IT'S MORE FUN IN THE LIBRARY 2017: MAKING YOUR STAY BETTER THAN EVER

A fresh school year has brought about new additions to the Main Library; certain extras that long-time users might have noticed upon visiting the lib.

For example, the Computer Work Station at the second floor has been moved on top of the elevated platform. Gone are the old computer desks, and new custom-made tables have been built as replacements.

A new setup for the Computer Work Stations.

Electronic billboards have been installed in both floors to better advertise library-related matters.

The EBB or Electronic Billboard.

In addition to the already familiar netbooks, 30 new laptops have been made available for borrowing. Tablets have also been acquired for users who prefer touch screen devices.

Ready for use: 30 new Lenovo laptops.

The smaller tablets are also available for borrowing.

A Senior High School collection is now available at the library to supplement the needs of the newly-established Senior High division.

The Senior High textbooks located at the ground floor of the Main Library.

Whiteboards have been mounted inside the Learning Commons.

For writing down ideas, formulas, and similar points of interest.

The library's org, the Book Buddies, welcomes its new president: a Third Year major in BSBA-ACC, Ms. Heidee Famisan.

Lead well, Ms. Famisan!

 
And of course, a new librarian is now part of the Main Library family: Say hello to Ms. Jean Marilette Abelardo.

A new face for the new school year: welcome to the family, Ms. Milet!

It has become the common practice of our library to introduce innovations every year. As the needs of our users evolve, so too shall it continue to improve its services through the use of fresh concepts.

Below are several new projects of the library. We would love to hear what activity (or activities) you would like to see implemented the most.

1. Book Talk Showdown for Senior High and College students
    For those who have the skills to articulate their fondness of a favorite book. The search for the best speaker is on!

Expressing your appreciation for that special book.

2. The Top Book Borrower, Top Electronic Resources User, and Top Mobile Resources Borrower
    Can't get enough of books and always have a lot checked out or renewed all semester long? Do you prefer using e-books or online academic and scholarly sources for your assignments and research work? Are you a fond user of our netbooks, laptops, tablets, or Kindles? Then you might just be a guaranteed winner!

Giving recognition to consistent borrowers in the Main Library.

3. The Student Organization's Book Campaign Contest
     What organization is most passionate about the importance of books and reading? And what value do they think can we get from them? Let us hear from our org members!

Logos courtesy of the Facebook pages of the JRU Book Buddies, JRU Mathematics Society, JRU Management Society, JRU Young Educators' Society, JRU Golden Z Club, and Hospitality Hotelier and Restaurateurs' Society.

4. The Human Books
     The most touching books are the ones that are written through personal experience, and they affect us in such a way that they seem to reach out and speak to us. What better way to embody this than to have an actual person be the one sharing their lives through their own words?

Talking "books": a different, interactive approach.

 5. E-Resources Day
     Giving recognition to printed materials' companion -- the digital equivalent of the published word -- deserves its own day of acknowledgement, wouldn't you agree?

Changing the way we access information: e-resources.

It seems 2017 is going to be truly another fruitful year for all book lovers. Look forward to more projects from the library soon!

MAPA NG PILIPINAS… NOON AT NGAYON: ANG PAGLULUNSAD

Batid natin ang kahalagahan ng mapa para sa mga manlalakbay na umaasa sa wastong direksyon, subalit malaki rin ang naitutulong ng mga ito upang ikwento ang kasaysayan ng isang bansa. Sa bawat islang makikita natin sa mga antigong mapa, isinasalaysay sa atin ng mga mandaragat ng unang panahon ang kwento ng kanilang pagdiskubre sa daigdig.

Ang pagkawili ng dating Dr. Armand V. Fabella sa pagtipon at pag-aral ng mga lumang mapa ang naging inspirasyon sa likod ng pagtatanghal na "Mapa ng Pilipinas… Noon at Ngayon". Ang exhibit, na isang kolaborasyon sa gitna ng Jose Rizal University at Philippine Map Collectors Society o PHIMCOS, ay opisyal na inilunsad noong Agosto 24, 2015 sa JRU Main Library. Ang paglitaw ng mga isla ng Pilipinas sa mga sinaunang mapa ng daigdig ang binigyang atensyon ng naturang pagtatanghal.

 

Dinaluhan ang paglulunsad ng mga administrador at mga Dean ng pamantasan, gayundin ng ilang mga mahahalagang panauhin mula sa PHIMCOS. Pormal na binuksan ang exhibit sa pamamagitan ng isang ribbon cutting na pinangasiwaan nina Dr. Vicente K. Fabella, Pangulo ng JRU, at Bb. Maria Isabel Ongpin, curator ng PHIMCOS. Naghandog din ng libro ang PHIMCOS sa Jose Rizal University bilang tanda ng ugnayan ng dalawang institusyon.

  

Ang pormal na pagbubukas ng eksibit nina Dr. Vicente K. Fabella, Pangulo ng JRU, at Bb. Maria Isabel Ongpin, curator ng PHIMCOS.

 
Nagkaroon ng dalawang bahagi ang eksibisyon ng mga lumang mapa: isang panig na mula sa PHIMCOS, at isa pang parte na galing naman sa personal na koleksyon ni Dr. Armand V. Fabella.

Sinusuri ng mga estudyante ng unibersidad ang mga lumang mapa sa exhibit.

Ang paglitaw ng mga isla ng Pilipinas sa world map ang binigyang-atensyon ng pagtatanghal; isang paalala na halos limang daang taon na ang nakalilipas, nanatili tayong 'invisible' sa mata ng mundo -- isang kapuluang lumulutang sa dagat na naghihintay pa lang mailagay sa mapa.

Agaw-atensyon ang imahe ng "Tabula Moderna", isang world map noong 1525 kung saan nawawala pa ang Pilipinas.

Tabula moder. Indiae Orientalis. Galing ang larawan sa https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:9g54xj964

Gayundin ang  "Indiae Orientalis" noong 1581, kung saan hindi makikita ang itaas na bahagi ng Pilipinas dahil Visayas at Mindanao pa lamang ang nadidiskubre.

Abraham Ortelius, Indiae Orientalis, 1581. Galing ang larawan sa https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/19001/Indiae_Orientalis_Insularumque_Adiacientium_Typus/Ortelius.html

 

Nakakaakit suriin ang bawat lumang mapa sa exhibit; bawat isa ay naglalahad ng kuwento ng pakikipagsapalaran ng mga manlalakbay-dagat upang tuklasin ang makabagong mundo. Nakatutuwang malaman na sa gitna ng kanilang masalimuot na paghahanap, nagawa nilang madiskubre ang bawat isa sa 7,107 isla na bumubuo sa bansang Pilipinas.

 

Pinagmamasdan ng mga guro ng unibersidad ang mga lumang mapa ng Pilipinas mula sa Dr. Armand V. Fabella Map Collection.

 

Sa loob ng tatlong linggo, iba't-ibang mga estudyante ng unibersidad ang dumalaw sa Main Library upang saksihan ang mga lumang mapa. Kaakibat ng programa, nagsilbing mga tour guides sina G. Jevy Abunan, librarian, at Bb. Hannah Costas, Book Buddies Club president, para sa mga mag-aaral ng elementarya at hayskul. Ilang mag-aaral ang nagbigay-katanungan ukol sa mga namumukod-tanging mapang naroon, at pagkatapos ay masayang nagsipagkuhaan ng group pictures bilang tanda ng kanilang pagdalo sa okasyon.  Natapos ang exhibit noong Setyembre 15, 2015.

Carte Hydrographique & Chorographique des Isles Philippines, 1760, Nuremberg. Galing ang larawan sa https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/40777/Carte_Hydrographique_and_Chorographique_des_Isles_Philippines_Dediee_a_Sa/Lowitz-Homann%20Heirs.html

Mabuti ang naging pagtanggap ng mga nagsipagdalo sa ginawang pagtatanghal. Inaasahan na ang eksibit ay isa lamang sa marami pang aktibidad na magtatawid ng nakaraan sa kasalukuyan.

PREDICTABLE

"Buti nakakahanap ka pa ng time magbasa," I said to a female student, scanning two books for release. "Exams niyo na, a."

She smiled, explaining that she reads several pages here and there during breaks from reviewing.

I already encountered her a few times at the Circulation counter, both on the 1st and 2nd floors of the Main Library. She often borrowed novels and fiction titles, and not because it was required by her professor. As a librarian, you tend to remember students like that, especially these days when many teens only have trending topics, funny videos, and hugot lines in the head.

I eventually asked if she read Wattpad books, as these publications targeted students her age. She made a funny facial expression, which I interpreted as her way of saying "Not really."

"Talaga?" I replied, amused. I assumed teenagers loved Wattpad books like "She's Dating the Gangster", "Diary ng Panget", "Talk Back and You're Dead", and "The Bet" (all have been made into movies; "The Bet" recently adapted into "Just the Way You Are" starring Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano).

She explained that these books' endings were "predictable." I laughed.

"Predictable" meant already knowing what's going to happen next. "Predictable" meant no matter the author, the number of chapters, the main characters, or even the situation, the outcome of the story will always be the same. "Predictable" meant reaching a point where you already know how an author thinks and don't find it interesting anymore.

And it especially meant she had already read enough books to know what "predictable" is.

I printed out her receipt, reminding her to return the books after three days. I was confident that it wasn't the last time I'd encounter her at the Circulation desk. People who've 'leveled up' on reading always return for more. As a librarian, I am sure of it.

In fact, you could even say it's predictable.