Christian Francisco Acevedo: A Para-Professional Librarian

Christian Francisco Acevedo: A Para-Professional Librarian

by

Melchor F. Cichon

August 21, 2013

I first heard of his name when I attended a seminar on information management and information technology organized by the PLAI-WVRLC at Central Philippine University, Iloilo City on July 27, 2013.

I had no chance to talk to him then. After that, I read his posts in one of the accounts of my Facebook friend. I got interested in him, so I thought of sending him a short message. Fortunately, he responded. Below is an edited excerpt of our conversation.

But before that, let me give you some important information about Christian.

Christian was born in Sitio Carmel, Banica, Roxas City, Capiz on September 13, 1988. His parents were Larry Lopez Acevedo, a field worker, Department of Public Works and Highway in Bacolod City, while his mother is Lorna Cartujano Francisco. He finished his elementary education in Banica Elementary School, Ellieta St., Roxas City in 2001. Four years later, he graduated as 3rd Honorable Mention at Capiz State University, and when he graduated at the Capiz State University Main Campus, for his Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Physical Science, he graduated cum laude. This honor automatically gave him a Professional Civil Service Eligibility, as mandated by Presidential Decree 907. He again enrolled for another BSE degree, major in English at Filamer Christian College, also in Roxas City. Not contented with it, Christian enrolled for his Master of Library and Information Science, at Central Philippines University. Christian has another civil service eligibility, the Professional Teacher's License, which he got in October 2009, with an average rating of 83.60.

Christian had been receiving awards since his elementary grades until his college days in journalism, storytelling, extemporaneous speaking, and essay writing. He was a national finalist for the Search for the 2008 Ten Outstanding Jose Rizal Model Students of the Philippines.

Because of his love for books, he volunteered to work as a student assistant at the Capiz State University Main Campus. He is still working there. That experience in the library triggered him to take up a Master in Library and Information Science at Central Philippine University. 

One of their academic activities was the holding of Seminar on Information Management and Information Technology. It was there where I first heard the name of Christian Francisco Acevedo.

Below is an excerpt of our online conversation. I translated some of them from Hiligaynon to English.

Melchor F. Cichon (MFC): Good evening, Christian.

Christian Francisco Acevedo (CFA) : Hello Sir. Good evening, too.

MFC: In Aklan, there are a lot of Acevedos. And my middle name is also a Francisco. Are you from Aklan?

CFA: No, I'm really from Roxas City and I live in Roxas City . Actually, the Acevedos are from Roxas City, Capiz. Well, anyway, Capiz and Aklan were one province before . But we have a lot of relatives there, Sir. As for the Francisco side, my mother's family really hailed from Cuartero, Capiz.

MFC: Ah, I really do not know where my grandfather came from, but there are so many Franciscos in Aklan. It's a blessing that you are a multi-talented person. I have read some of your write-ups, and I learned that you are a librarian. Why did you chose librarianship as a degree?

CFA: Hahaha. Actually, Sir, I am still a paraprof. I am finishing my MLIS so I could take a board exam. I fell in love with books at a very young age. I was lucky to have studied my HS at a State U (Capiz State University), where the library was way, way bigger and the collections more comprehensive compared to any HS library. Right? I stayed in the library during vacant hours. When I was a fourth year high school student, I applied as a student assistant. The librarian willingly helped me get the job. In fact, I was the only HS student of CapSU to be a student assistant--until now! That's when I fell in love with the field of librarianship. Anyway, long before that, I already nurtured a strong relationship with books. After all, I really think, to be a good librarian, you need to have an "eternal" love affair with books. Lol. I took BSEd in college, with specialization in physical sciences, but my passion for books never died down. When I graduated, I took major subjects leading to BSEd in English. Then, in a spur-of-the-moment decision, I decided to take MLIS. Hehe. I am now getting ready for my comprehensive Examination. Thank God!

Reading--writing--books. I believe they're related to one another. When you read a lot, chances are you'll love books. And when you have that overflowing knowledge, you'd want to share what you know to people--either by writing or speaking. And that's what I do. I teach and I blog to share what I know. 

MFC: That's great--reading, writing, and earning money. So you think librarianship is the best profession for you? Why?

CFA: Hahaha. Yeah! I earn money from writing--blogging, writing online contents, researching. I really don't know if librarianship is the "best" profession for me because I am torn between teaching, working in the library, blogging and running a small online writing team. I don't think "best" is the right term. I don't wanna choose or I don't wanna say it's the best for me because I also teach. But this is for sure, librarianship is something that I love, as much as I love to teach and write. I do them because I love them and I never grow tired of doing them because these are things that are close to my heart. I don't think of them as just mere careers. They're part of my system already.

I also had this notion that the librarian should be the most intelligent person in the campus . Why? Faculty and students often go to the lib to ask for what's the best reference for this topic and that. As a librarian, you need to have a certain level of knowledge/mastery of various subjects, especially the courses which your school is offering so you won't be in limbo when someone asks you about the right reference material on a specific topic. Right?

Another thing is, librarians should not just be contented of being a mere custodian of books. They have to be interactive fountain of knowledge. So, I really believe that libraries should be a sort of classroom, offering short trainings, lectures, fora, etc to really stand up to its image as a "learning resource center."

MFC: That indeed should be an ideal attitude of a librarian. So you think that the curriculum of a library science degree should have a strong background on the general education?

CFA: Well, I think so. Given that librarians should not just focus themselves as being librarians, but they must also act as educators and curators of knowledge.

MFC: What have you observed of the newly BLIS graduates as regards their communication skills?

CFA: Needs improvement. I mean, I had this research during my first term taking up MLIS and I found out that a lot of MLIS students failed the English proficiency test. Based on my observations, the same is true for BLIS students.

MFC: If you were to suggest, do you think more units on English and or communication should be taken up in the undergraduate curriculum?

CFA: I think so. Hahaha. Grabe imo questions Sir ba. (Hahaha. Oh, your questions Sir are tough). We have to go global if we want the field of librarianship to become as competitive as other professions.

MFC: Because I know you have the talent, I have been asking you soft and hard questions. But , what do you mean by going global?

CFA: I mean, we have to be multifaceted in our approach and training of would-be librarians. That's why the curriculum should be both extensive and intensive. Extensive in a way that they should not only focus on library science courses, but also on allied courses (such as communication, management, etc). 

MFC: I fully agree with you since librarians usually become supervisors, and as such communication and management are necessary to make one effective. But you think the librarians of today have these skills? Is that the reason why many of our libraries cannot pass the standard set by accreditating agencies such as CHED. 

CFA: Honestly, Sir, majority have mediocre skills when it comes to communication. Something which PLAI, PAARL, DEPEd, CHED and other agencies should take into considerations and I believe librarians should undergo skills enhancement and improvement trainings/short courses. Take not, lawyers are required to study 36 units of law every once in a while to enhance and improve their skills. We librarians should do that too!

MFC: That is right. That is the reason why we have these informal education --seminars, workshops, etc. But of course, there are so many librarians who cannot still attend to these informal education because of financial constraints.

CFA: I think we have to do it for free or at a very affordable cost. Haha. For my part, I am willing to share what I know to those interested.

MFC: Online workshop/seminar on the many aspects of librarianship, you mean? I would like to see that.

CFA: I'd like to share my thoughts on how librarians can benefit from blogging.

MFC: You earn money from blogging? That's great. How do you do it?

CFA: Many ways. Through ads, through written posts paid for by clients, commissions. But my biggest money maker is writing web contents and online articles for clients. Sort of ghost writing. 

MFC: What is writing web content? Your clients are from the Philippines or from abroad? What topics do they usually ask you to write about?

CFA: Abroad... virtually any topics! real estate, finance, health, etc. I've been doing this since 2008--when I was still in 4th year college! I had no work for 2 yrs and all I did was write and blog. 

What about you, Sir? What's keeping you busy these days? I've read your bio-data and I must say you have really achieved a lot in life!

You know, I am very comfortable talking to people older and wiser than I am rather than talking to people my age. Hahah. They can't seem to understand me.

MFC: I am a nobody. I love writing poetry. And writing profiles of Filipino librarians with emphasis on Western Visayas Librarians.

CFA: ... your humility is most admirable, Sir.

MFC: What else can you say about librarianship as a profession? I am inviting you to visit my literary blog, Dawn to Dawn (http://anahawleaf.blogspot.com/).

CFA: Librarianship is a "powerful" profession. It can make or break an institution. It can build or shatter the intellect of students. It can bring people who assume they're too intelligent to their knees. Librarianship is crucial. Librarians are crucial. Librarians can be teachers and mentors, but not every teacher could be a librarian. DDC, cutter, LC, opac, marc are terms that are best left to the specialties of a librarian. 

Pls visit my sites, too: http://christiangeorgeacevedo.com/ http://royal-splendor.blogspot.com/; http://roxascitycapiz.blogspot.com/

 

Before I closed our conversation, I requested Christian to describe himself in one word and to share with me his philosophy. And his answers were simple and direct: Over-the-top, and his philosophy in life is: knowledge is power.