Back in the day when broadband Internet was still a thing of the past (in the Philippines), EB's (eyeballs) for me were full of tension. Parents were paranoid and as an individual, the biggest question was what would the rest of the people look like. In a way, modern convenience has mitigated some of those factors. Meeting a stranger isn't as discomforting mainly because we have mobile phones so when we see someone roaming aimlessly in the designated meeting place, we can just give them a miss call or text message to check if they really are who we think they are.
Anyway, the Filipino Librarian decided to hold an EB among fellow librarians. Zarah has an entry and enumerates the names of those who attended (I'm horrible with names!). Of the bunch, Igor was familiar because I knew him back when I was still in high school (in the late 90's). (It's funny how most of my "literary" connections can be traced to my anime and hobby gaming roots.)
Von's planning to set up a project and to help out, I've decided that at least once a week, I'll have a library-related post (never mind the fact that I did not study library science or that I'm not a registered librarian... does writing a library story count?). It helps my blog become more consistent. (Remember, Thursdays are podcast days and I from now on, Mondays are library article days.) Am I setting myself up for failure? Possibly. I didn't finish the other year's NaNoWriMo for example. But this is an endeavor I want to try out.
What I found quaint during the meeting wasn't the fact that most of the attendees were male but rather most of them are involved in IT! Where are the trained librarians manning the libraries? Zarah even mentions how there's a shortage of accredited librarians for PAASCU (basically an independent body that gives accreditation to private schools and gives them a rating... it's like your supervisor dropping by to determine if you should still be in the company or not). Von also mentions at how in order to become a certified librarian in the Philippines, there's a licensing exam to take, much like board exams for doctors and lawyers.
On a side note, I want to plug A Different Bookstore which is where the meeting took place. I really which that they have a website to which I could link to, even a simple blog where they can post their new arrivals (they already provide the same service through their private mailing list and via text messages--one of the assets of an independent bookstore). Zarah was talking at how she wishes libraries could have the same set-up as A Different Bookstore and Von tells us that we should visit Singapore.
Anyway, since The Filipino Librarian is overwhelmed by my posts, here's some library-related articles he missed:
- Libraries, Libraries, Libraries -- Basically me plugging Curious Expedition's photo compendium of various libraries (I got the photo above from this site).
- Evolving Libraries -- An essay I wrote back in July which is a short history of libraries.
Also, here are the members of the blogging "mafia" as we attempt to monopolize the library niche in the Philippines:
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