To usher in the Library and Information Month, the National Book Week Subcommittee on Special Projects in cooperation with the Philippine Association of Teacher of Library Science (PATLS), Book Talk Society of the Philippines (BTSP), and the PNU Library and Information Science Alumni Assoc. (PNU-LISAA) a series of activities will be held on 28 October 2005 from 8 am to 5 pm at the Associacion de Damas de Filipinas located at Quirino Ave., Paco, Manila.
There will be an outreach program for the abandoned children of Damas, a book talk on "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country", and a lecture-forum on the Librarians' Role in Information Literacy in a Borderless Society with yours truly and Zarah Gagatiga as resource speakers. Prof. Randy David will be presented with the Ama ng Panulat at Pamulatang Sosyolohiyang Pinoy award and Prof. Emerita Quito will be presented the Ina ng Panulat at Pamulatang Pilosopiyang Pinoy award.
Seminar fee is 300 pesos which will cover food and certificates.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
What not to expect in the LLE
Filipino Librarian Von gave some tips in preparing for the forthcoming Librarian's Licensure Exams. And here's a tip on what not to expect from the exam itself. I had a long chat over coffee with Ms. Perla Garcia, a member of the Board for Librarians, a year ago and part of our discussion was on how the BFL prepare the tests.
I'm pretty sure most of you who are about to take the LLE enrolled in review classes and had mock exams. But please do not expect that any one of the questions in the mock exams will be in the actual test nor those discussed during the reviews. Here's why.
Ms. Garcia explained to me how the BFL prepares for the annual LLE. Each year they prepare 300 questions per subject divided among themselves and these questions are added to the questions database used in the previous exams. I'm clueless as to when the exams became automated because I was part of the first batch of examinees back in 1992, which had all types of tests imaginable. Granting the automated testing has been around for the past 8 to 9 years, you can just imagine the number of questions in the database and if these were updated annually with 300 questions, the database would contain between 24,000 to 27,000 questions.
Once the database has been updated, the system then randomly selects from the database 100 questions that will comprise the test questions for the LLE. This is done the night before the exams until the wee hours of the morning under the presence of a member of the BFL and a staff from the PRC. Once the test questions are printed, these are sealed and sent to the testing centers under tight watch to prevent any leakage, while the BFL answers the questions for the answer key.
So do not be surprised not to find questions on the latest trends in libraries and librarianship.
To those who will be taking the exams, good luck!
Category: The Profession at Large
I'm pretty sure most of you who are about to take the LLE enrolled in review classes and had mock exams. But please do not expect that any one of the questions in the mock exams will be in the actual test nor those discussed during the reviews. Here's why.
Ms. Garcia explained to me how the BFL prepares for the annual LLE. Each year they prepare 300 questions per subject divided among themselves and these questions are added to the questions database used in the previous exams. I'm clueless as to when the exams became automated because I was part of the first batch of examinees back in 1992, which had all types of tests imaginable. Granting the automated testing has been around for the past 8 to 9 years, you can just imagine the number of questions in the database and if these were updated annually with 300 questions, the database would contain between 24,000 to 27,000 questions.
Once the database has been updated, the system then randomly selects from the database 100 questions that will comprise the test questions for the LLE. This is done the night before the exams until the wee hours of the morning under the presence of a member of the BFL and a staff from the PRC. Once the test questions are printed, these are sealed and sent to the testing centers under tight watch to prevent any leakage, while the BFL answers the questions for the answer key.
So do not be surprised not to find questions on the latest trends in libraries and librarianship.
To those who will be taking the exams, good luck!
Category: The Profession at Large
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
12 pcs. or less
This was the sign on and above the check out counter at Shopwise in Makati where I bought a sponge. I always use the express lane whenever I only have 12 pieces or less of groceries to pay for.
But how many stuff was in the basket of the lady ahead of me? It was certainly more than 12 pieces. I looked at the sign that was directly in front of her and began to wonder, does she understand what the sign meant? Does she even know how to count? I fought off the urge to tap her on the shoulder and point to the sign. I looked around the other express lanes and was dismayed to see a woman with a cart-load of groceries in line at the opposite express lane, not that this was the first time I saw such a scence in an express counter.
There is literacy and there is functional literacy. A literate individual can read and write, perhaps do some simple math while a functionally literate one can combine knowledge and skills and use them in any given context.
In the characters I've mentioned, I'd think that both women are literate because they can read the labels of the products they purchased, transact with the cashier and most probably could read the "12 pcs or less sign". However, they are not functionally literate because they have not used their critical thinking skills to conclude that with the number of their purchases, they are not supposed to fall in line behind these counters. In a social context, they do not care at all that the others behind them queued up at these counters precisely to pay for "12 pcs. or less" and get it over with fast. That's why they're called "Express Lanes".
While waiting for my turn, I suddenly got this idea on how to teach people like these a lesson. I thought it best for the point-of-sale (POS) being used in these counters to return an error message that the system can no longer process when the product count exceeds 12 and that the customer has to pay for the first twelve purchases first and then another transaction for the next 12, so on and so forth, until the last item has been scanned. This will terribly, terribly inconvenience the customer and will think twice before lining up with more than 12 pieces of groceries in the express lane again.
We take pride at having one of the highest literacy rates in the world, but for what? When we can't even follow the simplest of signs, let's not shake our heads in disbelief nor point fingers at and blame our officials for the state our country is in right now. We all have a share of the blame in part for being functionally illiterate.
Category: IL & IT
But how many stuff was in the basket of the lady ahead of me? It was certainly more than 12 pieces. I looked at the sign that was directly in front of her and began to wonder, does she understand what the sign meant? Does she even know how to count? I fought off the urge to tap her on the shoulder and point to the sign. I looked around the other express lanes and was dismayed to see a woman with a cart-load of groceries in line at the opposite express lane, not that this was the first time I saw such a scence in an express counter.
There is literacy and there is functional literacy. A literate individual can read and write, perhaps do some simple math while a functionally literate one can combine knowledge and skills and use them in any given context.
In the characters I've mentioned, I'd think that both women are literate because they can read the labels of the products they purchased, transact with the cashier and most probably could read the "12 pcs or less sign". However, they are not functionally literate because they have not used their critical thinking skills to conclude that with the number of their purchases, they are not supposed to fall in line behind these counters. In a social context, they do not care at all that the others behind them queued up at these counters precisely to pay for "12 pcs. or less" and get it over with fast. That's why they're called "Express Lanes".
While waiting for my turn, I suddenly got this idea on how to teach people like these a lesson. I thought it best for the point-of-sale (POS) being used in these counters to return an error message that the system can no longer process when the product count exceeds 12 and that the customer has to pay for the first twelve purchases first and then another transaction for the next 12, so on and so forth, until the last item has been scanned. This will terribly, terribly inconvenience the customer and will think twice before lining up with more than 12 pieces of groceries in the express lane again.
We take pride at having one of the highest literacy rates in the world, but for what? When we can't even follow the simplest of signs, let's not shake our heads in disbelief nor point fingers at and blame our officials for the state our country is in right now. We all have a share of the blame in part for being functionally illiterate.
Category: IL & IT
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
A day of library work for book theft
A college student was caught sneaking out a book from a library. Library theft at that school is considered a major offense punishable by suspension or expulsion. But how come the student who was caught red-handed with a stolen book got away with the act by serving a day's work at the library? To me, that was just a slap on the wrist.
Clearly, the punishment does not fit the crime. If every library offender was treated with kid gloves, what message does that send our students? That it's better to be caught stealing library materials or mutilating them than be caught smoking in uniform? And what is the implication of the punishment to the library? Students have continually tried to test the library's security system, and admittedly some have gotten away with them and that was one of those lucky times the library staff actually caught someone stealing and admitted to doing it.
I still can't believe this actually happened and am still in denial. Neither do I have answers to the questions I posed coz I'm still looking for answers. I hope I don't throw my hands up in surrender when something like this happens again. Or we might as well get rid of any security measures in the library.
Category: The Profession at Large
Clearly, the punishment does not fit the crime. If every library offender was treated with kid gloves, what message does that send our students? That it's better to be caught stealing library materials or mutilating them than be caught smoking in uniform? And what is the implication of the punishment to the library? Students have continually tried to test the library's security system, and admittedly some have gotten away with them and that was one of those lucky times the library staff actually caught someone stealing and admitted to doing it.
I still can't believe this actually happened and am still in denial. Neither do I have answers to the questions I posed coz I'm still looking for answers. I hope I don't throw my hands up in surrender when something like this happens again. Or we might as well get rid of any security measures in the library.
Category: The Profession at Large
Saturday, October 15, 2005
PLAI-NCR Council & House of Delegates extend term
It's now official. The PLAI-NCR Council will be extending their term until 2006. In a meeting held last Tuesday with the members of the NCR Council, NCR House of Delegate Representatives and NCR NOMELEC, the collective body reached a consensus that the elected officials maintain a status quo until 2006.
I wasn't able to attend the meeting being a member of the NCR NOMELEC due to the workload at the office, it is finals week at school, but the info was relayed to me by the NOMELEC Chairman, Elnora Conti.
For the record, neither of the two bodies, the NCR Council and NCR House of Delegates were able to deliver their goods as embodied in the PLAI Constitution. The NCR Council is mandated to provide continuing professional development activities to librarians in the National Capital Region while the NCR House of Delegates are supposed to submit measures for legislation to the PLAI House of Delegates. Thus, the status quo.
While it is welcome news for us at the NCR NOMELEC because we won't be working this year, I feel a bit disappointed about the zero output having seen the enthusiasm and having heard the promises during last year's elections. I will withhold any comments on these matters because I know all the members of both bodies and I do know, too, that these aren't the way they thought it would end up.
Take it away, Von :)
Category: The Profession at Large
I wasn't able to attend the meeting being a member of the NCR NOMELEC due to the workload at the office, it is finals week at school, but the info was relayed to me by the NOMELEC Chairman, Elnora Conti.
For the record, neither of the two bodies, the NCR Council and NCR House of Delegates were able to deliver their goods as embodied in the PLAI Constitution. The NCR Council is mandated to provide continuing professional development activities to librarians in the National Capital Region while the NCR House of Delegates are supposed to submit measures for legislation to the PLAI House of Delegates. Thus, the status quo.
While it is welcome news for us at the NCR NOMELEC because we won't be working this year, I feel a bit disappointed about the zero output having seen the enthusiasm and having heard the promises during last year's elections. I will withhold any comments on these matters because I know all the members of both bodies and I do know, too, that these aren't the way they thought it would end up.
Take it away, Von :)
Category: The Profession at Large
Thursday, October 13, 2005
The key to library use
I'm taking time-off from my overwhelming writing tasks, read rakets, that has left me exhausted to discuss something that's long overdue.
Coming in the heels of my previous post and as an offshoot of a conversation I had with Zarah and Von over dinner a few weeks ago, I felt I have to write about the importance of establishing, maintaining, and strenghtening relationships with teachers/professors who are key to improving library use.
Back when I used to teach English in the university, every time I had a writing exercise that needed research I made it clear to my students that they had to cite their sources properly. While most of the students would openly express their disdain at having to go to the library, I stood my ground and they couldn't do anything about it. I found out from observation, from asking around, and from the questions fellow faculty members asked me that my former colleagues didn't give much research/writing assignments.
I remember the time when I borrowed a book from the library that was very useful for my writing class. When a friend and colleague who was teaching Filipino saw the book, she asked me how I was able to find it because she, too, found it useful for her subject. A fellow English teacher asked me how to find websites on bibilography-making and so I told her how to find things on the web using a search engine. I never felt prouder being a librarian. Even then I was willing to bet that I was the only frequent library visitor in the entire faculty of the college.
When I left teaching to go back to being a librarian, I remember my current boss telling me during my interview that library attendance was low. I suddenly realized the truism that for students to come to the library and use its resources and not just to lounge around and escape the heat outside, the teacher is key. Let's face it. Students nowadays, surrounded with all sorts of distractions, will not go to the library on their own volition. They have to have a reason to go there. And who better to provide that reason than their teachers/professors.
Of course we all know this. This is a basic concept taught in library schools. But the question that begs to be answered is, are we reaching out to our users, particularly teachers, for reasons other than asking them to make recommendations for purchase and showing them what's new? Do we even care to ask what topic, not course, they are currently discussing to see if we have particular resources they could use? When was the last time we asked for feedback regarding the use of a particular resource?
Having worked with teachers for the past years, I can classify them into those who do comply with library responsibilities because they're supposed to as in selection, etc. and do not care whether the materials they recommend are used after all; and those who value not only the library's resources but also the services. There was this teacher who belonged to the first category and has since retired, who explicitly told me not to send her any of our current awareness bulletins because it was just a waste of paper and that she doesn't read them anyway. Coming from an academic head, this was truly disappointing. And we wonder at the state of research in the country.
The challenge for us librarians then is to exploit our relationship with those who acknowledge and appreciate our services to the hilt, heck treat them like royalty if we have to and reach out to the skeptics until it hurts.
Category: The Profession at Large
Coming in the heels of my previous post and as an offshoot of a conversation I had with Zarah and Von over dinner a few weeks ago, I felt I have to write about the importance of establishing, maintaining, and strenghtening relationships with teachers/professors who are key to improving library use.
Back when I used to teach English in the university, every time I had a writing exercise that needed research I made it clear to my students that they had to cite their sources properly. While most of the students would openly express their disdain at having to go to the library, I stood my ground and they couldn't do anything about it. I found out from observation, from asking around, and from the questions fellow faculty members asked me that my former colleagues didn't give much research/writing assignments.
I remember the time when I borrowed a book from the library that was very useful for my writing class. When a friend and colleague who was teaching Filipino saw the book, she asked me how I was able to find it because she, too, found it useful for her subject. A fellow English teacher asked me how to find websites on bibilography-making and so I told her how to find things on the web using a search engine. I never felt prouder being a librarian. Even then I was willing to bet that I was the only frequent library visitor in the entire faculty of the college.
When I left teaching to go back to being a librarian, I remember my current boss telling me during my interview that library attendance was low. I suddenly realized the truism that for students to come to the library and use its resources and not just to lounge around and escape the heat outside, the teacher is key. Let's face it. Students nowadays, surrounded with all sorts of distractions, will not go to the library on their own volition. They have to have a reason to go there. And who better to provide that reason than their teachers/professors.
Of course we all know this. This is a basic concept taught in library schools. But the question that begs to be answered is, are we reaching out to our users, particularly teachers, for reasons other than asking them to make recommendations for purchase and showing them what's new? Do we even care to ask what topic, not course, they are currently discussing to see if we have particular resources they could use? When was the last time we asked for feedback regarding the use of a particular resource?
Having worked with teachers for the past years, I can classify them into those who do comply with library responsibilities because they're supposed to as in selection, etc. and do not care whether the materials they recommend are used after all; and those who value not only the library's resources but also the services. There was this teacher who belonged to the first category and has since retired, who explicitly told me not to send her any of our current awareness bulletins because it was just a waste of paper and that she doesn't read them anyway. Coming from an academic head, this was truly disappointing. And we wonder at the state of research in the country.
The challenge for us librarians then is to exploit our relationship with those who acknowledge and appreciate our services to the hilt, heck treat them like royalty if we have to and reach out to the skeptics until it hurts.
Category: The Profession at Large
Monday, October 10, 2005
Establishing and maintaining relationships in the library
Filipino Librarian Von listed 5P's in marketing libraries. Zarah, School Librarian in Action likewise shared her thoughts on the matter and even expounded on a 3-part post on why a librarian's image is everything. I might as well add another P to Von's list and to the growing discussion on marketing the library- Personal relationships with clients. And you start by knowing your clients' names.
I'm not good at remembering names but I remember the faces of my users especially my sukis and make it a point to greet them or acknowledge them with a smile or a nod everytime I see them on or off campus. And when they drop by my office I engage them in small talk on top of discussing their AV needs. I do the same for teachers who I consider the bridge between us and the students. Providing current awareness services to them is not enough. Short of begging them to drop by the library, I cordially invite them to see the latest addition I have for them in the collection and of course, the small talk helps. But I'm not perfect. I also have my cranky days when I'm having PMS, my period, and sigh, even bad hair days.
When a relationship has been established, give them service par excellence and by word of mouth, they'd come to you first in trickles and before you know it, you've got your hands full.
Zarah mentioned in one of our conversations that some librarians think that they're in ivory towers, unreachable. This reminded me of Rapunzel who lets down her hair only for the witch. Are we sometimes like Rapunzel who selects whom to serve?
Let's put to good use the units in Psychology we had in college to market not only the library but ourselves.
Category: The Profession at Large
I'm not good at remembering names but I remember the faces of my users especially my sukis and make it a point to greet them or acknowledge them with a smile or a nod everytime I see them on or off campus. And when they drop by my office I engage them in small talk on top of discussing their AV needs. I do the same for teachers who I consider the bridge between us and the students. Providing current awareness services to them is not enough. Short of begging them to drop by the library, I cordially invite them to see the latest addition I have for them in the collection and of course, the small talk helps. But I'm not perfect. I also have my cranky days when I'm having PMS, my period, and sigh, even bad hair days.
When a relationship has been established, give them service par excellence and by word of mouth, they'd come to you first in trickles and before you know it, you've got your hands full.
Zarah mentioned in one of our conversations that some librarians think that they're in ivory towers, unreachable. This reminded me of Rapunzel who lets down her hair only for the witch. Are we sometimes like Rapunzel who selects whom to serve?
Let's put to good use the units in Psychology we had in college to market not only the library but ourselves.
Category: The Profession at Large
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