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Marianita D. Dablio — Filipino Librarian


Congratulations to Dr. Marianita D. Dablio for her Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of the Philippines Library Science Alumni Association (UPLSAA)!

Below is the response she delivered at the awarding ceremony.


Response
Marianita D. Dablio
2 July 2016


Thank you, UPLSAA 2015-2016, for this Distinguished Alumna Award.

It is with great humility that I receive this award in behalf of the librarians, library staff, and LIS faculty with whom I have worked at the Mindanao State University and other institutions in Mindanao. I would like to thank the faculty of the Institute, now School, of Library and Information Studies, who impressed on me the solid groundings of a good librarian: Prof. Rosa Vallejo, Dr. Ursula Picache, Prof. Filomena Tann, Prof. Namnama Hidalgo, and Prof. Herminia Santos.

How did I become a Librarian? My “romance” with the field must have started when I worked as a student assistant at the Mindanao State University Library, while pursuing a degree in BS Elementary Education. A long, long overdue expression of gratitude goes to two Institute alumni, Benifredo Sta. Maria and Leticia Espinas Aquino, who paved the way in my becoming a librarian. How can I ever forget the “imposing” voices of these two figures, who persistently told us what a library should be? Sir Benny and Ma’am Letty insisted that I should study in what was then the UP Institute of Library Science.

I would like to believe that as SLIS alumni, we have to spread our wings and leave a lasting imprint. I ventured to start the MSU Department of Library Science (now Department of Library and Information Science) as a one-woman department. Now the department has three full-time faculty members who are at the forefront of producing quality LIS professionals in Mindanao. It is worth noting the department has developed a number of Muslim and Christian librarians in the region, and in the country, as well.

Years of library work have earned me a number of monickers: “the walking encyclopedia,” “the walking dictionary,” and “Dabliography.” I realized that this image has highlighted our vital role in sourcing, resourcing, and outsourcing information for our various publics. It is our knack for looking for alternative sources of information that have connected us to our users.

Our profession is reaching a critical turn. It has reached a point where at the service delivery, “I don’t know” is not possible as a reply anymore. I always remind my students that “ewan” is not an acceptable option in dealing with our patrons. Colleagues tell us what happens when the librarian says “ambot” (meaning “ewan” or I don’t know). Perhaps it is is time to develop our reference course as an engaging moment where our students can apply their psychology, sociology, and even politics of the information interaction. With all the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, there is still no substitute for face-to-face communication.

One of the most unforgettable lessons of being a teacher is how students and library practitioners are “teaching” me instead of the other way around. One never misses to listen to their endless stories of “no support,” “walang budget,” “walang paki si Boss,” and maraming “nega” sa buhay librarian. The realities of the field resound that libraries are indeed resource-intensive institutions. Perhaps we can train them how to manage libraries amidst resource constraints. Indeed the challenge is how to teach our students to see beyond the box.

With so much information around us, I have advocated the responsive and responsible use of library and information sources. We have to develop strategies on how our library professionals can respond to the changes, yet be ethically responsible for the use of such resources. Let us develop our information literacy sessions—where our students are provided opportunities to relearn, retool, and rethink—to enable them to rediscover the world from inside out.

Indeed, this award is a very prestigious one. With UP’s SLIS taking the lead in LIS education, we its alumni are challenged to reflect on what can do for those at the peripheries. UP’s SLIS has been a guiding light in our pursuit for quality education in Mindanao. While we see the need for increasing the number of Muslim and Christian library professionals, we look forward to encouraging more of the indigenous peoples of Mindanao to become librarians. Perhaps only then can we claim that Filipino librarians are multicultural. The UPLSAA has been the beacon for our initiatives.

A librarian’s work is never done, even after retirement. I retired three years ago, but my retirement felt more like a back subject. I have returned to the readings and many other things I wanted to do before I retired. I also call this phase in my life as “in progress.” I have not finished sending my expression of gratitude to the many students I have interacted with, and to the colleagues who supported me all the way.

My response has been full of “we,” “us,” and “our” because in every aspect, I was not doing the job solo. So I share this award with my former administrators who, while setting high expectations, had confidence in my ability to deliver. I would also like to thank the many individuals who shared the true meaning of resourcefulness.

I would like to thank my family, who have been there ALWAYS, through thick and thin.

For the greatnesS of God’s love in his mercy and compassion.

For all of us, MAGANDANG BUHAY!


Reproduced with the author's permission.

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Librarians' Licensure Examination 2016: Results

Congratulations to the new librarians!

The passing rate for this year's Librarians' Licensure Examination (LLE) is 65 percent (738 out of 1,140), which is the highest-recorded passing rate since librarians began taking the LLE in 1993, and certainly higher than the 2015 passing rate of 47 percent.

The most important question is "Why?" Was the exam easier? Or are graduates getting better? It's hard to say for sure, but comparing the passing rates of the 2016 first timers (80 percent, or 622 of 780) and the 2015 first timers (70 percent, or 273 of 388), as well as the passing rates of the 2016 repeaters (32 percent, or 116 of 360) and the 2015 repeaters (22 percent, or 76 of 354), it's clear that the percentage of first timers and repeaters who passed the exam this year is consistently greater than the percentage of those who passed the exam last year.

While the change in exam schedule (i.e., from April last year to September this year) gave last year's graduates more time to study for this year's exam, the increase in passing rate for repeaters from 22 percent last year to 32 percent this year suggests that the 2016 exam was easier. There is a need to examine all previous passing rates for repeaters, but the passing rates for repeaters in 2013 and 2014 (22 percent and 15 percent, respectively) support my thesis that this year's exam was easier.

"Easier" in what sense? From what I've learned from previous and current members of the Board for Librarians, greater efforts have been exerted to ensure that test questions are easier to comprehend (though not necessarily making them easier to answer). From my own experience taking the exam in 2004, LLE questions can be rather difficult to comprehend, and examinees just have to make a guess regarding the answers to many questions. This can be rather disconcerting, especially to repeaters.

Anyway, while the University of the Philippines had a 100 percent passing rate (50 out of 50) and 4 of its examinees made it to the top 11, I think it's remarkable that 4 of the top scorers were from provincial schools, namely Holy Cross of Davao College, Baliuag University, University of Saint Louis-Tuguegarao, and Bicol College; with University of Santo Tomas taking the top spot, and examinees from University of the East and Philippine Normal University rounding out the list of topnotchers.

The list of the top scorers is reproduced below. The list of successful examinees may be downloaded from the official website of the Professional Regulation Commission.

Top 11
KARL EMMANUEL VILLANUEVA RUIZ 89.90
APRIL MAE BADILLA DELOLA 89.25
ELAINE BARBARA MAGLAQUE CRUZ 89.20
PAUL JASON VISAYA PEREZ 89.15
JONATHAN DE GUZMAN ISIP 88.85
ROANA MARIE LUCENA FLORES 88.85
GRACE RUTH TANTEO DAULAT 88.55
DANOLEENE MARIE PASICOLAN TUGADE 88.40
RAYMOND BALASAN AZUL 88.20
DENISE MARIE OCAMPO MACROHON 88.15
SHAUNTEL PEREZ ORTEGO 88.00

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Outstanding Librarian 2016:
Rodolfo Y. Tarlit

Rodolfo Y. Tarlit

The Professional Regulation Commission conferred the Outstanding Professional Librarian of the Year Award on Rodolfo Y. Tarlit on 22 June 2016. The citation reads:
For having sustained his dedication, competence and integrity, as a Professional Librarian, contributed in raising the level of competence of Filipino Librarians and the emergence of Librarianship as a profession from obscurity to vibrancy; for having been an outstanding library educator, most preferred resource person, lecturer and trainer in information analysis and organization of library materials; for a body of library literature he wrote/presented/compiled/edited, such as conference, seminar and workshop papers and proceedings, newsletters, articles and inspirational messages; for his indefatigable leadership as University Librarian of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, President of the University of the Philippines Library Science Alumni Association (UPSLAA), Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians (PAARL), Inc., Philippine Association of Teachers of Library and Information Science (PATLS) and Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI); for having been recognized thru awards such as outstanding alumnus of the UPLSAA, Academic Librarian of the Year of PAARL, Professional Service Award of PATLS, Gabriel A. Bernardo Award, Severino I. Velasco Award, Service Award and Hall of Fame Award by PLAI, and Gawad Chancellor by the University of the Philippines-Diliman; and for his pioneering/trailblazing work as Convenor and Co-Chair of the National Committee on Resource Description and Access, which drafted the Policy and Guidelines on the Implementation of RDA in Philippine Libraries, as Chair of the National Committee that drafted the Guidelines on the Registration of Cultural Properties in Libraries, and as Member, Board of Trustees of the Martial Law Memorial Commission.

Thanks to Rene Manlangit for photo and to Elvira Lapuz for the citation.


Category: Librarians—Awardees

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