Change for the better
(Part 2 of 3 parts)
Sorting out discarded books in the library’s bodega in 2003, Frian Lumen, never thought that he will
serve the Cebu City Public Library (CCPL) for 16 years.
Lumen, 41 of Barangay Lahug in Cebu City, witnessed how students from various high schools and colleges in Cebu and its neighboring cities and towns scour every book and research material in the library to search for information.
Lumen remembers the library as a gloomy place with only a single coat of yellow paint on its walls and
cement-finished floor with a sleepy atmosphere.
Since its renovation in 2009, after plans of shutting the library down did not push through, the library
has since sported a new look.
White walls, tiled floor, new furniture items of tables and chairs were added, which gave the library a
new look and, in effect, a new lease on life.
While groups such as the Friends of the Cebu City Public Library and Basadours called for the library to open on Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate more people, who only have time to do research over the weekends, the library’s operation hours remained the same: Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All of that change with the presence of social media.
Engineering student Mich Roldan asked Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña of the possibility of opening
the CCPL for 24 hours to serve the needs of the students for a safe and free place to study.
Osmeña announced that the library will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to serve the needs
of the students.
The Cebu City Government hired additional library personnel and security guards to augment the
operational demands which came with a 24/7 operation.
More air-conditioning units were added while old ones were fixed. A close circuit television (CCTV)
system was installed, and wifi routers were added.
The decision to transform the library as 24/7 facility was a challenge that chief librarian Rosario “Ruth” Chua welcomed with excitement.
“It was a different challenge that also meant improving the way library staff address our clients. It was a learning process,” says Chua, who has been with the library for 38 years.
The library now has 21 full-time staff, four of whom, including Chua and Lumen, have worked for CCPL for more than a decade.
Service
Unlike in the previous years that the library was a main space for research, Lumen says the
demographics of CCPL clients shifted to younger users who study for school tests and board
examinations.
This is a significant segment of the population, whose needs were addressed with the 24/7 operation of
the library.
To manage operations, Lumen said the library has three shifts with five to six individuals per shift.
“We are learning about customer service in this job since the 24/7 operations. I tell the new ones to
extend any help they can to assist the library users and then smile whenever we encounter tough
situations because it will only get worse if you get angry,” says Lumen.
Lumen, an administrative staff, is in-charge of reception matters and in making sure that technical issues are solved during library events.
Brenda Dalipe-Cobol, who was hired as an administrative officer when the library started its 24/7
operation, says working at CCPL was a blessing for her after spending three years as a teacher in
Bahrain.
Dalipe-Cobol is a member of the volunteer storytellers corps of the non-profit organization, Basadours
Inc., a staunch advocate of literacy development and a partner of the library since 2012.
As a bookworm, Dalipe-Cobol says working in the library was a dream come true.
“It was a different and unique experience that was unlike any other job. People go to the library not only to study and research. There are parents with children who visit our children’s section so they can
expose their children to books,” she says.
Dalipe-Cobol left her library job in December 2018 to prepare for her new role as a first-time mother.
She gave birth to her daughter, Maria Margaret, on March 6, three days before the first anniversary of
the 24/7 operation of the library.
During her stint at the library, she says Chua reminded them to never forget the needs of the other
sectors: parents, mothers, children, LGBTQIA, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.
While the library was known as a study place for students, Dalipe says they made sure that parents,
children, and senior citizens were also served.
“As the library’s 24/7 operations commenced around the time when school was ending, we partnered different organizations to initiative several events at the library,” she recalls.
Storytelling sessions, art classes, book launches, and language classes have been held in the library.
(To be concluded)