isn't as clear on the video as the photo taken by Igor. Noel Feria has videos of the whole parade, but I haven't had time to see which one has the SLIS performance. By the way, one more detail worth noting for those concerned about stereotypes: all these bloggers are male librarians or LIS students =)

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Immobile Libraries

From "Goodbye, book card" by Roy Lu (Cebu Daily News, 13 December 2007):

I do not know whether local school libraries have now adopted Internet technologies for archiving, tracking or accessing books or other materials, or if they have remained as they have ever since the library card, the index card and the identification card were developed as the tripod that supported the entire library’s functioning.

I doubt it. I doubt even more that public libraries – where? – have been brought up to speed. I bet they would still be up on the speed they have always moved at: immobile.

I’m reminded of this quaint little immobile library I stumbled into one afternoon (a Sunday, I guess) in Bantayan town. It must have had some sign announcing itself or I wouldn’t have recognized it because, aside from that, it was just like any ordinary house in the town center. And then, this I’m sure of, it was closed.
I wish I could say that he doesn't know what he's talking about, but he's actually just confirming what I have noted in the past. People don't know where public libraries, if any, are located. And if they do find them, libraries are more likely to be closed.

I wish I had a brilliant suggestion to improve our public library system, but I don't. I'm not even working as a librarian right now and will be leaving the country in two weeks, so all I can do is call attention to Lu's article, and hope that our library leaders read it and are moved to do something about the public's perception of our libraries.

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Legal Issues on R.A. 9246

If any of you are wondering whatever happened to the Crash Program that was supposed to be held earlier this year, you should take a look at "PGLL Round Table Discussion on RA 9246" (pdf; SLIS Newsletter, Jan-Mar 2007, p. 2). The way I read it, the Crash Program was contrary to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9246 (or RA 9246), and that's why the UP SLIS faculty was "bothered with doubts" about conducting the program.

Another matter tackled in the article is the rumor, which has been going around since R.A. 9246 was enacted in 2003, that students with master's degrees will not be allowed to take the licensure exam after five years. Not true. Those with master's degrees in library and information science (or MLIS) are allowed by R.A. 9246 to take the licensure exam after 2010 (see also "Who Can Take the Librarians' Licensure Exam?"). Only those with degrees other than MLIS (e.g., MA Library Science) will be disqualified from taking the exam. A Task Force was formed to look further into the matter, but I haven't heard any news on whether its position paper has been submitted or that the Board for Librarians (BFL) has adopted its recommendations.

Which brings me to the point for this post. I really wish that the BFL had a better way of communicating with the members of the profession. The BFL page on the PRC website is quite useless because PRC hasn't even updated exam results for all professions in more than a year. Occasionally, emails from BFL members will circulate in mailing lists, but not everyone has access to those lists. And in fact, not everyone has email. My suggestion? The BFL should start blogging, and post copies of board resolutions and other official issuances. This way, even those who don't have email will know that they can go online to see official documents for themselves.

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Gilda Cordero Fernando: Filipina

Gilda Cordero Fernando: Filipina
From left: Tara FT Sering, Gilda Cordero Fernando, and Andrea Pasion-Flores

Gilda Cordero Fernando is, so far, the only Filipina who has told me, "Wanna kiss me? You're cute."

This was not, of course, said in private, but in front of those who attended the National Book Development Board's monthly book club meeting at Circle Cafe last December 1, as she was saying her goodbyes after our discussion of her autobiography, The Last Full Moon (Quezon City: UP Press, 2005). So lower your eyebrows and forget your dirty thoughts. She just happened to find me... cute =)

She is described on the back cover of her book as a "writer, editor, publisher, artist, art patron, theater producer and national cultural visionary." But it is interesting to find out that someone who is perceived this way was once not quite sure of her "mission in life." I will not attempt to describe her. Instead, allow me to let her speak to you directly:
For some time now I've been obsessed about finding out my mission in life. Usually, when we're asked what our mission is, we name our talent. We say, "to write" or "to sing" or "to act" or "to paint." Or we name our occupation—"to heal" or "to educate" or "to enforce law and order." And the insight I got was that "mission" and "talent" are two different things, although, of course, with some, mission and talent or occupation may be one and the same. Mission in life, it seems, is something so deep, in fact, that it requires an objective view of all the paths we have taken, how they are connected, and where they led. Is it consistent still with what we are doing now?
We recognize our mission because we never tire doing it, no matter how many obstacles there are and it makes us happy. Mission has something to do with our contribution to the world and its evolution. Quite obviously a God-given task.

Talents are given to us only to help along our mission. So what was mine?
She then relates how she "started out as a fiction writer in the 1950s... turned into a full-blown publisher... became a theater producer," and how she even ended up on "a billboard with two bare-chested hunks." She continues:
Of course I liked that but what did it do to clarify my mission? Was I supposed to be the bridge to the young or something?

Why did I change interests so many times? Was I perchance a dilettante? I looked at the dictionary—"an amateur or trifler at art." I was not an amateur, much less a "trifler" at anything. I was serious about everything I did, completely focused on working hard to produce worthwhile results. Nope, dilettantism wasn't for me.

So what was my mission? What was the common denominator of all the things that I had gotten into? How did they connect? All of them had ventured into untrodden ground, all of them were Pinoy. Just recently, Fr. Miguel Bernad, S.J. reminded me that Ateneo broke tradition when they asked me, in 1974, to be its first female commencement speaker for the high school. Indirectly and unknowingly I had opened something new.

The role of an active door opener is actually not a pleasant one. After many years you may be praised for it but for now you are just "too advanced," "too avant garde," "too weird" or too foolish for words. But you know you are on the right path because ten or twenty years later everybody wants to do what you had such a tough time introducing. Your role is to be a kind of bomb disposal unit. Or a trailblazer. (I like that).

"Looking for my destiny," in The Last Full Moon , pp. 206-207.
I have quoted extensively from her book because there's a part of me that hopes that maybe someday, when I'm 75 years old—her age when she wrote the book—I'll figure out my mission in life, too.

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What Have I Learned as an IFLA/OCLC Fellow?

by Alice Esguerra

Alice Esguerra and other IFLA/OCLC Fellows
The author (left), the first Filipino librarian to become an IFLA/OCLC fellow, shares her reflections on her experience. The deadline for applications for the 2009 IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program is 7 March 2008.

April 27 of this year, I had the opportunity to travel to Dublin, Ohio, for a five-week training as part of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) / Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Early Career Development Fellowship Program. We were five librarians from five developing countries: there is Kodjo Elolo Atiso from Ghana; Pauline Nicholas of Jamaica; Elisangela Alves Silva of Sao Paolo, Brazil; Nevena Tomic from Belgrade, Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia), and me from... the Philippines.

During the first four weeks, we were based in OCLC Headquarters in Dublin, where we sat for lectures and workshops about OCLC, its products and services. There I learned that from the original Ohio College Library Center founded by the Ohio College Association, and headed by Frederick Gridley Kilgour in 1967, OCLC has evolved into a “non-profit membership organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, references, resources sharing, e-content and preservation services to 57,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories” (Lensenmayer, 2007).

The fellowship program has also given us opportunities to visit libraries and cultural heritage institutions in North America. The first that we visited were the offices of the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) and the American Library Association (ALA), both based in Chicago and sponsors of the fellowship program. We also visited the Chicago Public Library's Harold Washington Library Center, a 9-storey edifice, which is just one of 23 branches in the Chicago area alone. Next on our agenda was a visit to the Newberry Library, a special library devoted to the accumulation and preservation of knowledge in the humanities. There I found a copy of the Bible entitled "Ang Matandang Tipan Mula Sa Antiguo Testamento ng Santa Biblia" printed in Manila in 1814, still in perfect condition (talk about preservation!).

After Chicago, we headed to Urbana-Champaign and visited the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The center claims to offer "the best library training" in the US. While there, we went to the Graduate School of Library and Information Science and learned about their LIS programs. While still at Illinois, we had an opportunity to visit the Arthur Memorial Public Library, a public library and a special library in one because it caters to the needs of its special community—the Amish community, a remnant of people who fled from Germany due to religious persecution during the time of the Reformation.

Well, the tour won't be complete without a visit to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC—claimed to be the largest library in the world (in terms of collection). But, would you believe that the Library of Congress is not really the national library of the United States of America? Well, it holds the distinction, and rightly so, but there are also the National Library of Medicine and the National Library of Agriculture. From the opulent Thomas Jefferson Building (which is the original building), the LC has grown to be a complex of 3 buildings, with the addition of the John Adams and James Madison buildings—all three are connected via an underground tunnel. By the way, the Library of Congress has one of the few remaining copies of Johann Gutenberg's Bible. It is displayed at the Jefferson building.

The highlight of our OCLC stint is definitely our participation in the OCLC Member’s Council (MC) meeting. The MC is composed of 66 delegates, elected from the OCLC regional networks and service centers. It makes recommendations on what libraries and the cooperative need; and represents the interests of general members (Lensenmayer, 2007). Through this experience, "we gained insight into issues affecting global library cooperation and the governance of a global library cooperative."

After four weeks of stay in the US, we proceeded to the "last leg" of the program and that is our trip to the Netherlands. We were based in OCLC PICA (Project Integrated Catalog Automation), the OCLC’s IT service arm in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Its headquarters is in Leiden, a province about 30 minutes drive from Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam.

Europe is indeed the "old world," for they still have their "artifacts" to prove it. The cobblestone streets, the well-preserved 16th-century edifices to the early books and manuscripts that date back to as early as the 11th century. In our visits to the Leiden University Library, Konninklijke Bibliotheek (Dutch National Library) and Haarlem Public Library, all in the Netherlands, to the Deutsch Nationalbibliothek (German National Library) and Universitatsbibliothek, both in Frankfurt, Germany, we gleaned traces of the past: the manuscripts written by monks during the Dark Ages, the ornately decorated incunabula during the Renaissance, the well preserved “private library” of a Dutch renaissance man, the locks of hair of Johann Sebastian Bach and some doodling done by Albert Einstein way back during his days at the Patent Office in Germany. All these speak of Europe’s passion for preserving the past as a legacy to the present generation. One would really be amazed at the time, money and effort they have spent to continue accumulating these relics and preserving them for posterity.

Of course, our European library tour won’t be complete without a visit to the IFLA Headquarters housed in the Royal Dutch Library in Den Haag (The Hague). There we met Mr. Sjoerd Koopman who talked about IFLA, “the global voice of the library and information profession representing the interests of library and information services and their users” (IFLA publication, 2007).

In conclusion, let me go back to the question “What have I learned as an IFLA/OCLC fellow”? I would answer: A LOT. More than the sights, the sound, the taste of US and Europe, I learned that librarians, no matter where we are or how we are labeled, share this common passion, which S.R. Ranganathan aptly stated: “of providing the right user the right information at the right time”—only this time, with the aid of modern technology. Indeed, technology has played a great part in the success stories of library services abroad; and we must embrace this knowledge, too, if we want to remain relevant amid the onslaught of the knowledge explosion. We also need to band together. As the adage says “no man is an island”; in the same breath, we can say that no library is an island. It is irrelevant if ours is a small library or yours is big, both big and small shall suffer if we will remain isolated from one another. We need to join hands and work together for the common good of the society that we serve. If we have done that, we are indeed part of global library collaboration—providing the right user the right information at the right time, no matter where they are.

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LLE 2007: Results

Today is Bonifacio Day, and a day after a laughable attempt at people power that did not draw the masses to revolt. Maybe because, unlike Bonifacio, the instigators were too elitist to leave their hotel.

UPDATED 1 DECEMBER 2007 to include Top 11.

Congratulations to the new librarians!

The passing rate for the Librarians' Licensure Examination went down from 37 percent last year to 32 percent (278 out of 868). The website of the Professional Regulation Commission is, as usual, not much help. It looks like it only gets updated when nurses are involved.

Six applications for registration without examination were also granted, even though the official deadline for such registrations seems to have long passed. According to "The Professional Librarian: Who and How," "Since the Act was approved on February 19, 2004, practicing librarians considered exempt by the provisions of sec.19 may apply until February of 2007." Then again, maybe the six applied on time, but were not among those granted registration without examination last September.

Below is the list of successful examinees and applicants as published in the Philippine Star. The Top 11 is from the Manila Bulletin. If you're one of the new librarians looking for a job, you may want to check out Job Openings and Career Development.


Top 11
Reyna Maglunob Parman, UP Diliman, 87.05%
Jeffrey Yorro Meraña, UP Diliman, 86.70%
Anna Liza Gagatiga Orocay, UP Diliman, 86.00%
Aries Cruz Espino, Baliuag University (Baliuag Colleges), 85.95%
Chona Fabon San Pedro, Philippine Normal University-Manila, 85.75%
Joan Bagas Dadang, UP Diliman, 85.40%
Rza Ryes Eica, University of the East-Manila, 85.25%
Joan Rico Quindor, Central Philippine University, 84.85%
Palma Clarissa Valeroso Carillo, UST, 84.80%
Katrina Refuerzo Romero, UP Diliman, 84.70%
Fairlyn Haduca Sarga, UP Diliman, 84.70%
Successful Examinees
ABANIA, LUISA GANDIA
ABELLANA, MARIA FE CIMAFRANCA
ABLES, MICHELLE ARANTE
ABRIGO, JOY ANNE LUMANLAN
ACOSTA, SHEENA FELICIANO
ADIL, MYRLIE LIM
ADISON, MARIO SUNDAY CANSON
ADRIATICO, MARIE JOY DIRECTO
AFRICA, ANNA MICHELLE ICASIANO
AGNER, ROSE ANN BABON
ALAMIS, ELENITA DILICANA
ALBARACIN, AILYNHOPE CABASE
ALDABA, BYRON RUIZ
ALIANZA, SHERLYN MAE DOONG
AMADEO, ELVIRA NAVALTA
AMANTE, MA SALVACION PALENZUELA
AMIO, ANGELICA DIZON
AMOR, AMELITA MURILLO
ANCINO, JUNISA PRADO
ANGOY, MEYCHELL SON-OC
ARAGON, DONNA LOU ALMAIZ
ARELLANO, MARIBEL BADIVAL
ARINDAENG, FLORA MAE DUPA
ATIBAGOS, ANTHONY ATIPONGAN
AUSTRIA, JACQUELINE GARCIA
AVANZADO, CRISTINA MORDEN
AVISO, HELEN MACARAYAN
AÑOBER, ROBELIEN TORREGOSA
BALATAY, LANI COLICO
BALDERAS, JUVY FAILANGCA
BALOLOY, RONNA AÑONUEVO
BANAL, KAREEN DE JESA
BARCEBAL, MARIAN ROSE CATALDAVAN
BAUTISTA, JUVYLYN OBRA
BAWAG, CELESTE ATIENZA
BEDE, MANUEL JR DAGIW-A
BELANDRES, JULIETA SAN JOSE
BELDAD, MIRAFE FABRE
BERANIA, MICHELLE EVANGELISTA
BERNARDO, OLIVIA GUERRERO
BETANA, ORLYN LACABA
BETIA, MARK RYAN QUIAMBAO
BILAN, NANET LIBRELLA
BONINA, MA CRISTINA LATOSA
BORJA, RIA CLARIZ SUELLO
BORJAL, RODERICK TOLLEDO
BRIÑAS, MYLENE AGATO
BUENAVENTURA, GRACIA ELPOSAR
BULAON, MARK ANTHONY AGULTO
BURIGSAY, JANE JOSE
CABALLERO, CATHARINE GOMA
CABICO, GINA MEQUIN
CABUÑAG, CESAR AGAS
CADELIÑA, ESMERALDA DELA CRUZ
CALAUNAN, ARUNAH SIOBAL
CALAYCAY, ANGELICA CARULLO
CANOZA, RONALDO OFALDA
CAPLIS, ELVINA RACILES
CAPULE, EMELINDA LEGASPI
CARILLO, PALMA CLARISSA VALEROSO
CASAR, NIHAYA GURO
CASTAÑARES, EMBER ILEJAY
CASTRO, EDELYN CARBONILLA
CASTRO, REINA FLOR ALEJO
CAYABYAB, LANA CABANGON
CAYABYAB, MARK JAMES GAMOS
CAÑOS, SHARON JANE MANGULABNAN
CEREZO, GILBERT VISTA
CEZAR, AIHLIEN CORPUZ
CHUA, RAYMUND MELVIN SANTIAGO
CLAUNA, MARIFE SISON
COO, MARICEL VILLANUEVA
CORTEZ, IMIE CONCEPCION LOREN
COSIDO, VIOLETA RAYLA
CUBOS, MARIA THERESA MICAELA CHUA
DADANG, JOAN BAGAS
DADUBO, DAVE VIRGEL FULE
DADURAL, GUIA FALLARNA
DAGALE, ENRICO ABRUGAR
DALMACIO, ALFRED ESCANLAR
DAZO, CAROLINA GUEVARRA
DE GUZMAN, VILMA LADRINGAN
DE LA CRUZ, MAREBEL UMALI
DE LOS REYES, LOUISE IAN TIMONERA
DEBALUCOS, ROVILYN PADRE-E
DEE, AARON JED ONG
DEL PILAR, ANALIZA PLATON
DELA CRUZ, VANNESSA LAGUERTA
DELOS SANTOS, ANNE CAMILLE CAPILAR
DELOS SANTOS, NERIZA CABIGAO
DIONSAY, DANIEL ESTELLORE
DOMETITA, REXNEL DINO
DOMINADO, LIEZL MANLULU
DORINGO, MA TERESA MIRADORA
DURAN, CRISTINA PALADAN
DURON, ALONA DELOS SANTOS
ECLEVIA, CARLOS JR LAGROSAS
EJERCITO, LYN ESPIÑA
ELICA, RIZA REYES
ELLA, LILIAN FRANCO
EMANO, JUDY ANN MIACO
ENCARNACION, RAYMOND ILAO
ESPARDIÑEZ, JEREME BUENDIA
ESPINO, ARIES CRUZ
ESTAL, MARYFLOR BETERO
ESTUESTA, ELVIS MANUEL
FAJAGUTANA, ARCHIE BILLANES
FIGUEROA, ZYRA MERCADO
FLORENDO, RUGIE CALUZA
FLORES, AILEEN ALMONTE
FONSECA, NOEL NATHANIEL JIMENO
FRANCISCO, MICHAEL CAMET
FRANCO, ARNEL CRUZ
FREJAS, DOMINICA TOMINES
FUNCLARA, ROSALLY DIMASAYAO
GAAS, ALFEL MARY JAN REMERATA
GABASA, DENNIS BAGUIO
GABIA, JOEBERT DALI-AN
GADORES, LOURDES ANOTDE
GALANG, OFELIA AQUINO
GALO, ARCHIE DEPACTO
GALORA, HUWARAN MAPALARIN SINAG CARLOS
GARCIA, AISA CAMILON
GARCIA, JENNYLYN CAPARAS
GARCIA, JENNYLYN HIPOLITO
GARLAN, RUBI ROSA VALENCIA
GARMA, MARILYN RUGA
GAYANILO, ROMNICK HENRIC HENRY MIRANDA
GELERA, MARVE ENDENCIO
GERCITOSANTO, STEPHANIE MOSQUEDA
GERVACIO, PAOLO FELIZARDO
GLARIADA, JOHN VINCENT ARCHIVAL
GLORIA, JOANA KRISTINA MOLON
GOKEY, SHARON TAMPOC
GONDA, JOJIE ABANES
GONZALEZ, ROBERTO RODEL ROMANO
GORTIFACION, JOEL
GRONA, MARIA LARA CHAVEZ
GUILLES, DENNIS MARCO TOMENBANG
GUIMARY, JO-ANN TINAMBACAN
HARE, FATIMA PORRAS
HERNANDO, ROSA MAY MUAÑIA
HERRERA, SHIRLEY ONG
HIPOLITO, MARLON AMARO
HORNEJA, ROXANNE ENCARNACION FACTO
IGNACIO, KRIS MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ
ILAGAN, AILEEN NACARIO
INTANO, CANDIDA AZARCON
JAAFAR, TADZ MAJAL AYESHA VERDOTE
JUANILLO, MARAH PASCUA
KALNGAN, MICHAEL LLOYD JULIAN
LAGNE, EDNA DEQUILLA
LAGOS, ESTERLITA DUMAGPI
LANDICHO, SHERYL CINDY DIAZ
LANZUELA, ANDREW GAVINA
LAPAD, CHERRY LOVE MAE DAHINO
LASCANO, JOEL PIJAN
LASTICA, JOANN CONSTANTINO
LAURENTE, SARAH JANE GERONA
LAZARO, KAREN FERRER
LEGASPI, CONNIE LEA CALINGASAN
LENGWA, LEA GAUT
LEPAGO, CLARENCE KIAL
LEPALAM, VERONICA JIMENEZ
LESCANO, MARY GRACE TIBAYAN
LIBAG, FRAHMARIE MIGUEL
LISONDRA, ARDNASIL NOVELA
LIWANAG, APRIL RODRIGUEZ
LIZARONDO, MARIA WILMA TERRORA
LLAGUNO, ANA NANETH HISOLER
LLANES, LOURDES ABENDANIO
LOGRONIO, DAISYVIL CORDOVA
LOMERIO, REINA RADA
LUMAYNO, CHELLY SALANG
LUMIBAO, MARIEL COLLADO
MABUNGA, NANCY CARLOS
MACADANGDANG, MA DANA CARBONEL
MACALANDA, ANGELIE MAE DUQUES
MACALANTONG, FAISHANIE POLOG
MACAPIA, MYRNA PEREYRA
MADIGYEM, SHENNA MAARAY
MAGLAQUE, CLARISSA PARULAN
MAGLAQUE, LYNDERLITTE MERO
MAMANAO, GEMMA CALIGUIRAN
MAMATTONG, SHERYL BUTIC
MANLAPAZ, MADEL CANLAS
MANLAPIG, BELLE CADAO
MANUMBALE, ANSELMA MENDOZA
MANZALAY, JETT ANGALA
MARCELINO, JANETH ABSIN
MEDINA, MA KATRINA GAPE
MENDOZA, GERLIE NAVARRO
MERAÑA, JEFFREY YORRO
MERCADO, MARIA SHIELA FORBES
MIAQUE, WILLIAM LOPEZ
MIRANDA, CHARLOTELYN OBO
MISMISIN, MARIEDONE DIO
MOJARES, APOLINARIO RANILLO
MONTECILLO, ELISA LEONARDO
MORALES, MARICONE BARIN
NABUSAN, RHEA JADE WASSIG
NAPILOT, AURELIO JR MICIANO
NEPOMUCENO, JADE MORTEL
NIPES, LOURDELENE QUIME
NON, NENITA PAGAYON
OCAMPO, MARK ANTHONY MAMALIAS
OGLIMEN, MA ELOISA TRUFIL
OMANDAM, AUBREY JARA
OMPOC, MARLON GALINATO
ORBETA, GRACE BUNSUCAN
OROCAY, ANNA LIZA GAGATIGA
ORTIGAS, KAREEN KER CARMAN
OSANO, JENNY ORTEGA
PADAGDAG, RONNAVETH
PAGATPATAN, MARIANNE MOLATO
PAGULAYAN, LYRA JOYCE NAVARRO
PANGAN, CHARLITA TEODOSIO
PANIERGO, GIRLIE ERESUELA
PANSINSOY, MA VICTORIA SALIDO
PARENTE, MICHAEL CANOY
PARMAN, REYNA MAGLUNOB
PASCUA, SONIA MANALO
PASCUAL, MARY GENE PASCUA
PATAJO, JANICE EMBERNATE
PERDIGUERRA, JEAN RAZZELL CALUSA
PEREZ, MARILOU GRACE BLANCO
PEREZ, MONICA GUERRERO
PERNIA, MARIA TERESA CARMEN
PIOCOS, ROMELYN MONTESA
PONCE, DONA CRISTAL
PORRAS, GINA PUNSALAN
PORTO, CHARLYN CALLEJA
QUINDOR, JOAN RICO
RAMINTAS, CIRILA BARQUILLA
RAYOS, ROXANNE ASILO
REVELO, FLORENTINA TALIBONG
REY, ENGRACIA GATCHEALEJO
RIVERA, DANA MICHELE ORBINAR
ROBOSA, KARLO MARTIN MARTINEZ
RODIS, IRENE MAMARIL
ROLDAN, ROXANNE SANTOS
ROMERO, KATRINA REFUERZO
SABELO, DAISY WILLIAM
SAGUISA, MERCEDITA LUCERO
SAGUN, KARRYL KIM ABELLA
SALVADOR, REBECCA LOPEZ
SAMONTE, JOANNE LUCIANO
SAN PEDRO, CHONA FABON
SANDOVAL, VICTORIA BRIONES
SANOAN, SUSANA AGELBA
SANTOS, CESAR RYAN MARAMAG
SANTOS, JONATHAN FAUSTINO
SANTOS, RIENALYN LOPEZ
SARGA, FAIRLYN HADUCA
SAWEY, MARILINE BABAB
SEMILLA, MAIZEL BIBAT
SEPTIMO, LIEZEL VIVAR
SIBAYAN, SHEENA KATE ATIWAG
SISON, ANTONIO III EMNACIN
SOMBILLA, LENNIE RUTH LACUESTA
SOSMEÑA, ISABEL ENEMENZO
SUAGA, EUGENIA ESTRULLO
SUGALA, EMMA DAPLINAN
SUMALINDAO, ARCHIE BARRIOQUINTO
SURMELA, SR MA BARBARA OP SOGO-AN
TABIQUE, VITA ANGELI PHILEIN VILLAFLOR
TAMAYO, AMY LAPUZ
TENEFRANCIA, JULIE ANN CABALLES
TEODORO, RAYMOND LAZO
TORRES, MA CRINEZA BANAGUAS
VALLE, BERNADETTE PEREZ
VALLO, LUISITO ADALIGA
VENERACION, MARILYN RAMOS
VILLALON, HAZEL CELESTE NUNAG
VILLASIS, MICHELLE RONOLO
WONG, JOSE RAPHAEL MANALOTO
YORO, SHERYL JOY LACUESTA
ZAMBOANGNON, ABETHA PERMANO
Successful Applicants for Registration Without Examination
ARCILLA, JULIA WALSIEN
LAZALITA, HERMINIA ABIQUIBIL
MANGAO, SATURNINA JUBAC
MANGODA, ZENAIDA MANGOTARA
PANTOLA, ALICIA TABLAN
RAMIREZ, JAIME ILAS

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Disconnects in Education: Women and Boys

The following are the 3 parts of a series, plus a related article, by Juan Miguel Luz (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 26-28 November 2007):

System-wide solutions needed, not band-aids
Teachers subsidizing pupils’ needs
Larger number of boys than girls drop out by Grade 5
Pockets of hope for Muslim schoolchildren
I've linked in the past to quite a few articles by and about Luz, a former DepEd undersecretary, because I support his cause and the articles make sense. These new articles are no exception. I do have a problem, however, with the following:
When boys and girls grow up, they will tend toward marriage. Given today’s economy and lifestyle, chances are both husband and wife will have to work. Given the likelihood that the wife has a better or more complete education, chances are she will have a more steady and better paying job.

Our society, however, is male-oriented. We recognize the husband as the head of household even if the wife may be the real breadwinner. How will these two realities square? I fear that in many cases, there will be underlying tensions that will result in increasing problems of domestic violence and spousal abuse.

Thus, it is important to keep boys in school to give them a chance at finishing, moving on to college, and/or getting jobs that provide adequate pay and fulfillment.
I suspect feminists will have something to say about the author's gender bias, but the way I see it, if boys don't want to go to school, that's their problem. I am a man who has worked in fields dominated by women (i.e., banking, teaching, librarianship), and I say that women deserve whatever they've achieved because they worked for it. I can still remember how awed I was at some of my colleagues who juggled so many tasks at work and at home, and still managed to stay beautiful. And all their husbands did was worry about going to work.

Encouraging girls to go to school in the past may have been justified, but only because girls were previously discouraged from going to school. Well, it's not the same situation with the boys today. If the boys decide not to go to school and become wife-beaters, my guess is that the women will, by then, be more than educated enough to deal with boys.

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Libworld: Library and
Librarian Blogs of the World

Libworld
It used to be that I'd find out about library and librarian blogs from other countries by chance. And most of them were usually from North America. Well, finding other blograrians around the world just became easier.

Libworld is "a series of postings in which guest authors introduce the library and library related blogs of their particular country." Just about every continent is now represented, except for Africa and Antarctica. Asia, it turns out, has blograrians in Iran, and not just Singapore and the Philippines.

The map above shows some interesting omissions—where are the United States and India?—but since the people behind Libworld just started their project last April 2007, I'm sure that they've already begun work on filling the gaps.

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English is the De Facto National Language

Today is the first day of National Book Week. It is also the first day of the Librarians' Licensure Examination.
From "English and the nation’s memory" by Jonathan Best (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 26 November 2007):
Sitting at my desk at the Ortigas Foundation Library in Pasig, surrounded by 16,000 books and periodicals relating to Philippine history, culture and the arts, I realize over 90 percent are in English, with maybe another 500 vintage titles in Spanish and very few in Filipino. This breakdown is probably not unlike many other major reference libraries in Manila.
What Best fails to mention is that the Ortigas Foundation Library (OFL), which has a new website, is primarily a Filipiniana library. This means that, compared to other reference libraries, the percentage of books written in Philippine languages in the OFL collection is probably higher. And that other libraries very likely have even smaller percentages of books written in languages indigenous to the Philippines.

So? Put this reality together with the fact that English is the language most often used in official functions by members of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, and what we have is a de facto national language. Never mind that we're supposed to have a Buwan ng Wika that celebrates our many languages, but very few of which can be understood by Filipinos across the nation. Those who subscribe to conspiracy theories might even think that those pushing for the adoption of Filipino as the medium of instruction just want to make it even more difficult for the poor to understand what's going on in our government right now, and even what happened in the past.

Best is right. We need English.

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Do Pinoys Read at All?

From "Do Pinoys read at all?" by Queena Lee-Chua (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 25 November 2007):

Early this year, the NBDB commissioned the Social Weather Stations to do a second Readership Survey (the first was done in 2003)... First, the bad news. Generally, the survey shows that reading has slightly declined in our nation...

Perhaps more readers prefer to read media other than print, such as the Net. Perhaps others turn to other types of entertainment, such as TV. Perhaps the cost of books has become prohibitive for most of us.

The survey does not analyze the reasons why, but the research team offers some recommendations. "The challenge is for booksellers and publishers, printers and paper and ink manufacturers, to make more books affordable. The government can facilitate this, as well as the financing of technology upgrades to make operations more efficient and economical."

"Authors are also challenged to write more books, not just to entertain, but also to inform, to teach the readers skills or to convey to them practical knowledge. Community libraries [should encourage] adults and out-of-school youth to like to read books; and educators, to teach students to read longer materials, such as books."
I will be there when the 2007 Readership Survey results are presented to the public on November 28. Aside from the fact that I'd like to know more about the results, I think I'd like to ask why it is that the recommendations name practically all the people in the life cycle of the book (e.g., authors, publishers, educators), but mentions only the role of libraries and not librarians.

Does this imply that libraries can encourage reading even without the involvement of librarians? Maybe it was a Freudian slip. Maybe there are, in fact, just too many invisible librarians =)

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This Blog's Reading Level: High School

cash advance

What does this mean? It means that a high school student can understand my blog... and that I have the vocabulary of a high school student =)


Via Stephen's Lighthouse

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Did Erap Deserve His Pardon?

I am not against the granting of a pardon to persons who deserve it. However, people who have refused to accept their guilt and have shown no contrition for the crime they committed do not deserve pardon (source).
Nope, Senator Noynoy Aquino was not referring to former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, but to Pablo Martinez, one of those convicted for the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, the senator's father.

Maybe Martinez truly does not deserve to be pardoned, but I wonder if the conditions Noynoy thinks of as making a person worthy of being pardoned are applicable to the man with whom he has jumped into bed. After all, here's what Erap's wife (or one of them, anyway) says: "He never stole from the country, we would fight for it if we have to" (source).

After the "Cory and Loi" show, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Like mother, like son.

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FO: TV Ads (1970s-Present)



I've written about TV ads before, but since YouTube wasn't as big then as it is now, and the 20th Philippine Advertising Congress is currently underway, I thought I'd share the "Karen" ad from McDonald's (above) and some links to a few TV ads—courtesy of ADman1909—as a way to get you to take a look at some of the 204 ads he's uploaded so far. You may view all of the TV ads uploaded by ADman1909, who also takes requests, by clicking on the following:

All Videos | Most Viewed | Most Discussed
By the way, some of the ads have poor video or poor audio or both. But if you look at "Related Videos" in the sidebar, you may just find a better version uploaded by someone else.
680 Department Store (Bert Marcelo)
Palmolive: "I Can Feel It" (Alice Dixson)
San Miguel Beer: Sabado Nights (Ina Raymundo)
Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdog: Goodbye, Carlo
Coke: The Coke Beat

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FO: Reports of the Governors General (1900-1915)

"Old but timely reports" by Ambeth Ocampo (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 20 October 2007) reminds me that I have not even begun to fulfill my promise to write about the sites to which I linked in "Filipiniana Online: Links Shared at Rizal Library International Conference."

Let me start with the The United States and its Territories: 1870-1925: The Age of Imperialism (USIT), which I have previously dubbed "the best and largest online collection of Filipiniana materials available for free." The name of the site suggests a scope both wider and narrower than what it contains, and is perhaps the reason it is not better known. While some content is related to Cuba and Puerto Rico, the majority of the texts are devoted to the Philippines. And though most of the materials were published between 1870 and 1925, there are books and journals in the collection that appeared from 1926 onward. The site has some usability issues, but hey, if you need something and the library's closed or too far away, USIT is it =)

Its collection includes what have come to be known as the “Reports of the Governors General of the Philippine Islands” even though they do not all bear the same title. [For the students out there, please note that it is "Governors," not "General," that is pluralized.] If, however, you'd like to read for yourself the report that Ocampo cites in his column, you'll have to look elsewhere because it's not available on USIT.

I will be featuring other materials available on USIT, but for the meantime, below are the “Reports of the Philippine Commission" from 1900-1915. Due to cataloging rules that non-librarians will most likely not be familiar with, the uniform title "Report of the Governor General" is used for most of them on USIT. But if you know your Philippine history, you may be able to figure out why “Reports of the Philippine Commission" became "Reports of the Governors General" after 1916. Finally, not all volumes are available, but all years are represented.

Report of the Philippine commission: 31 Jan 1900
Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4

Report of the United States Philippine commission: 1 Dec 1900-15 Oct 1901
Part 1

Report of the civil governor: Year ending 1 Oct 1902

Annual report of the Philippine Commission
1902 - Part 2
1903 - Part 2 of 3
1904 - Part 2 of 3
1905 - Part 2 of 4, Part 4
1906 - Part 2 of 3, Part 3
1907 - Part 2 of 3, Part 3
1908 - Part 2 of 2

Report of the Philippine Commission
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1913-1914
1915

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National Book Week 2007

This year, National Book Week will be celebrated from November 26-30. The theme is "Family Literacy: Reading Begins with Us." Below are the activities scheduled for the week, followed by the programs for the Opening Ceremonies (November 26) and the Fellowship Luncheon (November 30).

Thanks to Susan Pador for the information.


ACTIVITIES

November 26
7:00 a.m.
Opening Ceremonies / Fun Walk / Book Character Parade
Venue: The National Library

1:00 p.m.
PATLS: LIS Wizard
Venue: Bulwagang E. de los Santos
The National Library
November 27
8:00–12:00
PAARL: Forum
Theme: Strengthening Interpersonal Skills & Service Attitudes Competencies for Library Staff
Venue: San Beda College

8:00–5:00
CLAPI Outreach Program: Storytelling / Book Giving / Puppet Show
Venue: Payatas, Quezon City
November 28–29
PPLLI: Seminar-Workshop
Theme: Public Librarians: Their Accountability in a Changing Library Environment
Venue: Bulwagang E. de los Santos
The National Library
November 30
10:00 a.m.
Fellowship Luncheon
Venue: Kamay Kainan, Trinoma, Quezon City


OPENING PROGRAMME
Venue: The National Library
November 26, 2007

Part I

7:00 A.M.
NBW FUN WALK AND BOOK CHARACTER PARADE
Assembly: The National Library Grounds

10:00 A.M.
Holy Mass
FR. PAUL MA. M. DE VERA, O.S.B.
Celebrant

Part II

11:00 A.M. OPENING PROGRAM
Venue: Bulwagang Epifanio de los Santos
National Anthem
The National Library Choir

Words of Welcome
MRS. PRUDENCIANA C. CRUZ
Director, The National Library

Opening Remarks
MRS. SUSIMA L. GONZALES
President, PLAI

Introduction of the Guest Speaker
MRS. REBECCA M. JOCSON
Chief Librarian, PLM

Keynote Address
ATTY. ADEL A. TAMANO
President, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila

Intermission
The National Library Choir

Announcement of Contest Winners
MRS. FE E. ABELARDO
Chair, Special Projects Committee

Awarding of Winners
ATTY. ADEL A. TAMANO
MRS. PRUDENCIANA C. CRUZ
MRS. SUSIMA L. GONZALES

Closing Remarks
MISS BELEN M. VIBAR
Chair, 2007 Overall Co-Chair


MRS. SALVACION M. ARLANTE
Trustee, PLAI
Master of Ceremonies


FELLOWSHIP LUNCHEON
Venue: Kamay Kainan, Trinoma, Quezon City
November 26, 2007

9:30 a.m. REGISTRATION
10:30 a.m. PROGRAMME
Invocation & Blessing of the Food
FR. ANGEL APARICIO, O.P.
Prefect of Libraries, UST

National Anthem
MRS. FE E. ABELARDO
Chair, Special Projects Committee

Words of Welcome
MRS. SUSIMA L. GONZALES
President, PLAI

Introduction of the Guest Speaker
MRS. TERESITA C. MORAN
Chief Librarian, APS

Inspirational Message
PROF. CORAZON M. NERA
Chair, Board for Librarians

Intermission
MR. GIGI RENEGADO
Rizal Library, ADMU

Presentation of Awards
PROF. THELMA KIM
Chair, PLAI Awards Committee
MRS. MILAGROS S. ONG
Chair, NBW Awards Committee

Induction of PLAI NCR Librarians Council
PROF. CORAZON M. NERA
Inducting Officer

Closing Remarks
MISS BELEN M. VIBAR
Chair, 2007 Overall Co-Chair


MRS. REBECCA M. JOCSON
Chief Librarian, PLM
Master of Ceremonies

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Money is Not the Solution

Earlier today, I was looking for a friend at my alma mater when I suddenly found my underdressed self at a formal, invitation-only event honoring some recipients of the Metrobank Foundation's annual Search for Outstanding Teachers. When I learned that I personally knew the two main honorees—Ambeth Ocampo and Benilda Santos—I thought, what the heck, maybe they'll overlook my shirt-jeans-and-sneakers getup and appreciate my presence at this special event. So I went in and marveled once more at just how lucky I've been to have been taught by so many outstanding teachers.

But the most striking thing that I brought home with me was the reference made by the university president to a recent article about a McKinsey study that shows it is not money that leads to better schools. I, of course, made a mental note to look for the article. The following quotes are from "How to be top" (Economist, 13 October 2007):

Australia has almost tripled education spending per student since 1970. No improvement. American spending has almost doubled since 1980 and class sizes are the lowest ever. Again, nothing. No matter what you do, it seems, standards refuse to budge.

Schools... need to do three things: get the best teachers; get the best out of teachers; and step in when pupils start to lag behind.

Begin with hiring the best. There is no question that, as one South Korean official put it, "the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers." Studies in Tennessee and Dallas have shown that, if you take pupils of average ability and give them to teachers deemed in the top fifth of the profession, they end up in the top 10% of student performers; if you give them to teachers from the bottom fifth, they end up at the bottom. The quality of teachers affects student performance more than anything else.

You might think that schools should offer as much money as possible, seek to attract a large pool of applicants into teacher training and then pick the best. Not so, says McKinsey. If money were so important, then countries with the highest teacher salaries—Germany, Spain and Switzerland—would presumably be among the best. They aren't. In practice, the top performers pay no more than average salaries.

Scratch a teacher or an administrator (or a parent), and you often hear that it is impossible to get the best teachers without paying big salaries... McKinsey's conclusions seem more optimistic: getting good teachers depends on how you select and train them; teaching can become a career choice for top graduates without paying a fortune; and that, with the right policies, schools and pupils are not doomed to lag behind.
What has this got to do with the Philippine situation, especially libraries? Read the passages again, but this time substitute the word "librarian" for "teacher" and "librarianship" for teaching, particularly in the last two paragraphs. As I have written before in "Librarians as Leaders," "I am not saying that money is not important... two individuals given similar amounts of money will not necessarily achieve similar goals." This is not rocket science. This is so old, there's even a parable in the Bible about it. Enough of the excuses. Let's get to work.

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Free Posters: Love Your Library

Iza Calzado, Love Your Library, National Book Development Board
Thanks to the National Book Development Board (NBDB), librarians may now ask for free copies of the poster shown above by phone (9209853) or email (oed-at-nbdb-dot-gov-dot-ph). Librarians may want to have the poster on hand for National Book Week (November 26-30: Family Literacy: Reading Begins with Us).

The poster was produced as part of NBDB's Get Caught Reading campaign, in cooperation with the Filipinas Heritage Library. The model is Iza Calzado.

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Librarian Promotes Reading

From "Storytellers reach, touch hearts of kids" by Ma. Cecilia Rodriguez (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 4 November 2007):

"We are still trying to solicit more (reading materials)," librarian Arlene de Guma said.

To inspire the children to read and understand what they read, they allow even nonreaders to take home the materials for three days so that the parents can read along with them, De Guma said.

"We also encourage the parents to volunteer as storytellers," she said.
The article still sounds like a press release, but at least it's clear that the library has a librarian. To see why this is important to me, see "Librarian-less Libraries are Just Buildings" and an old post that reminds me of the many promises I haven't kept: "Invisible Libraries."

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Update on Job Openings and Career Development

In "Job Openings and Career Development (JOCD) is One Year Old," I asked for feedback and got it. At least three people learned about the jobs they now have through JOCD. One of them emailed me privately, another left a comment on the post, and the other replied through the Filipino Librarians Googlegroup, where other members also expressed support for the blog. An employer also wrote to say that many of the applicants he interviewed for a position mentioned JOCD. Here's hoping that another JOCD reader gets hired. Needless to say, JOCD will keep on going. But I'd like to ask for some help.

If you are an employer and would like to advertise a position, please send me the specifications, but make sure that you begin with a summary in the following format:
Job title: [the official one]
Institution: [name of university, company, etc.]
Location: [city and province, if in the Philippines; city and country, if elsewhere]
If you would like to promote an event, please use the following format for the summary:
What: [name of event]
Where: [city, if in the Philippines; city and country, if elsewhere]
When: [date(s) and time]
How much: [pesos for local events; US dollars with peso equivalent for foreign events]
Sponsor: [just the main organizer]
There is no charge for advertising on JOCD or reading the posts, but please let me know if you found the blog helpful in finding a job or an employee, so that I don't have to wonder whether it's worth the effort.

My email address is von-dot-totanes-at-gmail-dot-com.

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Wanted: Proactive Librarians as Leaders

While libraries are front and center in two new articles (see "ARMM gov orders establishment of libraries in LGUs" [PIA Press Release, 25 October 2007] and "Public libraries and Kaakbay" by Neni Sta. Romana Cruz [Philippine Daily Inquirer, 27 October 2007]), librarians are mentioned almost as an afterthought. I do not blame the authors, however, for this treatment.

I have groused about the invisibility of librarians before, but after blogging for more than two years, monitoring what appears in print and online about Filipino librarians, contributing what I can to promote librarians worth emulating, and encouraging others to write about their own experiences, I think it's time to admit that the fault lies "not in our stars, but in ourselves."

Many librarians complain that their communities think they do not do anything but sit at their desks and stamp books. But what, I usually ask, are they doing to dispel this notion? We need to be more proactive about communicating and interacting with our own communities, and networking—and working—with other literacy and library advocates.

I have gotten feedback that projects initiated by "outsiders" were left unsupported by library "insiders" because the latter felt that they should be the ones taking the lead. And all I could do was shake my head, and admit that some of our more influential librarians can be rather shortsighted. There are, of course, certain things that "insiders" can do better than "outsiders," but when more of them do research about our own work, and it is because of them that Filipiniana is freely available online, I think we need to thank them, instead of criticizing them for encroaching on our turf.

Enough. If you'd like to see more of what I've written about this, click here: Leadership.

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Filipiniana Online:
From the Speaker's Point of View

The photos above were taken right before I began my presentation on Filipiniana Online at the 3rd Rizal Library International Conference last 23 October 2007. Thanks to Michael Stephens for the idea that the audience deserves to have their photos taken by the speaker =)

Note: Click on the photos to see the larger versions.

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Filipiniana Online: Links Shared at
Rizal Library International Conference

The links below lead to sites featured in the presentation I will be making today at the 3rd Rizal Library International Conference held at the Ateneo de Manila University, 22-23 October 2007. Those that I have previously written about will have two links: one to the site, and the other to my post [in brackets]. In the next few days (maybe weeks), I will be writing about the others, and updating this post accordingly.

Definition of Filipiniana: [Filipiniana Online]

Bookstores and Libraries

Amazon.com
Google Book Search
Microsoft’s Live Search Books
Search all three: Booksearch x 3

Internet Archive
Project Gutenberg [FO: Project Gutenberg]
Universal Library
International Children’s Digital Library [FO: International Children's Digital Library]

World Digital Library
Examples:
- The Promise of the Foreign by Vicente Rafael (2005)
- Chenelyn! Chenelyn! by Rhandee Garlitos (1999)
- The Hispanization of the Philippines by John Leddy Phelan (1959)
- Twenty Years in the Philippines by Paul Proust de La Gironiere (1854)
- Doctrina Christiana (1593):
-- Project Gutenberg
-- Filipiniana.net
-- Library of Congress [FO: Doctrina Christiana]
Filipiniana
Filipiniana.net
The United States and its Territories: 1870-1925: The Age of Imperialism [FO: Reports of the Governors General (1900-1915)]
- Blair and Robertson (all 55 volumes)
- Philippine Journal of Science (1906-1949)
Technical Reports
Asian Development Bank
UNESCO
World Bank
SocioEconomic Research Portal for the Philippines [FO: Socio Economic Research Portal]
Open Access
Directory of Open Access Journals [Directory of Open Access Journals]
Filipino journals: [FO: Journals]
arXiv.org (sciences)
Multimedia
Southeast Asian Images and Texts [FO: Photos from SEAiT]
Southeast Asia Visions Collection
YouTube: Black-and-white newsreels, TV ads [FO: TV Ads (1970s-Present)]
Beauty Pageant Winners [FO: Beauty Queens]
artsentralmanila.net [FO: Paintings]
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection [FO: Newer Maps]
Philippine Comics Art Museum [FO: Comics]
Banknotes.com [FO: Paper Money]
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [FO: Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate]
My other posts:
- Filipiniana Online (Mar 2005-Dec 2006; titles only)
- Filipiniana Online (Jan 2007- present; full text or first few paragraphs)

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Job Openings and Career
Development
is One Year Old

Job Openings and Career Development

Today is the first anniversary of Job Openings and Career Development (JOCD), the other Filipino Librarian blog devoted to employment opportunities and other career-related notices. It currently has 141 subscribers and I get a few emails every now and then that tell me it's being read. The photo above even shows that some posts get printed and thumb tacked to real bulletin boards. I would like to know, however, whether anyone has ever gotten hired because s/he read about an opening on JOCD. Alternatively, has an employer whose job opening was listed on JOCD ever hired someone who said that s/he saw their ad on JOCD?

Please, please, please leave a comment below or email me at von-dot-totanes-at-gmail-dot-com to tell me your story. If you don't mind, maybe we can even share the details with everyone who reads this blog. But please let me know because JOCD takes a bit of effort that I could probably devote to this blog. If I don't hear from anyone, then I suppose it's time to close JOCD.

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Butch Dalisay on Creative Writing



The video above was taken at the National Book Development Board's monthly book club meeting, held at Mag:net Cafe Katipunan yesterday. The featured author was Butch Dalisay, multi-awarded author of books, plays and screenplays, who spoke about writing short stories with no grand designs, but small challenges like starting with one sentence and seeing where the story goes. Dalisay blogs (!) at Pinoy Penman, and was the lone Filipino longlisted for the first-ever Man Asian Literary Prize. Only five of the 23 authors on the long list will make it to the short list to be announced on 25 October 2007. Here's hoping he wins the Prize when it's announced in Hong Kong next month.

Personal impressions: I am not very literary, so it was only when he enumerated some of the screenplays he wrote that I realized that I was "familiar" with his work (e.g., Maging Akin Ka Lamang!). And I was surprised when he shared that he wrote the dialogue for his screenplays in Tagalog, but everything else was in English. The fact that he finished his long-delayed novel in a week because of the Prize deadline gave me hope that I can meet my dissertation deadlines, too. His story about his greatest find—a 1926 fountain pen with gold nib—which was probably worth $500, but for which he was willing to pay P5,000 at a stall in Greenhills, and which the clueless seller sold for P500, reminded me of my recent "quest" to find a few not-so-old-but-hard-to-find-outside-a-library books. I haven't gotten quite as lucky, but... that's another post =)

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Carnival of the Infosciences 81



Mabuhay! Welcome to the October 15 edition of the Carnival of the Infosciences (COTI).

In the Philippines, a "carnival" will bring up memories—depending on age and geographic location—of Fiesta Carnival, Enchanted Kingdom, the local karnabal, perya (fair) or peryahan. The video above gives a flavor of the Filipino perya, not to mention the Filipinos who ride them and what they do with their phone cameras. The views it provides from above and from below also indicate the international character of this particular carnival post, which is probably the first posted from Asia. Note: Unless otherwise indicated, authors are librarians from the Philippines.

If you have time for only one post at this time, do read the one by Juned Sonido, who asks "What is the technoweenie?" and proceeds to differentiate between the Technophile, Technophobe and Technoweenie (aka Technosexual!), and even pokes fun at GOD and GAS. Other Filipino librarians all seem to have chosen to write about their personal experiences, which reveal quite a lot about the situation of libraries and library education in the Philippines.

Igor Cabbab recalls the numerous humorous—and not-so-humorous—events that happened to him in "My Life in the SLIS: UP SLIS ca. 1990 to 2002"; Eimee Lagrama reviews her alumni association's accomplishments and her frustrations during her term as its president in "Giving something back"; and Zarah Gagatiga writes about the prejudices she encountered while still a student in "A School Librarian's Pride (and Prejudice)." Meanwhile, Melchor Cichon looks to the future and shares his dream as a new university librarian in "My Vision of a University Library." While Charles Tan, a library user, notes that libraries in the Philippines do not differentiate themselves well enough, especially on their websites, in "Specialized Libraries."

Submissions from around the world included those from Ivan Chew (Singapore), who, in "Facebook at work: Address the cause, not hide the symptom," tackles an issue that librarians who are into social networking will encounter sooner or later. Daithi Mac Sithigh (Ireland), a lawyer, expresses misgivings about a pending bill that would make a library's public lending rights a "Public Lending Wrong." And John Dupuis (Canada), in an "Interview with Richard Akerman, Technology Architect at CISTI," presents a techie's thoughts on the relationship between techies and librarians. Finally, Larry Ferlazzo (USA), an ESL teacher, shares links to websites that may be used to prepare new English speakers for trips to "Libraries"; and John Miedema (Canada), a library student, who reviews "Balanced Libraries by Walt Crawford," and writes that, "It could be the bible of the Slow Library movement."

Well, that's it for this edition of COTI. If you have no idea what COTI is all about, its purpose is "to showcase the panoply of great writing within the [biblioblogosphere] and to expose the world to as many [Library and Information Science] blogs as possible." Join the next edition of the carnival by: 1) using the carnival submission form; or 2) using the del.icio.us tag "carninfo." For past posts, future hosts and other information, check out the COTI wiki.


Technorati tags: , .

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Research in Librarianship

The Philippine Librarians Association, Inc.-Southern Tagalog Region Librarians Council (PLAI-STRLC) invited me to be a speaker at their seminar-workshop on "Research in Librarianship: Challenges, Competencies, and Strategies," which began yesterday and ended today in Calamba City, Laguna. My topic was "Research Methods," while Elvie Lapuz took care of "Proposal Writing & Research Funds and Grant Seeking." The links below are listed for the benefit of those who attended our sessions, but may be useful even for those who were not there.


Research
Research Methods on Social and Natural Sciences:
Descriptions, strengths, limitations of five commonly-used methods, with practice and post tests on differentiating between the methods
LISTA: Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts
A-LIEP 2006: Asia-Pacific Conference on Library and Information Education and Practice
The Researching Librarian: For additional readings and resources
Open Access
DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals
E-LIS: E-prints in Library and Information Science
dLIST: Digital Library of Information Science and Technology
Grants
Grant Resources for Academic Libraries and Information Centers
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Access to Learning Award
IFLA: Action for Development through Libraries Programme
IFLA/OCLC: Early Career Development Fellowship Program
NCCA: Grants Program
PAARL: Award and Scholarship programs
IASL: Books for Children Project
Japan Foundation, Manila: Language Program for Librarians
Others
ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science
Ambeth Ocampo: "There is so much obscure information to be found and so few researchers in libraries."

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Manny "Pac Man" Pacquiao vs
Marco Antonio "Baby Faced Assassin" Barrera



When Pacquiao KOd Solis right before the last elections, I wrote that, "Rep. Pacquiao will be making an appearance at the House of Representatives soon." Well, it's a good thing my prediction was wrong, and voters decided that Pacquiao should stick to boxing. But don't count him out because he hasn't lost his Will to Win.

The video above is the teaser for the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera fight—dubbed "Will to Win"—on Sunday, 7 October 2007, 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, 6 October 2007, 6 pm.)

Here's hoping that the man who is now called "pambansang kamao" (national fist)—almost as if he's on the same level as the national anthem or the national hero—will still be able to deliver despite many distractions. According to USA Today:
While other world champions obediently line up for a few hours of instruction... Pacquiao has enough interests outside the ropes to keep several men occupied for several lifetimes.

Movies, music, politics, basketball, charity, family - they're all important to the Philippines' favorite son, and they vie for his attention whenever he isn't boxing.
If you're a Filipino or just interested in the fight, you may want to check out the following sites:

Those in the Philippines can watch the fight on TV via free-but-there-are-so-many-ads GMA. You can go to local theaters or other venues to watch the fight in real time with other fans for a fee (SM Cinema will be charging P500 and P400 for reserved and guaranteed seats, respectively). Or if you're lucky, you might be able to watch it for free in one of the cities where the local governments will sponsor no-commercial-break showings of the fight (e.g., the city of Manila).

HBO is the place to go if you live in North America and are willing to pay your cable provider's PPV rates. If you're in Australia, Main Event has instructions on its website. If you're in the Middle East or some other place where the Internet is the only option, you may want to try your luck with SopCast, which allows users to watch live events via P2P technology (via YuwonCedric.com). If this doesn't 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.

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Coming Soon: Carnival of the Infosciences 81

The Carnival of the Infosciences (COTI) crossed the Pacific Ocean recently and is now up Down Under at Connecting Librarian. On October 15, the Carnival moves to this blog, and I will try to give our foreign guests a taste of Filipino hospitality. If you have no idea what COTI is all about, its purpose is "to showcase the panoply of great writing within the [biblioblogosphere] and to expose the world to as many [Library and Information Science] blogs as possible." For past posts, future hosts and other information, check out the COTI wiki.

If you are a librarian who blogs (liblogger, blograrian, liblogarian, take your pick!), you may want to consider submitting one of your own LIS-related posts published from October 1 onward. Filipino blograrians and other Asian librarians are highly encouraged to take this opportunity to tell our counterparts on the other side of the world about how we do—or don't do—things over here. You may also submit posts written by other bloggers. Only submissions "containing original thought and opinions, rather than regurgitation and reiteration," will be included in my post on October 15.

How do you submit? You can: 1) use the carnival submission form; or 2) use the del.icio.us tag "carninfo," but you must use the notes field to state why you tagged it and sign your name, so we know who shared it with us. Send submissions for COTI 81 by 6 pm Manila-time (that's 6 am EST) on Sunday, October 14.

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Anonymous Sex in the Library

Just as the original "Sex in the Library" was not about sex, this one isn't, too. This post is about having bloggers' ideas used, sentences quoted as is, and yet not being given any credit. Oh, there was a part about "Said the blogger," and "One blogger said..." but that's when the speaker, a priest, put my sentences in quotes.

I suppose I should be flattered—he did the same thing to Ambeth Ocampo—but I think it's about time bloggers got cited properly. And no, I don't mean APA- or MLA-style. A simple acknowledgment that "these ideas were suggested by the blogger Filipino Librarian" or "the blogger Filipino Librarian wrote..." would have been enough. Anyway, here are the relevant parts from my original post:

It is necessary that librarians acknowledge that an image problem exists, that it's not just a budget problem. Is it really just because libraries have no budget that nobody uses libraries? I don't think so.

And then there are the four Ps:

Product - What exactly is it that libraries are "selling"? Is it books, information, research assistance? Librarians need to decide what exactly their product is.

Price - It's all supposed to be free (except for a few things like photocopying), but why don't users flock to the library the way customers spend money at the bookstore? This will need a separate post, but please leave a comment if you have an answer.

Place - Are libraries situated strategically? Or are they up in the fifth floor where there's no elevator? The environment counts, too. Is it dark, cramped, dusty?

Promotions - No one will buy something if they don't know it exists. But how can people not know that the library exists? Well, they know about it, but why is it that some students are proud of the fact that they graduated from school without ever setting foot in the library?

Finally, the so-called fifth P: Positioning. This is really about image and encompasses all of the four Ps. Think about what would have happened to the image of librarians if one of the four leads in Sex and the City had been a librarian. Or what if the women in Desperate Housewives were having affairs not with plumbers and gardeners, but librarians?
And here's the paraphrased-in-parts and quoted-in-full-in-other-parts keynote address:
The image problem has to be recognized and solved in order to enhance marketability. The matter of marketability can also be conveniently addressed if we consider the 5 P's of marketing. let's take a look at the Product libraries are selling. Are libraries "selling" books, information, research assistance? Librarians need to decide what exactly their product is.

The next P would be Price. The products are supposed to be free yet why do users instead go to the bookstores? Has this anything to do with the Dewey Decimal System? Or the "Silence" signs? Or, how about the next P, the Place? Is the library strategically located? Is it dark, dusty, cramped, poorly ventilated? Does it exude a welcoming ambiance?

There is the matter of Promotions too. These days we cannot do away with promotions if we want to sell. No one will buy something if the public does not know it exists. But how can people not know that the library exists? Have you not heard of some students proudly declaring that they graduated from school without having gone to the library?

The last P would be Positioning. Now, this is about image. We have to project an image different from that which librarians and libraries are usually portrayed. I don't know how you would do that. In Wisconsin, USA, the Associated Press reported about how librarians posed for a sexy calendar not only to position their libraries but also to raise funds for their libraries. One blogger said, "Think what would have happened to the image of librarians if one of the four leads in Sex and the City had been a librarian. Or what if the women in Desperate Housewives were having affairs not with plumbers and gardeners, but librarians."
Coming on top of the C.S. Canonigo affair and minor cases of plagiarism—not to mention the higher-profile cases of Market Manila and Pinoy Cook—it seems that bloggers need to assert their rights to what they write. Hey, we may be blogging for free, but whether we're anonymous or not, we deserve credit, too!

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