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Presidents Day Celebration at ASRC with PNU and PUP Students

9:38 AM | Labels:

Besides Valentine’s Day, Americans have another reason to look forward to the month of February.  Presidents Day (or Presidents’ Day), a federal holiday also known as Washington Day, was originally celebrated on the 22nd of February, the birthday of the first president of the United States. By 1968, every third Monday of February was designated as a day to honor all the leaders who served in the office as President of the United States. Presidents Day is a good chance to know more about the American History especially the life and contributions of its country leaders. Thus, ASRC held a film showing and “Know the US Presidents” contest to commemorate this holiday.

Twelve Philippine Normal University (PNU) and Polytechnic University (PUP) Library Science students were invited to participate in the activity. (The students were having their On-the-Job-Training in the DLSU Library for the entire month of February.) The 2008 movie, Frost/Nixon was shown. This was a historical drama film about the Frost-Nixon interviews of 1977 which was dramatized on the play by Peter Morgan on 2006. (President Richard Nixon was the first president to resign from office due to the Watergate Scandal.) After the film, students were asked questions about the movie and those who were able to answer correctly received a special prize. Before the contest which is the next activity, a PowerPoint™ presentation that shows all the presidents of the United States and their most significant contributions including some fun facts about them was conducted.   

The “Know the US Presidents” contest stirred excitement and anticipation on part of the students. In the first elimination round, students were asked to identify the picture showed to each of them. All the students who answered correctly moved on the next round of the contest which is a quiz about the US Presidents. They were asked to pick between A & B choices for the best answer. Students who gave the incorrect letter of the answer were elimininated until the last three students remained to compete for the 3rd, 2nd and 1st place respectively. Ricardo Sarmiento  (PNU) grabbed the 1st place while Carmela Bautista (PUP) and Lizette Carillo (PNU) won the 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Prizes were given away to the lucky winners. 

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Posted by Janice de Castro Peñaflor

What Librarian's Wish for Christmas

11:51 AM |

When it’s Christmas, you cannot help but have your Christmas wish list (written or not) either for yourself or for others you care about. A librarian that I am, I thought of what librarians would wish for Christmas.
I searched the internet for some related articles and I found one noteworthy. Gillian Davis (2002) had her Librarians' Christmas Wish List  which are as follows:

1. More funding, more funding, more funding!
2. Higher salaries.
3. Increased staff.
4. Additional space.
5. Internet/information access for everyone.

This was back in 2002, eight years had passed, but sadly for many of us here in the Philippines (and perhaps in other countries as well), these wishes remain unanswered. Budget, staff and salary have been a perennial dilemma. Without budget and additional staff, additional services (like internet access) to library patrons are difficult to come by.

I will adopt Gillian Davis wish list and I’d like to add my own:

1. Supportive Boss/Staff
            Whether you are in public or private institution, a superior (or management) who gives full support to the librarian and the library will surely go a long way.  Likewise with a supportive staff. A harmonious relationship can make any projects or endeavor easier to tackle.

2. Recognition
            Alright, some work as required, some gives more than what is asked. For those of you who do more and who stamp their work with excellence, you definitely deserve one. Recognition may come in any form and may come from different people and that’s wonderful. Recognition within the organization though it the type of recognition we aim for. It is a good and effective way to boost people’s morale and somehow inspire one to persist more.

3. More opportunities for Self-growth and Professional Development.

“You want to be the most educated, the most brilliant, the most exciting,the most versatile & most creative individual in the workd because then you can give it away.” – Leo Buscaglia

            You can only give what you have. May Librarians continue to learn and unlearn. As my friend Leo Buscaglia said, “To learn something is fantastic because every time you learn something, you become something new.”  We improve and develop through the things we learn along the way. When we have more, we can give more – to our clients and to the community we serve.

May our wish come true.

Have a Merry Christmas and Joy-filled New Year!

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Posted by Janice de Castro Peñaflor

Thanksgiving Day at the American Corner DLSU

4:51 PM | Labels:

In commemoration of Thanksgiving Day this 2010, the American Corner (AC) at DLSU, locally known as the American Studies Resource Center (ASRC), had a weeklong exhibit and offered Thanksgiving gifts to library patrons.

Thanksgiving, which was first celebrated back in 1621 by English settlers of the Plymouth colony as a harvest festival, has been a beloved national holiday of the Americans. Each year, the 4th Thursday of November is designated as Thanksgiving Day, a time for families to come together to thank the Almighty God for all His blessings and favors. This year, the date fell on the 25th of November.

To celebrate this special occasion, ASRC held a Thanksgiving exhibit at the library lobby from November 22 until November 26. The exhibit featured Thanksgiving origin and traditions. Photos of roast turkeys, pumpkin pies and families gathered around the table for a holiday meal generally underscore what the occasion is all about. Also included in the paper show were some jokes and bible quotes about Thanksgiving that certainly added flavor it. To complement the exhibit was the video show with a similar theme that was continuously played for the library goers to watch on their desired time. Thus, apart from commemorating Thanksgiving, the exhibit also served as information outpost to those who are interested to know more on how and why Thanksgiving is celebrated.

And because Thanksgiving is also about “giving” or sharing as much as it is about “giving thanks”, ASRC personnel in partnership with Ms. Willian Frias, Public Programs Officer, prepared goodies (consisting of chocolates and candies) bundled in colored plastic wrappers as a Thanksgiving gift. On the day of Thanksgiving itself, the goodies were given away to all lucky students, staff and visitors who passed by the library lobby. This gift-giving activity highlighted the celebration. The gifts were received with surprised, smiling and happy faces. What a good way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. ~


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Posted by Janice de Castro Peñaflor
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