UNEP Librarians Tour Academic Libraries

To further enhance their skills and develop their oral proficiency in English, librarians from selected academic institutions attended a 2-day conference held May 27 at the C & E Information Resource Center in Quezon City.

Joining other participants were eight library personnel from the University of Northeastern Philippines (UNEP) and two (2) from Alfelor Sr. Memorial Colleges (ASMC).  The activity also served as a respite from their usual routine of rummaging through the shelves of books and reference materials.

The confab, with this year's theme, "Communicating Effectively on the Library Workplace," was also in response to the insistent clamour for a continuing training and exercise that would equip librarians with the expertise in guiding library users.

The forum's participants were also given valuable inputs on how to become efficient communicators.

After the lecture, the participants were toured in various academic libraries in Metro Manila.  First drop off point was the new 5-storey building at the Ateneo de Manila University where a 200M worth Rizal library is located.

Next stop was the UP Main Library where the participants were briefed on the different library sections, including the Philippine E-lib Portal.  The group also visited the National Library of the Philippines (NPL) where the library for the blind is situated.

One of the participants' most unforgettable memories was a first-hand experience on how to use the Braille system. The Braille is defined as a "system of writing or printing, devised by L. Braille for use by the blind." It is composed of combination of tangible dots and points representing a particular letter or characters.  Braille users can read by touching the dots.

The library of the blind section is just within the premises of NPL. It is also being manned by a blind librarian.

The group also took a quick drop at the Children's library and at the third floor of NPL where special collections of books, including the original copy of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo were kept.

UNEP's management, thru its university President, Atty. Remelisa Alfelor-Moraleda, UNEP President, is in full support of these endeavours.  "Libraries served as a "store room" of information and publications making it available for every user who wants to learn and research facts and information. It is home to various collection of reference materials organized for its users. I think that it is just proper that the persons manning it are also equipped with the know-how, necessary for the library's successful operation".  (Lizel S. Macatangay)