29th Library and Information Services Month

Philippines’ 29th Library and Information Services Month

“Inclusive, Innovative, Interconnected”

Pursuant to Proclamation No. 837 s. 1991, Library and Information Services (LIS) month is commemorated during November every year. The LIS month celebration aims to promote awareness of the different services of the library as well as the importance of libraries in our community. It also aims to develop a unified calendar of activities for libraries; generate interests about libraries and services; and discover the best practices of outreach services in various libraries across the Philippines.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts – National Committee on Libraries and Information Services (NCCA-NCLIS) and the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) in collaboration with the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) and other stakeholders worked conjointly in spearheading the commemoration of the 29th LIS month with the theme “ Inclusive, Innovative, Interconnected”. This year’s theme gave importance to the role of libraries and information centers and recognized their efforts, advocacies, initiatives, programs, projects and services in building inclusive, innovative and interconnected societies.

Loren Legarda House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Congresswoman Loren Legarda graced the kick-off ceremony held on November 5, 2019 at the NLP building. There were book characters parade competition, street dancing and fun walk activities at start off ceremony. The highlight of the event was the read-aloud session by actress Angelu De Leon. Guests from government and cultural agencies, students from different schools and universities, librarians from different library organizations and library stakeholders joined in the celebrating the historic event. A book exhibit from sponsors and book publishers plus food kiosks from library organizations made the LIS month opening ceremonies more festive which coincided with the physical set-up/theme which is ‘Philippine fiesta’.

Makerspace Circuits Activity ChallengeMarikina City Public Library (Makerspace Circuits Activity Challenge)

Several activities and contests highlighted the importance and functions of libraries and information centers in building innovative, inclusive and interconnected societies organized by NLP and its affiliated public libraries nationwide for the whole month of November.  Different library organizations and academic library institutions also took part to celebrate the historic event.

 

 

Marikina City Public Library 1Marikina City Public Library 2

 

The annual Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) national congress is also one of the major activities of LIS month celebration that took place at the Tagaytay International Convention Center (TICC) on November 19-22, 2019.
PLAIGuests from cultural agencies, representatives from Local Government Units (LGUs) and library organizations, public librarians, and other stakeholders were present to show their support at the closing ceremonies held on November 29, 2019. Highlight of the ceremony was the awarding of different competitions such as:  “Most Innovative LIS Month Activity”, “Public Libraries Marketing and AVP competition”, “LibLife: A library story (Social Media Contest)”, “Book Diorama”, “Book Character Parade Competition (Full Cast Edition)”,  “Poster-Making”, “2019 Search for Outstanding Public Libraries”, “Storytelling (Librarians Category)” and “Librarians Got Talent”.

The successful 29th LIS month celebration was made possible by the all-out support from stakeholders headed by NCCA-NCLIS, NLP and PLAI.

Reference: Information and Documentation of the 29th Library and Information Services Working Committee

Photo credits: Facebook page of Philippine Public Libraries and PLAI-Philippine Librarians Association, Inc.