Filipino Librarian: Libraries: Public Schools

Showing posts with label Libraries: Public Schools. Show all posts

Books for Camiguin

I can only hope that some of this blog's readers will donate not only books, but also money for the "I-CARE Reading Program" alluded to in the photo above, which I took at a public elementary school in Bug-ong, Mambajao, Camiguin. In case you would like to help, please call or text +639089742613 or send an email to blessed.woman1@yahoo.com.

I am featuring this appeal on my blog, however, for another reason: as an example of what persons assigned to public school libraries in the Philippines should NOT do. Please don't get me wrong. I am not blaming the blessed woman for her lack of marketing savvy. She is, after all, a school property custodian, not a licensed librarian.

She did a few things right. The most significant was a big sign saying "READING PARK," which caught my eye as I rode past the school several times on my way to and from the resort where I was staying. I kept wondering what a reading park was, so I finally asked the driver to stop on one trip, and knocked on the school's gate.

The following photos indicate what I saw before I actually encountered the sign above:

So what's the problem? Even though the "READING PARK" sign could be seen from the road, I did not see the banner asking for book donations—even though it was written in big, bold letters—until I had entered the school and approached the unfinished structure.

Question: Are you sure that your requests are being seen by the right people?

Passion for Libraries: Hubs and Hugs

Labels: Libraries: Public Schools, Library Hub

Update as of 16 September 2007: I missed another more recent article: "How to Build a Library Hub" by Neni Sta. Romana Cruz (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 14 September 2007). The title says it all =)

"Raising Filipino literacy" by Blooey Singson (Manila Bulletin, 13 September 2007) is an ok article, but I don't know that anyone, after reading the article, would be moved to do anything about the fact that, "About one in every 10 Filipinos cannot read or write." Facts, quotes and statistics are abundant, but the author probably should have kept in mind this saying: "Do your homework and know your facts, but remember it's passion that persuades."

In contrast, "Library Hugs" by Neni Sta. Romana Cruz (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 3 July 2007)—which I missed when it first came out—has an intriguing title (and not just because it has the word "library" in it) and very few facts, quotes and statistics. (Note: The online version's title is different from the printed version's.)

True, Cruz was writing an opinion column, but Singson's article appeared in the "Youth & Campus" section, which I guess means it's for younger readers. Then again, maybe the difference lies in the fact that the authors are writing for different newspapers with different editorial policies. Whatever the case may be, I'll just leave it up to readers to decide which one is more effective—based on their understanding of the two writers' objectives.

What can librarians learn from these two articles? Please don't get me wrong. Facts, quotes and statistics are important, too, but they need to be used appropriately.

Librarian-less Libraries are Just Buildings

Labels: Clippings, Libraries: Public Schools, Reading

From a press release:

Senator Ralph Recto wants 60 libraries to be established next year to be named after noted Filipino writers, saying these facilities would not only honor deceased writers but also encourage the youth and adults alike to develop a passion for reading.

Recto’s proposal comes in the wake of the finding that three in every four recent elementary school graduates cannot read without assistance.

I applaud the intention of building libraries and the desire to honor writers and promote reading, but I do not see how erecting libraries, by themselves, will encourage Filipinos to "develop a passion for reading." It would probably be more effective for Recto to ask his wife Vilma Santos to join the Get Caught Reading campaign.

The less popular—but more effective, in my biased opinion—initiative that Recto can push is to highlight the importance of hiring competent librarians for all existing public school libraries and those he wants to set up; librarians who will not just keep the books in order, but reach out to their communities to promote reading and literacy. Just as the Senate is not merely a repository of laws, libraries are not just buildings full of books. And just as not all senators are worthy of the name, not everyone who works in a library is, in fact, a librarian.

Libraries with "librarians" who just happen to be relatives or friends of the appointing authorities, but with no knowledge of what professional librarians actually do, will very likely discourage—not encourage—reading. Libraries without librarians who care about their communities and books will just be a waste of time, space, effort and money.

So go ahead, build the libraries, name them after writers, but don't forget to hire the librarians who will manage the libraries, attract readers and make sure that those readers know who the writers are. Oh, and remember to mention the need for librarians in your press releases.

Library Hub: Update from an Insider

Labels: Libraries: Public Schools, Library Hub

by Riko Vinluan

This update on Library Hub was provided by the author upon my request.

The Naga Library Hub is working now. Public school libraries have adopted our information system, but I don't know if the system is working at the library level because there is a lack of trained IT staff in DepEd divisions. We are circulating books, but I am very strict with the divisions, especially regarding the circulation of books. I set up a reading program, a concrete project to ensure that the books being circulated will be used in the classroom.

Problems cropped up, however, when the books were distributed to the schools. There were teacher-librarians who, perhaps due to overloading, did not really distribute the books in their schools. The books stayed in their classrooms, and were underutilized. So what I am doing right now is continuing to monitor the use of the books. I believe this is the opportunity to consider the hiring of professional librarians for the public schools.

With the release of funding from the World Bank intended for the Library Hubs, public officials in different parts of the country have begun extolling the virtues of the project. Here's hoping it will not be politicized and that its objective of promoting the use of reading and making every child a reader will be achieved.

The State of Public School Libraries

Labels: Libraries: Public Schools

In elementary schools, there is no allocation for a librarian. In the secondary level, supposedly there should be one librarian for every 1,000 students in a school. Donated books and materials may be available, but there's no professional staff to man the library. There are purportedly satellite learning resource centers, but more often, they are poorly equipped, not functional, and good only during evaluation periods.

—"Our teachers' poor comprehension" by Reuben Ramos (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 April 2005)

The excerpt from the letter to the editor quoted above is correct—but not entirely. According to a little-known DECS Order (No. 6, signed by Ricardo Gloria on 22 January 1998) entitled "Policies and Programs for School Library Development," there should be one teacher-librarian for every school with a student population of 500 or less, one full-time and one part-time teacher-librarian for those with 501-2,000, and an additional full-time librarian for every 1,000 students for those that have more than 2,000 students (see Page 3).

The same DECS Order also states that "Library funds shall be 5-10% of the school funds" (see Page 5). Unfortunately, the DECS Order cannot be enforced because a law—and not just an order from a long-gone department secretary—is needed to appropriate funds automatically in public schools in the Philippines.

DECS Order No. 6, s. 1998

If you would like to help public school libraries in the Philippines, forward this post to your congressman (so that a bill can be drafted allocating funds for libraries) or the higher-ups at the Department of Education (so they can review the order and issue an updated one).

Related posts:

Basic Education and Corruption
Librarians as Leaders
Hope for Public School Libraries
Public School Libraries

Public School Libraries

Labels: Libraries: Public Schools

It's not very often that librarians make it into the news in the Philippines. And so, even though I was planning on building up gradually to the state of public school libraries in the Philippines, let me just get this off my chest:

…[S]chool library conditions are not conducive to effective library service as required by modern education… Books are merely accessioned, but neither classified nor catalogued… This is accompanied by an unbalanced or disproportionate distribution of books… The housing conditions provided for the library, if any, are poor, and the furniture and equipment are inadequate… The library is not open long enough for students to use it to the fullest extent. Opening the library is only a matter of “if time permits” for the librarian. Some schools do not even open their libraries at all… Library instruction is given; but [it] is inadequate, disorganized, and has no definite place in the curriculum… The… librarians have not had any training in library work. Even liberally interpreting the term “trained librarian” to mean a librarian who has taken any course in library science, the data compiled show only 29 per cent who qualify as possessing “technical training.”

No, this is not from the latest news article about Filipino public school libraries. The findings quoted above were taken from a thesis written 65 years ago (Concordia Sanchez, “A Survey of Philippine Public Elementary School Libraries” [M.A. thesis, University of the Philippines, 1940]).

"Public School Librarians are Have Nots," by Peachy Limpin (Manila Bulletin, 6 March 2005), is the latest news article about Filipino public school libraries. But it's not very encouraging:

I gave a brief lecture on information literacy two Fridays ago to public school librarians from Manila... [T]hey were all computer literate. This may not sound a bit surprising but seeing the audience composed of 40s and 50 something, I assumed that some might still be technophobic... what the librarians are afraid of is forgetting what they have learned since they are not using the system yet because most of the public school libraries have no computers in the first place... Another reality that struck me was that there was only one librarian from among those present who has ever used a search engine.

While it may seem good that the public school librarians were "computer literate"—because they had been taught to use computers—the fact that only one had "ever used a search engine" makes me wonder just how "computer literate" these librarians were. And what if Limpin had visited the libraries managed by the public school librarians who listened to her? She would have seen what most Filipino librarians—or any Filipino, for that matter—would instinctively know: that what Sanchez wrote about public school libraries in 1940 is still very true today. With or without "computer literate" librarians.

Please don't get me wrong. This is not a put down, just a statement of fact. In a future post, I will discuss why public school libraries in the Philippines have been neglected, and how a few have managed to flourish despite this neglect.

To understand the situation further, see "Scrounging Funds to Finance Public Schools in the Philippines" by Marites Sison (25 April 2000). Please note that this article is not about libraries but the schools themselves.