That Newbie Librarian

And now we've reached the final point.  The final stretch before the home run. The chorus being played for one last time, concluding the song.  It's now the final week of our internship!  Weird, now that I think about it, I haven't noticed that three weeks have already passed by. I guess you never really notice how fast time flies by when you're enjoying what you're doing.  July 02, 2018 - Monday For the first day of our last week AKA our last Monday, we were extra cheerful because Jasmine  would also be finishing up that weekend as well, only a few hours ahead of me.  The first half of that Monday was quite uneventful. I continued with scanning and digitizing serials. I also took this time to look into and read some of the books the Filipinas Heritage Library had to offer. I found myself gravitating towards their amazing collection of Filipino horror and science fiction short stories. It definitely sparked interest within me to start...

June 25, 2018 - Monday The third week of the internship started quite uneventful as I was only tasked to digitize books the entire day. By the end of it, I was able to digitize two entire books which I felt proud of. The highlight of that Monday was that we had a new intern handling research and social media that is studying in Paris. Another classmate from SLIS would be beginning the next day so I was pretty much excited about that. The other thing is that I was able come home early today. For the past two weeks I have been going home about 8-9 PM but that day I was able to go home 6PM.  New week, new tasks! June 26, 2018 - Tuesday The next day was similar in that I really wasn't tasked to do much. I continued digitizing the WWII collection throughout the entire day. I was able to finish at least another two books by the end of the day. Once again, I was able to go home early. However I noticed that it was getting quite fast, the internship, I mean. It seemed like on...

After quite a long weekend, I was energized again to continue my internship. However, I was not able to attend the first half of my shift that Monday because I had a prior commitment hosting an event. I made it sure though that after that, I would go straight to the library to continue the second half of my shift. I wasn't afraid because I had already asked for their permission a week before. June 18, 2018 - Monday As I arrived, I was informed that we would be heading to the preservation room. This excited me because I am particularly interested about archiving, it being my elective of choice. We were taught how to look for any type of damage such as tears and creases then how to remedy them. I definitely learned a lot during this and the most fun part was I was able to chat with Jasmine, my co-intern while we were working. There isn't a lot of opportunities where we get to do that. We continued with the task until I ended my shift by 6PM. June 19, 2018 - Tuesda...

Amidst the beginning of the rainy season, we also begin our first week feeling a bit blue. Prior to our LIS181 Orientation, I have already applied for a position as an intern in Ayala Foundation's Filipinas Heritage Library. I have always wanted to work or at least experience working in this library since two years ago. I think it's time to tell you why. Back in 2015, I was able to visit the Ayala Museum for the first time and for free due to the International Museum Day. Because of that, I was also able to enter the Filipinas Heritage Library for the first time. That time, I have just been accepted in the BLIS degree and I literally had no idea what to do but seeing this library, I kind of felt glad even when I didn't know it yet that I could possibly work here. I can't pinpoint exactly what made me like this place but in my mind, it was the quintessential library. The following year, in 2016, I came back again and I have been going there since.  Given the...

Hello everyone! I'm back! So it's been a year since I took you with me through a month of internship within the UP Diliman Main Library. While that was a fun experience, it's time to move forward to an even better and memorable learning experience as I take my second internship.  Just a refresher if you've missed last year's odyssey. I took my first internship this time last year inside the UP Diliman Main Library. For the course of a month, I was able to go through the different sections of the library and learn more about my future career as a librarian. I was able to gain insight and greater appreciation to the profession.  Now that the events of the past year is behind us, it's time to take on a greater challenge. With my second internship, I decided to take on special libraries as I spend another month working for corporate institutions. Similar to last year, I still hope I learn a lot more about the profession most especially its re...

Librarianship is a very demanding profession. I have gathered this from spending almost a month working for the main library. It requires and asks for the dedication of a hard-working and sometimes charitable person for it to be a rewarding career. I have noticed this as I was going through the different sections of the library. Working can only get you so far, sometimes it takes the kindness of your heart to actually do something that is not in your job description for the library to operate smoothly. This would not happen if we had the capabilities to improve the working conditions of our librarians, not only in UP but also in the entire country. Librarianship has been seen through by government officials and the public. The experience I had made me realize how we desperately need another legislation that will improve the status of librarians in the professional field.  This brings me to the things I have learned as a training librarian. One of the things that I will bring a...