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Exactly the same day last year, I joined the Master in Library Science and Information class of Central Philippine University on the study tour and benchmarking to the various libraries in Metro Manila. The experience not only brought me to somewhere I haven't been before but also gave me brand new snippets of wisdom that I would want to apply comes the time when I become a librarian.
I woke up at 1 am of the 23rd. I was not that much excited, in fact I am a bit tired already. But the thought of getting on a trip gave me some resolve that it will be a good day for me. I spent two hours writing. I was going to be out for almost a week and I wouldn't be working the regular 12 hours for five days. So I decided to squeeze in a few extra hours every day to keep track of the projects. I ate breakfast at half past 3 and left for the airport at around 4:30 am. We checked in quarter to 5 am, after quite some photo ops.
The plane flew exactly 6 am. One of the few things that I hate about flying is when my ear gets numb while up in the sky. I am very pleased with the comfort and speed it offers, minus of course the deafness that I have to endure while on air. We landed in Manila at 7 am. A van was awaiting us outside. After boarding the vehicle, we bought breakfast at the nearby McDonald's outlet and ate while heading to our first destination—The Rizal Library of Ateneo de Manila University. One of the many puzzling wonders of going on tour at such a cosmopolis is that it gives the opportunity to marvel at the monstrosity of the structures there in. It is the main library of the university and serves to support instructional and research needs of the faculty and students in the Loyola schools.
The Rizal Library is divided into functional divisions: Technical Services, Readers Services, Special Collections and Archives, and Support Services. The Technical Services Division is in charge of purchasing and acquiring of instructional materials, as well as cataloging and indexing them.
Meanwhile, the Readers Services Division administers the Circulation, General Reference, Filipiniana, Computer and Audio-Visual Services, Microform Reading Center, and Foreign Periodicals sections.
The Special Collections and Archives division oversees the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writing (ALIWW), American Historical Collection (AHC), Pardo de Tavera Special Collection Archives, and Photoduplication Services sections.
In 2009, the five-storey Rizal Library building was inaugurated. It is divided into two wings, the North and South, which house the library's circulation, the undergraduate and graduate reserve sections, the multimedia collection, the periodicals collection, the Japanese collection, online database access terminals, an information commons, and the Library's technical services facilities. The building was named "First Pacific Hall" in honor of its major benefactor, the First Pacific Corporation.
The old library building, now called the Rizal Library Special Collection, boasts of 7,000 sq. m. of floor area. It is home to the Microform Reading Center, Art Book Collection, Filipiniana Section, American Historical Collection, the Ateneo Library of Women's Writings, the Pardo de Tavera Collection, and the Theses and Dissertations collection. It also has cubicles for faculty, photocopying stations, and other facilities.
The library has as much as 250 open-access computers located in different locations in the Loyola schools. The library also maintains a study hall named after Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci.
Ateneo de Manila University’s collections is more compared to what the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) require. Meanwhile, the library’s Filipiniana Filipiniana materials are among the rarest in the Philippines. It includes exhibits of Rizal memorabilia, the Trinidad Pardo de Tavera collection, the American Historical Collection; the Ateneo Library of Women's Writings (ALIWW); and other special collections and manuscripts by Filipino scholars, writers, and artists. Around the library are glass cases filled with prehistoric Philippine earthenware as well as porcelain from China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Next to the National Library, the library has some of the largest holdings of materials in the Philippines.
What fascinated me most, however, was the preservation area. Ateneo I should say has the most sophisticated machines, albeit impractical, in digitizing print materials. They have an efficient team and, of course, all the benefits that modern technology has to offer. The school also houses collections of some of the country's revered historical and political figures.
We were also given lecture by the chief of the cataloging section. She was an expert in the field and she provided an expert tour of the technical services area of the library. She threw nuggets of her experience as well as some information we find valuable in running the work.
We were so amazed at how so far advanced Ateneo is that we failed to notice time passing by. We were to head to our next destination, University of the Philippines, so we hurried up, least we will have to miss an important phase of the trip.
I was always horrified by the thought of getting stranded amidst heavy traffic, and as we were already so late for our UP trip, the traffic added up to our delay. But better late than never, so at half past 11 we arrived at the University of the Philippines. It is sprawling, more than I have imagined. Its wide expanse covers a municipality in size and amidst the greenery and verdant grounds stand century-old buildings and at the heart is the iconic Oblation, that imposing structure that has been the inspiration of the notorious “run,” where men of bravery and boldness would dare race with one another around without anything but a cloth to cover their face and seal their identity. We passed along narra-lined lane, trees standing side-by-side. The mere thought of walking about their shades fill my thoughts of like walking at a dirt road in the countryside, or strolling in the grounds of a plantation where the end of the road is where the old, white mansion stands. I cannot help but think, too, that these trees must have provided shade to some of the country’s most intelligent and politically prominent people. The lanes must have been treaded by genius minds who now lead—and had led the country.
We were a bit lost on our way, UP is too big for strangers like us to find our way. Eventually, we made it to the library, where we were welcomed and given a lecture about the university's integrated and in-house library system. I was not able to concentrate that much. In the mid of the day, I am already sleepy—looking forward for a nice afternoon nap—and blended by my revolting tummy, I am already weakened after the exhausting trip.
Nevertheless, I was still able to appreciate the neoclassical structure of the building. Its stately size, towering Grecian pillars, and spacious interior befit it at the heart of an English country estate, rather than be tucked at the campus' discreet corner. Nevertheless, its wide stretch and its being a multi-storey structure makes it an ideal place to store books. We left the university at half past 12 and dined nearby. I filled my hungry stomach much to my palate's desire.
Photo Opts at the Big Brother House
After lunch we decided to proceed to our accommodation, the Chateaux de Sta. Isabel, so off we made the trip and passed along highways, congested streets, and discreet alleyways just to escape the traffic. Then we passed along the Big Brother House. It was so kind of the driver to have allowed us to stop awhile for photo opts. Of course, we wore our biggest smiles as we pose before the country's most popular house.
Check-in at Chateau de Sta. Isabel
At around 2 pm, we arrived at Sta. Isabel College where we were accommodated at the Chateau de Sta. Isabel. It operates as a bed and breakfast and ran by hospital management students. I truly admire the baroque enteriors of the chateau and I beheld its mansion-like grandeur. The inn stands in front of Rizal Park and it is very near Intramuros. We checked in and proceeded to our room. I unpacked my baggage and refreshed myself for our next stop, the nearby National Library.
I could recall way back my history lessons during high school that there was once a Spanish-run institution named Colegio de Sta. Isabel. It was actually Sta. Isabel College today. Tracing back its roots, it is one of the oldest existing institutions of higher learning in the Philippines. It was founded by the Hermana dela Misericordia in 1594, as an orphanage that trained and supported orphaned Spanish lass. In 1632, it became a college. Its former site was adjoining a church that once functioned as a cathedral, while the present Metropolitan Cathedral was under repair. For more than a century, the college persisted until it was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1863. Less than a century later, it was struck by fire in 1932 and was totally destroyed during the battle for the Liberation of Manila in 1945. After the war ended, the college was officially transferred to its present site in June 1946.
The National Library
At around 4 pm, we headed to the National Library, just a block away, where we were given a lecture about a more practical way of digitizing rare printings.
The National Library of the Philippines (Pambansang Aklatan ng Pilipinas in Filipino and Biblioteca Nacional de Filipinas in Spanish, and formerly the National Library of the Philippine Islands, and abbreviated NLP) is the official national library of the country. The complex is located at Ermita, on the edge of Rizal Park facing T.M. Kalaw Avenue. Adjacent is the National Archives while culturally significant buildings like the Museum of Philippines and the National Historical Commission are just a short walk away. The National Library is under the jurisdiction of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). It is here that the original copies of the defining works of José Rizal: Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and Mi último adios are kept and preserved. The construction of its present site became apparent by virtue of the executive order signed by Pres. Ramon Magsaysay in 1954. Construction began in 1960 and the building was inaugurated in 1961 by Pres. Carlos P. Garcia.
The collections of the National Library of the Philippines consist of more than 210,000 books; over 880,000 manuscripts, all part of the Filipiniana Division. It also boasts of more than 170,000 newspaper issues from Metro Manila and across the Philippines, 66,000 theses and dissertations, 104,000 government publications, 3,800 maps and 53,000 photographs. A vast amount of non-print media and more than 18,000 pieces for use of the Library for the Blind Division are also deposited here.
To sum up, the National Library to home to more than 1.6 million pieces of materials, making it the largest library in the Philippines, with collections ranging from valuable Rizaliana pieces, four incunabulas, the original manuscript of Lupang Hinirang (the Philippine national anthem), several sets of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, a collection of rare Filipiniana books previously owned by Tabacalera, the Spanish tobacco monopoly, and the documents of five Philippine presidents. The most prized possessions of the National Library, which include Rizal's Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and Mi último adiós, three of his unfinished novels and the Philippine Declaration of Independence, are tightly secured in a special, double-combination vault at the rare documents section of the Filipiniana Division's reading room.
We were told of the institution's functions and its present-day programs that define the very importance of its existence. Then, we guided around the area and led the room where most of the digitization is done. Although the National Library does not stand at par when compared to the technological advancement of Ateneo, I must say that the office head is more than resourceful enough to teach us a practical but cost-effective technique on how to digitize rear and endangered print materials. With a digital camera and free downloadable software online, we can succeed in digitizing our own copies. We left the National Library loaded with the latest but simple-to-carry-out techniques that helped us to practice what we acquired when we go back to our respective posts at home.
Dinner at Dolcelatte
We left the National Library at 6 pm, and I was hoping our trip to C & E Bookstore, where we had an appointment with the manager, will only take us a little less than 15 minutes. But, again, the traffic was so heavy it took us forever to reach our destination. I even fell asleep. We arrive a little over 7 pm and when we were there, the bookstore was already closed but we were instructed to proceed to the adjoining restaurant, Dolcelatte. It was a rear fine dining experience for me, given that most of the time, I eat in the usual fast-food chain. Its ambiance is fitting for the exclusive, its wait staff impeccably sophisticated, well-mannered and even English speaking. I looked up the menu and noticed everything is a bit dear for a layman to afford.
Nevertheless, I settled for the Angus Beef steak, the specialty of the house and the most expensive of them all, P1,450 per serving! I chose three-berry juice for my drink and asked for water to be served ahead. My energy was already sapped and I was enduring gas pains already. The dinner service was par excellence. The beef tasted more than anything like it, it melted easily in my mouth and the strength of its taste really caught the best of my palate. The only mistake was that I ordered a strong-flavored juice which didn't work well with the equally strong flavor of the meat. I should have settled for water instead. Anyway, I finished by dinner happy and satisfied.
Before we left, we had another photo taking op with celebrity couple Romnick Sarmienta and Harlene Bautista. I notice that they are prayerful and practice their faith with the slightest whim and sincerest appeal. From a short distance, they said their grace before meal fervently. Indeed, the couple that prays together stays together—and staying so long, they have been.
The traffic had already subsided, so we were pretty fast in going back to the inn. I freshened up and changed clothes and hurriedly went to sleep. In a few minutes, I was already having sweet dreams.
