ORTIGAS FOUNDATION LIBRARY - WEEK 3

(MAY 05 TO MAY 10)

---

A. MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES

This week is a full blast of experience as I finally experienced a reference inquiry. It was such an achievement as I was the only one present at the time, and a call from the landline rang. At first, I was nervous, but when I answered the call, she was asking about a book about "Pugot", she doesn't know how to purchase it. As we continue our conversation, I gave her the number and contact person, which is MS. Jennifer, since it requires her to purchase the book from the souvenir shop. After that, she told me how grateful she was for assisting her. She even asked for my name. Also, this week, we already indexed journal articles, and OFL is the first institution where I was exposed to the actual indexing process. We continued the week covering and relabeling. Moreover, I am able to experience scanning books since I had to report last Saturday, May 10, since I asked for a half day last time (Attached is the process and scanner used).

---

B. LESSONS LEARNED

This week, I appreciated the process of indexing. I know to myself that it is my weakest spot, since I’ve never had any formal learning experience during our second year. But, I was able to gradually improve myself as Miss Celia is reminding us not to be scared when doing or encountering it. Also, I realized how important reference service/assistance can be in responding to the request of the patron.

The satisfaction I felt when I was able to assist and help her as she purchased the book is the highlight that accentuates my whole experience this week. I am hoping for more reference tasks in the future. As the week progresses, I am now loving covering books, but we had a heart-to-heart talk with Sir Mar. He gave such remarks that piqued our interest in the conservation and restoration practices of the library. He was able to recognize how different problems required appropriate solutions, and not all solutions can be used for all problems.

---

C. BEST PRACTICES/FEATURES OF THE LIBRARY

What I found special in OFL is how they treat us interns. Miss Bea and Miss Celia allowed us to be independent and gave us autonomy, giving us the impression that we are now professionals, but they still guide us. Making sure that that we must learn effectively. Like what Miss Celia did when we started indexing- she handed us a copy of what an index looks like and proceeded with the required guidelines and template- from that, we were able to do it on our own and accomplished the task (Attached are the sample index entries we made).

I may have said it multiple times, but their conservation and restoration practices are top-notch. Not all special libraries have that, as Sir Mar highlighted how their conservators dedicate and handle various techniques, such as deacidification, restoration of photographs, maps, and paintings. I also learned that it is part of their services, and they make sure that the conservators are thoroughly expert in their field. Like Sir Loreto, he is the head of the conservation team, and he is a chemical engineer. When I knew that, I remembered what Sir Carlo mentioned that chemists and chemical engineers can be beneficial in the conservation and restoration process, as they deal with various chemicals to combat any forms of threat they encounter in the library.

GO BACK TO TOP