Bulacan holds 4th provincial conference of public librarians
CITY OF MALOLOS – With the theme “Library of the Future: History, Concepts, and Trends”, the Provincial Government of Bulacan holds a three-day seminar dubbed as 4th Provincial Conference of Public Librarians from May 16-18, 2018 at Francisco Balagtas Hall, Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center in this city.
The said yearly conference of public librarians aims to develop new strategies to entice readers to continue reading books amidst the prevalence of modern technology.
In his message delivered by Edalyn Carvajal, Executive Assistant III from the Governor’s Office, Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado emphasized that there is no better weapon than having a sharp mind.
“Ang mga silid-aklatan ay masasabi nating lunsaran ng mga pangarap, bagaman ganap na pinagaan ng teknolohiya ang buhay ng tao, hindi pa rin nito kayang tumbasan ang kaalamang hatid ng nilimbag na aklat,” Alvarado said.
Board Member Ma. Lourdes Posadas, chairman of the Committee on Tourism, Culture and the Arts, seconded the statement of Alvarado and said that it is the duty of public librarians to make the libraries inviting especially now that everything can be accessed through the internet.
“We will help fund the libraries para magkaroon ng mga computer dahil alam n’yo po, libraries provide more than books and journals, but more of an educational experience,” Posadas said.
Meanwhile, Director Cesar Gilbert Adriano of the National Library of the Philippines, the guest speaker, firstly explained the mandate of the agency, which is to restore, conserve, preserve and make sure the materials are available to the public especially that it is considered as the repository of Filipiniana materials.
“Kung may museum, kami po ang museum ng libro, libraries are institutions of community development and nation building. We should not let a building define public library or the services that we are offering. It is supposed to be an embodiment of knowledge and wisdom,” Adriano shared.
Further, National Commission for Culture and the Arts-National Committee on Libraries and Information Services Head Prudenciana Cruz announced some projects that will benefit the public libraries in the country including the establishment of Provincial, Municipality and City Public Libraries and Barangay Reading Centers, and provision of grants amounting to P250,000, P150,000 or P100,000 for the proposed public libraries projects.
She added that interested applicants may visit ncca.gov.ph for more information and format of the proposal.
Dr. Eliseo Dela Cruz, head of the Provincial History, Arts, Culture and Tourism Office is hoping for a better future for libraries and to not be exterminated by Google and Yahoo.
During the conference, a ceremonial turn-over of book allocation from the National Library of the Philippines was also held as well as the opening of the exhibit about Mariano Ponce and Gabriel Bernardo entitled “History, Legacy, Library”, and launching of the book entitled, “Mga Naging Hintuan ni Mariano Ponce sa Paglalakbay” written by Resil Mojares and published by the PGB.
The seminar also discussed the life of Ponce being the father of national library, and Bernardo being the father of Philippine librarianship, the libraries contribution to the Philippine Development Plan, and library systems among others.