Libraries

The election is coming up. Anyone who has watched television, listened to the radio, or read the newspapers lately has surely come across at least one campaign ad. Actually, you only have to walk along the streets of Cebu to see posters of political parties and pictures of candidates running for office plastered everywhere. Any time now, political candidates will start to raise their platforms and try to convince the public that they hold the solution to the nation's ills. I am sure that they will touch up on the usual issues which are their favorites: corruption, poverty, the economy, transportation, and such. These are noble goals, definitely.

But they are also very big goals. And personally, I'd be very happy to hear at least one of them mention something different, something new. People do not just need big, broad goals such as those incessantly aired in most candidates' platforms. Little ones are just as important, and maybe our politicians should try working on something simple, which, despite its simplicity is capable of transforming the lives of many. Maybe we could start on improving our library systems.

In spite of the vast collection of laws the Philippines possesses, only a few of these legislations are actually implemented or at the very least, given some degree of importance. Having said this, I want to take this opportunity to talk about a law which only very few people probably know about, or even care about: RA 7743.  Republic Act No. 7743 declares provision of establishments of “public libraries in every congressional district, city and municipality, and reading centers in every barangay throughout the Philippines”.

And therein lies the problem.

Laws are meant to be implemented. So if we deserve a public, accessible library for EVERY SINGLE district, city, municipality or barangay, why does the entire island of Cebu have to share one Rizal Memorial Public Library?

Then again, you might ask, “What's the fuss about libraries in the first place?” It's true: lots of people would say that libraries are optional luxuries rather than necessities. But libraries actually play an integral role in the development of a community. We are presented with more benefits than we can count if the library system in our community gets to be improved. Here are just a few of them:

Literacy Rates

With upgraded library systems, the declining bar of literacy rates in the country will be raised once again. Because of today's technological advances, young people's addiction to gadgets has increased-sadly, at the expense of our literate abilities. Most of us spend a huge portion of the day playing computer games or browsing social networking sites instead of enjoying a good novel. Reading, which hones our skills in the literary aspect, should therefore be reintroduced as a part of our daily lifestyle. Installing accessible libraries in each community can hasten the realization of this goal. In effect, people learn to enjoy books and reading becomes a part of our daily standards of living.

In the same vein, raising the bars of our literacy rates reflects its positive effects on the academe. If our professors, students and scholars have access to the latest journals, periodicals and/or research studies, the lessons we teach and learn in our schools and universities will come from updated sources. This offers us a competitive advantage in terms of the quality of our education and keeping up with the newest developments in the academic world. In addition to this, reading will also foster better writing and communication skills in our students.

Enlightened and Empowered Citizens

More importantly, with improved libraries, we get to be exposed to reading materials that give us a dose of information about our civil rights as citizens. Ignorance of the law among the majority of Filipinos has allowed politicians to get away with corruption, bribery, and abuse of power. These people tend to get away with their fraudulent acts mainly because we are ignorant about our own rights. Libraries play a very important role in erasing ignorance as well as gullibility among us in terms of our legal rights. In effect, we become better functioning individuals in our role as vigilant citizens.

Actually, reading in itself makes a person empowered. By being exposed to a variety of ideas and foreign concepts, the mind is stretched beyond its limits. Sadly, our present society is not very conducive for the propagation of a culture that promotes intellectual stimulation. For example, what kind of Filipino soap operas do we see on primetime television? They have predictable plots: the star of the show looks for his/her true parents, he/she falls in love with somebody in the process, and the last episode always involves one of the main characters being kidnapped or taken as hostage, while his/her love interest comes to save her. Finally, either an important character or the antagonist dies.

It's what we see on television every single time. Now where is the opportunity for intellectual stimulation in that? And given that millions of Filipinos prefer to watch primetime television shows rather than read a good book, what happens to the state of our critical thinking skills then? If we cannot rely on mainstream media to give us food for thought, we must learn to feed ourselves.

To be truly empowered, a person should know how to think for himself, and this includes being aware of his rights. Books can give us this power. We read and we learn, and once we learn, we start to think. When we start thinking, we start asking questions. Once we start questioning, we demand for change, and when we create change for the good of the people, we push the human race forward. Books, then, are not just sources of entertainment; they are drivers of change in society and ultimately, the world.