To our distinguished Dean, dedicated professors and staff, our honorable guest speaker, family, friends, and fellow graduates, a pleasant afternoon to all of you!
Well, we finally made it! Congratulations to us! We accomplished another milestone in our lives. The diploma awaiting us is a testament of our commitment, determination, persistence, hardwork, and of course pride. We worked hard for this, but we are all aware that we did not do it by ourselves. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our parents who nourished and loved us unconditionally; to our relatives who prayed and gave words of encouragement; to our partners and spouses who inspired and never left our side; to our Dean who provided valuable insights to our study; to our professors who have shared their knowledge and thoughts in their field of expertise; to the library staff who provided us with relevant resources for our study; to all the people who helped us in any way they could; and most of all to God who never failed to listen and answer our prayers. On behalf of the graduating class of 2018, I thank you all!
Personally, I would like to thank Dr. Diljit Singh for sharing his expertise on information literacy. It was last year, 2017, when Dr. Singh conducted a seminar on the said topic. It was also the time when I am developing the information literacy modules for my thesis. I was confused and doubtful if I am doing the right thing. But thankfully, I was I was able to attend and listened to his lecture. It gave light to my almost faltering hope. Again, I thank you Dr. Singh! J
Reminiscing about our journey as MLIS students, there are a lot of words that can be used to highlight the experiences and challenges we have encountered. But I would only like to summarize it in three words: LEARNING, INNOVATION, and SERVICE.
LEARNING is vital to everybody, no matter what age or education one has attained. Learning can both maintain a healthy body and mind. It further enriches our being with things that ignite our inquisitiveness to know the hows, whats or whys of life.
It was eight years ago, when I decided to pursue my graduate studies in UP SLIS. Yes, you heard it right, eight years! It may have been long, but it is truly worth it! Those years have empowered my being personally and professionally.
Professionally, I have enriched my skills in selecting, evaluating, and organizing reading materials for children and young adults. I have obtained sufficient knowledge in developing literature-based reading and information literacy programs. I discovered new trends in media technology and information science. My knowledge in statistics has been augmented from mean, median, mode to z-score and t-test. I gave credit to our professors for all these learning.
As an individual, I have learned to accept rejection. According to Bo Bennett, “A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” True enough as my first thesis proposal was rejected or should I say I was asked to “change topic.” At first, I was upset, felt lost, and discouraged. But then I realized rejection is one of those things that we all have to deal with at some point in our lives. Any kind of rejection, whether in love, education, or career is devastating, however it is healthy to accept that it is part of life, a test on our being. What matters most is that we acknowledge it and we find a way to get back to our perspective. So instead of sulking, I decided to start all over again -- think, observe, read, and research until I found the topic that led me to this momentous occasion.
I also learned to be more determined and persistent in chasing my dreams no matter how impossible it may seem. Having a master’s degree is not only a dream, but a promise my husband and I made to my parents. This is the primary reason why I did not change my surname after getting married, to honor the promise we made! Now, I am truly happy that I have fulfilled it! I am also thankful that I am sharing this special moment with them.
I also learned to embrace change. As we all know change is inevitable. It is a big part of our life. Every day we experience change whether in our academic life, workplace, and relationships. This is something we cannot avoid.
There were two significant changes in my life that I have gladly embraced. First, change of job. Upon graduating in BLIS I was hired as a librarian in Araneta Group of Companies. Working in a special library entails versatility. For two years, I have not only managed their library but also handled events such as painting exhibitions. However, to give way in my desire to obtain a master’s degree, I decided to quit and applied as a school librarian in Marist School, a private school in Marikina. It was not an easy decision for I have pretty well adapted to the unique set-up and have established good relationship with my colleagues. But still I took a leap of faith! There were feelings of doubt and uncertainty when I was hired as a school librarian. Doubt for I do not know if I possess the skill to become a good school librarian and uncertain for how this will affect my future. But, this change provided me with an opportunity to amplify my skills as a librarian. It pushed me out of my comfort zone. It even squeezed out all the creative juices within me.
The second was the change of status from single to married. As we experienced, graduate school is not meant to be a walk in the park, it is challenging for it involves rigorous tasks such writing reports, working on research projects, doing presentations and field works, completing paperworks, and of course writing thesis. For one to succeed, hardwork and commitment is needed. This goes the same with marriage. Marriage is not a joke for it entails burden of responsibilities such as doing household chores, descision-making, budgeting, and to some parenting. In order for it to work, hardwork and commitment is vital! That’s why maybe to some getting married while in graduate school is a terrible idea. Fortunately, it was different in my case. Marriage gave me a companion while going through all the challenges brought by graduate school. My husband was my stress-reliever, my motivator, and my inspiration. I can say that life-changing decision I have made four years ago have brought out the best in me!
INNOVATION is not only about developing new ideas but also improving existing ideas to achieve better results. Libraries innovate to adapt with change and improve existing programs and services. Nowadays, libraries are embracing new technologies to develop a more dynamic environment for their patrons.
The thesis/special problem we have designed/conducted is a good representation of an innovation. We did not only do it as partial requirement for our degree but also to explore new ideas in the field or to help particular institutions improve their existing programs or services. For instance, my thesis aimed to expand the K-6 library instruction program of Marist school by designing and assessing an information literacy program integrated to K-6 Marist School courses through collaboration with faculty members. The outcome of the study is currently used to enhance the current information literacy program of the said school and at the same time it can be used as guide for other schools who may want to integrate their library instruction in their curriculum.
Now that we have successfully finished our thesis/special problem, what’s our next step? Do we stop here? Of course not! The future is unpredictable and pace of change is unstoppable. Libraries as well as their users are constantly changing. One day, they might need exactly what we have to offer, and the next day, they might need something else. Hence, we must continue to innovate and explore. We must not stop thinking and creating programs that may satisfy their needs!
This leads me to my last word, SERVICE. Let us all remember that service is the core of librarianship. New technologies may have greatly influenced the profession, however, its central purpose remains the same, and that is to help people access and use information. Providing quality service is the reason behind our desire to learn and innovate. Therefore, as we go back to our workplace or face the reality of library life, we are challenged to continually develop programs that will adapt new technologies not only to keep abreast of current trends in librarianship but to further enhance customer experience in the library. In doing so, more patrons will visit the library instead of accessing information from rival sources such as search engines, online databases, video sharing sites, and social media. Thus, we make sense to the purpose of our existence – serve the people!
To conclude, I will once again reiterate the three words: LEARNING, INNOVATION, and SERVICE. Let us keep on learning, don’t deprive ourselves in equipping with necessary skills; do not be scared to innovate, explore ideas, and create programs; and always aim for excellent service. Bear in mind that these three words are vital in keeping LIS INVICTUS today and in the future!
Again, Congratulations Class of 2018! Mabuhay ang mga librarian ng bayan!