For lack of libraries: DepEd pushes for library hubs

In line with the thrust of the Department of Education to make every Filipino child a reader by grade three, DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus has pushed for the establishment of library hubs nationwide.

The initiative dubbed as the "Library Hub Project", aims to establish a library hub in every public school division across the country. Its target is to set up at least 300 hubs in 184 school divisions in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao by the year 2010.

As the department is unable to provide and upgrade all libraries in almost 43,000 schools in the country, a warehouse-type wholesale oriented hub was conceptualized.

Library Hubs serve as wholesale libraries, which exclusively services elementary and secondary schools within their direct area of service. The hubs also provide access to a multitude of storybooks, anywhere from 25,000 to 400,000 books, bundled by subject area, grade or year level for easy access.

These bundles can be lent to schools for twenty-five calendar day periods, after which the schools must return the bundles for them to be eligible to borrow another bundle.

Under the project, thousands of story books and supplementary reading materials will be made available to schools through these hubs, and teacher librarians who will take charge of the hubs will be trained.

To date, a total of 21,000 public school teacher-librarians and school administrators have been trained since its launch in 2003.

Lapus reported that DepEd has completed and launched library hubs in the divisions of Batanes, Davao, Naga, Bacolod, Sagay, Pasig and Gapan. Sixteen more hubs are under construction and renovation.

The library hub project, Lapus added, would help ease the library backlog in public schools nationwide. For this school year, DepEd targets to build at least 35 hubs nationwide.

"Reading improves the academic performance of school children and eventually it will lead to students' success in life," Lapus stressed,

Recently, Lapus together with Pasig City Mayor Vicente Eusebio, local government officials and private sector donors led the inauguration of the Library Hub at the Pasig Elementary School.

Close to 25,000 copies of children's books were provided for use of pupils in the division of Pasig and San Juan.

The project is also supported by various corporate and non-government organizations by donating books and cash for these library hubs. - Jasmin R. Uy