DLSU Librarians Invade PLAI National Congress 2016

(L-R) DLSU Librarians and resource speakers Ms. Cynthia L. Cordova, Ms. Justina P. Garcia, Ms. Roselle S. Maestro, and Ms. Donna Lyn Labangon struck a pose before the opening of the PLAI National Congress 2016.

Seven research papers authored and co-authored by DLSU librarians were presented during the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) National Congress 2016 held on 22-25 November 2016 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang, Davao City. With this year’s theme, “Library as a Place: Continual Learning in the New Information Landscape”, this annual national conference of Filipino librarians aimed to explore the concept of “Library as a Place” and the different strategies needed to transform libraries as a “Third Place”. The sub-themes covered by the parallel sessions also tackled how libraries can improve their facilities, create new programs, develop collections, and upgrade their services.

Ms. Donna Lyn G. Labangon (Special Collections Librarian and Associate American Studies Resource Center Librarian) was invited as the resource speaker for the Philippine Association of Academic/Research Librarians, Inc. (PAARL)-sponsored session on makerspace. In her presentation entitled, “Makerspaces: Making a Difference in Libraries”, she introduced makerspaces and their significance in libraries and shared the initiatives of the DLSU Libraries as it opened its own makerspace last August 2016.

Ms. Cynthia L. Cordova (Catalog Librarian) presented her co-authored paper with Ms. Karen Cecille V. Natividad (Technical Services Coordinator). Their paper entitled, “From Library to Learning Commons”, documented the transformation of the DLSU Libraries from being a traditional place for study to being a learning commons.

Another collaborative work presented was by Ms. Justina P. Garcia (Catalog Librarian) and Ms. Janice D.C. Peñaflor (Collection Development Librarian). Their paper, “Embracing Ebooks : Acquisition and Collection Development Landscape in Philippine Academic Libraries”, aimed to examine the current status of collection build-up of e-books in different academic libraries in Metro Manila.

Ms. Roselle S. Maestro (Information-Reference Librarian), together with her co-author, Mr. John Christopherson L.T. Fredeluces of Lyceum of the Philippines University-Manila, presented their paper entitled, “Pages and Aroma: Library as a Place and the Library Café Concept”. Three academic libraries in Metro Manila that ventured into integrating coffee shops to the redefined library experience were investigated. Their adoption of the library café concept and the establishment and management of their respective cafes were examined.

Two research papers were presented by Ms. Marian R. Eclevia (Assistant Director for Support Services). The first one entitled "Who's Next in Line?: Succession Planning Practices in Academic Libraries" is an echo seminar paper first presented at the International Academic Forum - The European Conference on Literature & Librarianship 2016 held in Brighton on July 2016. This co-authored paper with Ms. Rhea Rowena U. Apolinario of University of the Philippines-Diliman examined the profile of current library managers in academic libraries in the Philippines, identified their hiring practices, and investigated their current practices in succession planning. The other paper entitled "What do Faculty Use? Investigating Faculty Research Productivity and Citation Behavior" is also a collaborative work with a UP-Diliman librarian, Ms. Rizalyn V. Janio which investigated the research productivity and citation behavior of the faculty members of the Consortium of Engineering Libraries-Philippines using bibliometrics, particularly citation analysis and co-citation analysis.

The paper of Mr. Joseph M. Yap (Instructional Media Services Coordinator), entitled "Where are the AV Resources?: Bringing Multimedia Services Closer to Users"  on the other hand, presented the acquisition performance and collection usage of DLSU’s Instructional Media Services (IMS) and how it was able to integrate a number of media services programs. Mr. Yap, PLAI-House of Delegates secretary, was also a caucus leader, Fellowship Night emcee, and chair of the Exhibits and Poster Presentations Committee.

Photo credits: PLAI Congress National Committee and Rizalyn Janio