The 71st National Book Week and reviving the culture of reading

This year's 71st National Book Week celebration ends today with a Fellowship Luncheon at the Manila Hotel with former DILG Secretary Joey Lina as guest speaker.

The Book Week kicked off with a FunWalk and character parade around Luneta and was followed with a mass at the National Library. The Philippine Association of Teachers of Library Science (PATLS) held the annual Library and Information Science Quiz Bee in the afternoon. The Association of Special Libraries of the Philippines (ASLP) and the Philippine Association of Academic and Research Libraries (PAARL) held separate fora on Friday, November 25.

I was present at two Book Week related activities. One was the general assembly and forum sponsored by the PNU Library and Information Science Alumni Association (PNU-LISAA) and the other was the convocation sponsored by the Book Talk Society of the Philippines (BTSP) together with PNU's Library and Information Science Department.

I'll be writing about the PNU-LISAA's forum on Reading in the Age of Technology with Dr. Diljit Singh of University of Malaya, Malaysia in another blog. Meantime I want to focus on the activity sponsored by BTSP where I shared the billing with a good friend and fellow blogger Zarah Gagatiga and discussed information literacy; Atty. Alex Lacson, the author of the very compelling book 12 Little Things You Can Do For Your Country; and no less than Prof. Randy David who was awarded a very beautiful plaque honoring him for being the Ama ng Pamulatang Pang-Sosyolohikang Pinoy.

In his very brief but very substantive message, Prof. David identified the reasons for the decline in reading. These were the proliferation of TV shows whose scripts and storylines do not help in the formation of the intellect, the absence of public libraries (emphasis is mine), and the lack of translations into the vernacular. Besides identifying these reasons, he also offered some suggestions on how to revive a reading culture. First is to revive defunct public libraries or create one in its absence, establish book clubs and mobile libraries.

Come to think of it, if you'll look closely at his suggestions, he is actually challenging us librarians to take the lead in reviving the culture of reading. Surely reviving a public library and establishing book mobiles won't be that easy considering that local government support is necessary but we can start with establishing book clubs no matter how small.

Prof. David also gave us a peek of his life. Other than his family, there are three things he loves to do: riding his motorbike, birdwatching, and reading. And for someone who has established himself in writing, he was humble enough to admit that he finds it hard to come up with something to write about and that it takes him 5 to 6 hours to just write a 4000 plus article. Now that is something I can truly identify with.

I can listen to the man for hours on end because as he speaks, there is wisdom in his words. Prof. Randy David is the perfect example of a product of reading. As Sir Francis Bacon said "Reading maketh a full man...writing an exact man." Prof. Randy David is one such man. And it was an honor to have shared front row seats with him.