Pangasinan town’s first public library inaugurated

NATIVIDAD, Pangasinan – This eastern Pangasinan town now has a public library.

The first to be built in the town’s 10-year history, the two-storey structure was inaugurated recently.

Named "Bibliotika ti Ili" (Municipal Library), the edifice was turned over during a fitting program attended by the family of a son of Natividad, now a successful medical practitioner in the United States, who donated the funds for its construction.

The donor family is that of Dr. Rick de Leon, his wife Dr. Clarita de Leon, and their children Clarence Rick, Nida Ann, and Richard Rick.

Also present during the turnover ceremony were Dr. De Leon’s brothers and sisters and their spouses – Adelina, Carmelita, Rose, Silvestre Jr., and Arturo, now all professionals in the US.

Mayor Alejandrea Nadonza-Supnet accepted the library in behalf of the municipal government.

During the affair, municipal officials led by Mayor Supnet presented a Plaque of Recognition to the De Leon family for its financial donation that funded the establishment of the library complete with books, office facilities, and pieces of furniture.

The local government also presented a municipal resolution passed by the Natividad Sangguniang Bayan headed by Vice Mayor Manuelito M. Noveda and approved by Mayor Supnet expressing its appreciation and gratitude to the De Leon family.

To date, Mayor Supnet told The STAR, a good number of people of Natividad, particularly sons and daughters of the town who are now abroad, have donated volumes of books to the library.

During the inauguration and turnover ceremony, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) under the Office of the President donated more publicatons on the new rice technology, particularly on hybrid rice.

PhilRice and other research and development (R&D) institutions and state colleges and universities had earlier provided publications on agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and related sciences to the library.

These inclued the Los Baños-based Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD), Benguet State University (BSU, La Trinidad, Benguet), Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU, Batac, Ilocos Norte‚ Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC AQD, Tigbauan, Iloilo), Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR), UP Los Baños, and UPLB-based Biotechnology Information Center (BIC). – Rudy A. Fernandez