e-Journal #1: STEPPING STONE

The Tara sa Lib-BRO! iteracy and Book Club Program began through the vital but taxing and pressuring job of looking for a site location and a partner organization. Sometimes, finding the angle to focus on for this project was also a difficult task to pass by. All beginning from the Virtual Orientation held last February, looking for a stepping stone towards starting the special project was a daunting task. Many possibilities and aspects have been explored, from ESL teaching, environmental awareness, a focus on animal awareness, or music. Looking for that “perfect” angle was a spark that I thought I could never find. 

That was when I remembered my high school days, when we were tasked with creating a research title, my teacher would tell us to look around, literally. Look and see something that needs change and attention. As I looked over my room that night, I saw books, stacks and stacks of them in my bedside table, reflecting on how much books brought me comfort in different places, on a stormy day, and memories as a child when I couldn't put a book down. Immersion into a book is a feeling that is sometimes inexplicable, and yet, talking with someone about the same book is a feeling that is out of this world – hyperbole that may be. 

Hence, when I had my one-on-one with Sir Ley, I presented the concept of a book club program where readers bond over shared material, helping them pull out another book and bond over it again. Through the insights presented by Sir Ley, it allowed me to pursue this “passion project’ through the lens and concepts of instructional design – as a way to get past it just being a personal passion, but a stepping stone for something that can benefit a specific institution, and a specific system. 

March came, and I started researching libraries that are not just mere repositories of books, but a hub for learning. Hence, I found Valenzuela City Library or the Valenzuela Academic Center for Excellence (ValACE). After drafting a cover letter, I emailed them, and later decided to visit them in person in Valenzuela City. Proposing my project was one of the daunting parts of this phase; trying to prove a meaningful and worthwhile concept may take time, and convincing. But thanks to the open mind and inquisitive nature of Mr Francis Neil Manapat, he had common insights that were important and indispensable to the project. Furthermore, while not yet getting an affirmation, they offered to tour me around the whole six-storey library building with the gatekeeper himself, sharing the importance of the space and how this spatial concept is integral to how a library and an academic institution operate. 

Kindly, they agreed to meet me two weeks later (March 31st) for a needs assessment interview, as well as in-person observation on some of the initiatives held inside the Children’s Area. Being surrounded by the smell of books, as well as children who had a visible joy and belonging inside the library, gave me comfort that this was a good path. 

This made me reflect on how much joy and smiles children may have of they experience the benefits of literacy skills and how their worldview expands and broadens. Yes, this smile should be seen outside this library too. It needs to be extended to all the young learners of the Philippines.