We live in an era when the youth is very rarely spotted in libraries, quietly absorbed in reading books. Despite the launch of e-books, it is more likely to see today’s generation deeply engrossed on their gadgets playing the latest online games or obsessing about their social media accounts.
According to the National Book Development Board Readership Survey conducted in 2012 by the Social Weather Stations, the readership of books, newspapers and comics declined from 94 percent in 2003 to 88 percent in that year. Majority of Filipinos have also been more concerned about putting food on the table, looking at reading as either a form of leisure or a scholastic requirement. Despite that, hope floats.
To cultivate a literary culture and to raise a generation of Filipinos who would develop a positive attitude towards reading, it is vital to have easy access to books in communities all over our 7,107 islands. This is where Library Renewal Partnership steps in, whose vision to build 200 libraries all over the country by 2020 is borne out of its founder’s love for reading.
“Reading saved my life and gave me worlds to enter and envision so I could create my own. Also, all the best and most successful ideas, writing and projects were conjured in libraries,” begins Quintin Jose Pastrana, the man behind LRP.
This poetic kind of inspiration is what he hopes Filipinos would be able to experience, empowering them to have limitless dreams and reach for these.
“We target Filipinos of all reading ages since these are public community libraries. As a former first lady said, libraries are the most democratic institutions in the country since the only requirement to enter is interest. Filipinos deserve secular, quiet spaces to imagine themselves into being. Libraries, as they have been around the world, provide this,” Pastrana stated.
Pastrana learned to appreciate words and reading at such a young age that it motivated him to explore the world and various interests in life. He graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science minor in French Studies and pursued Master’s degrees in Literature at Oxford University, International Relations at Cambridge University and Business at Georgetown University.
His career journey is a testament to how he was inspired by the different worlds he encountered in books: three years in government including the Senate, House of Representatives and the National Security Council; 15 years in the energy and mining sector. He also founded Firetree Press and was vice president of the Southeast Asia Rowing Federation. Pastrana is also a published author and is currently an anchor and producer for Bloomberg TV Philippines.
“My time abroad in the United Kingdom, where libraries were common, sacred and third spaces, was the defining moment that led me to conceptualize this project. I decided to undertake a paper at Oxford to look into how libraries can become sustainable and community development tools in the Philippines,” Pastrana shared.
“We aim to build an interconnected archipelago of empowered readers and leaders who will get this nation on its feet for good and walk in the right direction. Our 2020 target brings us past the halfway point and unstoppable inertia to reach all communities [in the country],” the founder explained.
Now halfway to meeting its target, LRP was able to build over 100 libraries across several regions in the country from North to South. It also worked with the Philippine Heart Center, New Bilibid Prison and Gawad Kalinga Farms to build libraries for these institutions, and has joined hands with leading literacy partners such as National Bookstore, Anvil Publishing, Adarna House and LBC Foundation.
Pastrana admits that this literary advocacy has taught him a valuable lesson.
“Working on this project is a concrete affirmation of what Jose Rizal wrote over a hundred years ago – that the Philippines cannot be a true nation without an educated citizenry. Our communities, through the libraries we have developed with them, are living proof,” he said, inspired anew by this realization.
For interested individuals and organizations willing to extend a hand on turning a new page in Philippine literacy, visit the Library Renewal Partnership (LRP) at www.librarypartners.com.
Makeup by Clara Pettersen and hair by Jayfren “JJ” Gallego of Creations by Lourd Ramos Salon
