Your library, Mayor Radaza

I entered the Lapu-Lapu City Public Library at 8:45 a.m. on a Tuesday with one thought in mind: “Do Oponganons know that they have a library?”

My informal Facebook survey yielded “no” for an answer.

The library is located on the second floor of a building situated near the City Hall.

Librarian Inday Taghoy told me that the building is known as “Library and Manpower Training Center.” It shares the same building as the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Local Civil Registrar (LCR).

There is a public library signage on the building that can be seen as one enters the second floor through a sliding door.

I counted 15 steps from the door to the second floor where there were a few benches facing the counter, the main business transaction area of the LCR.

To the right is another doorway leading to a small room.

There was a plastic table and one chair with a man who was already bored about the day’s proceedings.

To the left is a green door of the library.

My nerd heart skipped a beat when I saw the sign on library hours.

When I opened the library door, the familiar smell of old books elicited a calming and soothing effect on me and transported me back to my elementary years in Libas Elementary School in the tiny village of Libas in the town of Merida, Leyte.

We had a school library filled with books and encyclopedia but it was locked.

The teacher-librarian feared that students will destroy, if not steal, the books.

Because I was quite vocal about my love for books, I somehow convinced the teacher-librarian to open the door for me.

I spent my break times in the library.

Later I invited some of my classmates over and told them that they will become honor students if they read more.

I was 11 years old and many of my friends did improve their grades after spending time at the library reading and learning about the figures of speech, the solar system and the history of the Philippines.

Back to the present, where I was standing inside the public library of Lapu-Lapu City, I wondered how a huge city which prides itself to be a “historic resort city” can have a library this small and obscure to the public.

In that library visit, I met Ma’am Inday who shared to me the history of the 43-year-old library and how she has served as its first librarian. Ma’am Inday is retiring next month as she turns 65.

She shared that the library used to be located in a room below the grand stand of the city plaza.

I grew up in Barangay Calawisan in Lapu-Lapu City so I am familiar with the place. Before the Mother of Perpetual Help Parish Church was built in the neighboring village of Babag, my family often hear Mass at the National Shrine of the Nuestra Señora Virgen de Regla, which, if I remember it right, was still a parish church in the 90s.

The city plaza is located right next to the church.

Ma’am Inday said the public library was transferred in 1991 to the current building, which was specifically built to become a library with the efforts of then Congressman Vicente dela Serna.

With declining interest in the library and the limited resources of the local government, the space occupied by the library was reduced.

The books displayed in the library were mostly outdated and obsolete.

I was told that the last book purchase was made in 2009 or nine years ago.

There are, however, recent heritage and culture coffee table books published by the University of San Carlos Press which are prominently displayed in the library.

There is even a corner where city ordinances are compiled.

This is my favorite part of the library because Ma’am Inday really took time and effort to arrange valuable materials for the purpose of education and information.

My other favorite part of the library is a shelf on which a 50-year-old globe stands and flanked by two old copies of Atlas directories. Ma’am Inday said the globe was a gift from then Mayor Max Patalingjug.

The children’s corner, unlike the Cebu City Public Library’s (CCPL) version which is really a room, is just a small space that can sit about six to eight children.

There are limited children’s storybooks and titles.

The library is being maintained by two regular employees and two job order employees.

But I cannot help but feel that this is an essential part of the city that has been neglected.

In the recent launching of the Basa Kabataan project of the CCPL, chief librarian Rosario Chua said: “The public library is a cornerstone of a healthy community.

It is as essential as food and water.”

To those who value education, these words are diamonds.

The library is not just a place for study, it is a venue for interaction, learning and discourse.

I am not urging the Lapu-Lapu City officials to open the library 24/7 or transform it into a wifi-hub.

I am encouraging you to visit your library and see for yourself what is in there, who are the people who visit the library and what kinds of books do you have in your library.

Your visit will be worth your time and it will open your senses to several realities and possibilities.