If my Math is right (and I don’t trust my mind with numbers at times), then the National Book Week in the Philippines has been running on every year for 78 years now, and I, a great lover of books and reading, hardly know about it. The key word is “hardly” because I did hear about it but not with enough rapt attention as the event deserves.
In Nov. 19, 1936, Manuel L. Quezon, recognized as the first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the second president of the Philippines after Emilio Aguinaldo, declared Nov. 24-30 every year starting 1937 as National Book Week for the following reasons:
1. Reading of good books or printed page is one of the most effective methods of bringing enlightenment within the reach of the largest possible number of people, and of promoting the cause of popular culture with its tremendous social benefits, and
2. It is desirable that the task of arousing a widespread interest in the reading of good books be recognized as a highly patriotic duty as well as a privilege.
So what have we been doing every National Book Week? Well, I tried to look for events online but apparently, there seems to be a lack of them. The only group I found actively celebrating it is the Philippine Librarians Association Inc. (PLAI), which is not at all surprising because PLAI is in charge of holding different National Book Week activities for elementary, high school, and college, such as storytelling, essay-writing, poster-making, and a book parade. Besides, November was declared as Library and Information Services Month by the late President Corazon Aquino who pointed out “the need to focus on public awareness to the invaluable service that libraries and information centers render, i.e. providing data and materials for lifelong knowledge and learning for research and leisure”.
Are you aware of what your public libraries are doing to celebrate National Book Week?
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I’m happy to share with you that on Nov. 23, the Basadours, an active Cebu-based reading advocate group will kick off the National Book Week celebration with “Storython: A storytelling marathon event”, which will gather more than 100 selected schoolchildren in Cebu City at the Cebu City Public Library (CCPL).
Featuring six storytellers coming from different backgrounds who will read and act out value-laden storybooks, the one-day event carries the theme, “Storytelling is more fun at your public library”, which is basically true, don’t you think? I grew up with school libraries but I did have a couple of memorable experiences with public ones. I remember how the Mandaue City Public Library drew together students from different public and private schools to do research.
To Basadours, I wish you good luck and more power!
On another note, being active on Twitter (@nrcudis) has a lot of advantages. I discovered Scholastic’s Read Everyday, Lead a Better Life: A Global Literacy Campaign, which aims for one “to promote the importance and value of reading for success in school and in life and provide literacy champions with tools and ideas for making reading easier, more fun, and more accessible to the kids in their lives and for all the children all around the world”. Its cornerstone is the Reading Bill of Rights, which is really interesting and worth knowing by heart.
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And so...naturally...as a sucker for good causes...I signed up to be a literacy champion.
I’m not really planning to embarking something really big as of yet. The nice thing is Scholastic offered five simple things I can do today to get children reading:
1. Read Aloud. Kids who are read to from a young age become better readers and students. Read every day with your child, or be a volunteer reader at a local school or community center.
2. Be a Reading Role Model. You are your children’s first teacher. If your children see you reading, they’ll want to read, too.
3. Give Books. Help a family start a home library. Give books as gifts. If kids have books
in their home, they do better in school.
4. Support a Literacy Organization. Check out our listing of Literacy Champion organizations and choose one you’d like to help with time or money.
5. Make Reading the Main Event. Join or create a book club, institute an “unplugged” night at home, or talk about books over dinner. Getting the family involved raises reading achievement.
Join me and be a literacy champion, too! Happy National Book Week, readers!
- Nancy -
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| Last year's poster for the 77th National Book Week |
In Nov. 19, 1936, Manuel L. Quezon, recognized as the first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the second president of the Philippines after Emilio Aguinaldo, declared Nov. 24-30 every year starting 1937 as National Book Week for the following reasons:
1. Reading of good books or printed page is one of the most effective methods of bringing enlightenment within the reach of the largest possible number of people, and of promoting the cause of popular culture with its tremendous social benefits, and
2. It is desirable that the task of arousing a widespread interest in the reading of good books be recognized as a highly patriotic duty as well as a privilege.
Technically, though, the proclamation went further before this time. Then Governor-General of the Philippine Islands Frank Murphy declared on June 6, 1934 through Proclamation 696 that National Book Week be observed from June 18-24, stating that “arousing of a national interest in the reading of good books is a patriotic duty and privilege” and that “the time designated includes the birthday of Dr. Jose Rizal, one of the foremost men of letters of this country.” I’m not really sure why there was a movement from June to November, but I’ll ask a couple of librarians.
So what have we been doing every National Book Week? Well, I tried to look for events online but apparently, there seems to be a lack of them. The only group I found actively celebrating it is the Philippine Librarians Association Inc. (PLAI), which is not at all surprising because PLAI is in charge of holding different National Book Week activities for elementary, high school, and college, such as storytelling, essay-writing, poster-making, and a book parade. Besides, November was declared as Library and Information Services Month by the late President Corazon Aquino who pointed out “the need to focus on public awareness to the invaluable service that libraries and information centers render, i.e. providing data and materials for lifelong knowledge and learning for research and leisure”.
Are you aware of what your public libraries are doing to celebrate National Book Week?
I’m happy to share with you that on Nov. 23, the Basadours, an active Cebu-based reading advocate group will kick off the National Book Week celebration with “Storython: A storytelling marathon event”, which will gather more than 100 selected schoolchildren in Cebu City at the Cebu City Public Library (CCPL).
Featuring six storytellers coming from different backgrounds who will read and act out value-laden storybooks, the one-day event carries the theme, “Storytelling is more fun at your public library”, which is basically true, don’t you think? I grew up with school libraries but I did have a couple of memorable experiences with public ones. I remember how the Mandaue City Public Library drew together students from different public and private schools to do research.
To Basadours, I wish you good luck and more power!
On another note, being active on Twitter (@nrcudis) has a lot of advantages. I discovered Scholastic’s Read Everyday, Lead a Better Life: A Global Literacy Campaign, which aims for one “to promote the importance and value of reading for success in school and in life and provide literacy champions with tools and ideas for making reading easier, more fun, and more accessible to the kids in their lives and for all the children all around the world”. Its cornerstone is the Reading Bill of Rights, which is really interesting and worth knowing by heart.
I’m not really planning to embarking something really big as of yet. The nice thing is Scholastic offered five simple things I can do today to get children reading:
1. Read Aloud. Kids who are read to from a young age become better readers and students. Read every day with your child, or be a volunteer reader at a local school or community center.
2. Be a Reading Role Model. You are your children’s first teacher. If your children see you reading, they’ll want to read, too.
3. Give Books. Help a family start a home library. Give books as gifts. If kids have books
in their home, they do better in school.
4. Support a Literacy Organization. Check out our listing of Literacy Champion organizations and choose one you’d like to help with time or money.
5. Make Reading the Main Event. Join or create a book club, institute an “unplugged” night at home, or talk about books over dinner. Getting the family involved raises reading achievement.
Join me and be a literacy champion, too! Happy National Book Week, readers!
- Nancy -