Christine M.
Abrigo: A Profile
by
Melchor F. Cichon
November 10, 2013
Oh, how small the world is!
I never have thought that after almost 20 years,
I would "meet" the daughter of one of my colleagues at the U.P.
in the Visayas, now known as U.P. Visayas. I did not even know that her
mother has passed away about 20 years ago.
I mean, I met her through Facebook.
But she is not just a daughter. She is
a librarian to reckon with.
According to Mr. Joseph Marmol Yap, her colleague at
the De la Salle University Library, she is a hardworking, mabusisi, and
seryoso type of person.
"She never fails to remind us of the things that we need to do,
" Mr. Yap said about her, and, "A very responsible
librarian (since she is the assistant director for operations)".
She said she is an organized lady.
I am referring to Mrs. Christine M. Abrigo, the
Assistant Director for Operation, De La Salle University Libraries, Taft
Avenue, Manila.
Her husband is Vince Abrigo (who is also a
librarian by profession). They have a child, Mithi Aiello Katerina.
Christine's mother, Rosita Manglal-lan, was once an
employee of the College of Fisheries, UPV, Diliman, Quezon City. It is now
known as the UPV College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (UPV-CFOS).
When the UPV College of Fisheries was transferred from
UP Diliman to UP Visayas, almost all of its employees were uprooted to Miag-ao,
Iloilo, including Christine and her parents.
And that was also the reason why Christine continued
her secondary education in Miag-ao, Iloilo, including her college freshman year
at UP Visayas.
At that time her mother, Rosita (known as Tita among
us) was in-charge of the Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanology
(IMFO) Library. IMFO is one of the institutes of the UPV College of Fisheries
and Ocean Sciences.
Later Christine transferred to UP Diliman where she
earned her BLIS and her MLIS degrees.
I asked her what triggered her to take up a library science course.
"By accident, " she said.
Before she transferred to UP Diliman from UPV, she was taking up a BS
Fisheries in UPV-CFOS. She then took up units for a BS Geography degree. The
next semester, she got anxious because she was already a third year student,
and yet she could still not visualize of getting any college degree. That
motivated her to consult the university's counseling diagnostics services. The results
showed that she was inclined at anything sketchy, hence she was advised to take
up architecture. However this is a 5-year degree, aside from being very
expensive and it requires lots of math. The results also showed that she was
inclined for anything that would require orderliness and literature. She was
advised to take up Library Science.
She took the challenge. And she did not regret for taking it.
Now, Christine works as an Associate Librarian at the
University Library, De la Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila.
But before this, Christine, like most young
professionals, has hopped from one work to another, perhaps to gain the needed
experience and skills before she settled for good.
She once said: "I refuse to belong to a librarian
club of purists who are seemingly contented with keeping stale and do not
venture any longer into the labyrinth of the evolving profession."
Immediately after she graduated from her Bachelor of
Library and Information Science, at the School of Library and Information
Studies, UP Diliman, in 1997, she immediately worked as a cataloger at the
Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), Loyola Heights, Quezon City.
After this, she worked as Archives Officer II at
Sampaguita Pictures Film Archive, Ortigas Avenue Extension, New Manila, Quezon
City, 1998-1999.
Her works focused on archiving of the film, video and
photo collection; monitoring the preservation and conservation of the
studio's film and video collection.
After her stint in Sampaguita Pictures, she moved to
the University Library, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City
where she was assigned as a media librarian, a reference librarian, and as
gifts and exchange librarian.
Then she moved to another institution. This time at
Br. Benedict Learning Resource Center (BBLRC), a unit of De La Salle
University Libraries, where she was engaged in various library works which
included supervising and directing all activities relating to the operation of
the Br. Benedict Learning Resource Center (BBLRC); recommending, administering
and reviewing policies and procedures related to the operation of
the BBLRC; developing, implementing and evaluating programs for the continuous
improvement of the services; monitoring the efficient and effective use of
resources, facilities, and equipment, and setting the physical
arrangement and proper upkeep of the concerned area of responsibility;
delivering professional and quality assistance to users; establishing and
maintaining effective communication with students, faculty, administrators,
staff, and visiting users of the library.
Then, she was appointed as Assistant Director for
Operations, a position that really requires a lot of technical, human,
conceptual and design skills to achieve the goals of their
institution.
And now that she has settled, I wonder what other things she thinks of
as a librarian.
She referred me to her blog
(http://cmabrigo.wordpress.com/welcome/about/)
She wrote and I quote:
"I have been a practicing librarian for about 16
years now. Although I may have garnered a relatively fair share of career
experience over the years, I still consider myself as an everyday thriving
professional, more so, an advocate of progressive librarianship. Progressive in
the sense that my thrust lies not on the demeaning stereotypes every Filipino
librarian get in the line of duty, but on tapping the potentials that still
need to be roused from within him/her. I refuse to belong in a librarian club
of purists who are seemingly contented with keeping stale and do not venture
any longer into the labyrinth of the evolving profession. Traditional
librarianship to me is the key to all doors of progress. And just as one is
armed with these indispensable traditions, it is but imperative that those doors
need not be left undiscovered."
It reminds me of a saying that says, give more works
to a fast worker and he/she will do them efficiently.
And indeed, this is true.
As I mentioned earlier, Christine is not just an
ordinary daughter, but she is also an extra-ordinary worker.
While working as a librarian
at De La Salle University Libraries, she is also active in library
organizations.
She is a member of the
following: Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI), Society of Film
Archivists (SOFIA), Philippine Association of Academic and Research Libraries
(PAARL), U.P. Library Science Alumni Association (UPLSAA), and International
Labour Organization Intern Network.
Not only that she is also
active in research and publications. Some of her works are found in her blog:
http://cmabrigo.wordpress.com/
Lastly, here is what she says about herself: Hindi po ako marunong
magsulat ng poetry But I blog. (I'm a grammar nazi). I also read (my
preferences are varied). I love music. I like watching theater season plays. I
am also cheap - I (and my husband) would look out for free concerts and free
e-books; Lucky Me pancit canton, kikiam, siomai = solb! Hmm, librarianship is
not really my kind of fancy, but of course, anything about it, I pay attention.
That's Christine: the librarian, the researcher, the blogger, the
administrator, and a mother rolled into one.
