Read and Display
THERE IS AN old saying that goes, “Show me what you read and I’ll tell you who you are.” The biggest bibliophiles, whose book collections are often libraries in their own right, not only understand this principle, but also know how to show off what they do read to the best advantage. A well-ordered personal library is both an organizational joy and one of the best personal statements one can make.
The first principle is to arrange books in a way that makes sense. That is, don’t just shove a new book in the nearest empty slot in a bookcase, but give it a location relative to other books that will make it easy to find when you — or anyone else using your personal library — might need it again.
Take a cue from your favorite bookstore, which likely shelves its stock first by genre and then alphabetically by author or by title. Start by dividing your collection into the broadest categories: fiction and non-fiction, for example. The subcategories come next, as there are many different types of fiction (classics, thrillers, romance) and different types of non-fiction (biographies, textbooks, manuals). A useful principle to remember is that these literary birds of a feather should flock together.
Of course, the beauty of being your own librarian is getting to use a system that works best for you. If you are an aficionado of children’s literature with a collection of Newbery Award-winning novels, then shelve them together by date of publication, to turn a row of books into a historical timeline. Similarly, if you are an Oprah Winfrey fan who owns many of her book club’s selections, both classic novels and modern literature, it would be more of a personal statement to show them off in a single group.
Having determined which books go together, the next challenge is to make them fit together. Not every bibliophile has the luxury of too much shelf space. To maximize what little room you have,
try a combination of standing and stacking. Have several rows standing, divided by small piles
of stacked books. Then you may lay more books on top of those which are upright and position others on top of the piles. This nontraditional arrangement is especially easy to pull off if you have bookcases with square-shaped divisions, which are easiest to divide into quadrants. When you’re done, the effect will be quite striking.
Note that your library does not have to be isolated in a single room but may be spread out over your house. Cookbooks are better off in the kitchen, art books in the living room, dictionaries and encyclopedias in the bedrooms of school-aged children, and so on. This is a flexible system that will spread the ‘book burden’ more evenly throughout all available space; but if you have yet to put one in place, it can mean a whole day’s commitment. It’s almost no wonder that more and more readers are ‘solving’ the problem of book storage by buying the sort of books that don’t need shelving as much as saving.
Easy Read
Investing in an e-reader may seem both the ‘greenest’ and the most practical way to deal with incurable bibliomania. Shelves need regular dusting and will inevitably overflow, and dedicated collectors sometimes spend as much on new furniture as on new books. In contrast, a single e-reader takes up about the same physical space as a small notebook, can hold several hundred books in digital format, and poses no threats to the trees of the world. It is a slick little solution to the problems of space and deforestation — and one that can make as much of a personal statement as a paper library, before anyone even scrolls through its contents. Yet there’s something about it that seems like a creative cop-out.
There is so much more satisfaction to be had in a battle of the books — in shelves one had to wrestle into submission. E-readers may be the wave of the future, but as long there are old-fashioned readers for whom a shelf of books is a thing of beauty and a joy forever, there will be old-fashioned libraries in their homes. - Cristina Espina
Care for Books
Humidity allows mold spores and mildew to grow and spread, while silverfish feeds on the proteins and starches found in various book materials.
To remove mold and mildew on a dry book:
• Use a fine brush or soft cloth to gently brush away the mildew.
• Use a soft cloth lightly dampened with denatured alcohol to kill the mildew. Use light, gentle strokes as not to damage the paper/glossy cover and dry the book thoroughly but gently.
• Slide a sheet of waxed paper underneath the moldy page to protect the page behind it. Use a soft brush to carefully remove any obvious mold or mildew.
To remove mold and mildew on a wet book:
• Completely dry a book first, then treat the mold problem afterwards to avoid smearing the book.
• If you can’t work on a damp book right away, place it in a plastic Ziploc bag and pop it in the freezer. Let it thaw once you are ready to try the methods of drying.
• Use fans or hair dryers to speed the drying process for an hour.
• Place the books under sunlight, as exposure to the sun’s UV rays can help to kill mold spores. Do this for an hour to prevent damage and bleaching from sitting under the sun too long.
To remove silverfish:
• Sprinkle boric acid, diamacetous earth, or insecticidal dusts in the crevices and cracks
where silverfish are living. You can also install a desiccant and use humidifiers inside the house.
• Put infected book in a Ziploc bag with some desiccant. Store the book inside your freezer for three days. The temperature will kill it.
Parting with Books
“Please do not throw away books,” says Lopez Museum and Library’s head librarian, Mercy Servida. “You may donate them to public school libraries. Books on sciences that are always updated may go first. My heart breaks when you ask me of throwing away books because we do not throw away books in the Lopez Museum and Library because they are part of history. Old books are always consulted as reference of the past.”
Want to set up a kiddie library?
Lopez Museum and Library’s head librarian, Mercy Servida, says it is always a good idea to keep the kids’ books separate from the rest of your book collection. She adds, “Make books accessible for your child. Keep them low and easy to reach. Consider placing books in easy to move baskets, instead of standing them up on a bookshelf. It’s easier for a child to choose a book by looking at its cover. Place ‘mini-libraries’ on every floor of your house.”
Inspire Reading
“Children need to be exposed to words and language and books even as infants. They need to understand that we use words to express meaning,” says Flor Marie ‘Neni’ Sta. Romana-Cruz, an award-winning author of children’s books, reading advocate, and freelance journalist. A trustee of the Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation, an organization which promotes book reading and lifelong learning and which aims to help children be better prepared for the rigors of Grade 1 and formal schooling by focusing on preschool teacher training, she now heads the National Book Development Board (NBDB). Here, she talks about the board’s child literacy program.
Tell us more about NBDB’s program.
The NBDB has done several reading appreciation/storytelling techniques within our Booklatan sa Bayan program for day care workers in the barangays and we’ve done it for the National Children’s Hospital for nurses, parents, and caregivers there. We do it regularly all year round in partnership with organizations and local government units (LGUs).
Most public school children don’t have access to books in their home. What can the community do to help? Do public school libraries accept book donations? If not, where can we donate?
The Department of Education (DepEd) Library Hub Program, a warehouse type library conceptualized by former Undersecretary Mike Luz, attempts to fill that need. Yes, donations are always welcome. These may be directed to the Library Hub program of DepEd. There are never enough books for our readers and our students. Books, if read and used as they should be —
and not locked up in shelves — get worn out and need replenishing.
EARLY READING
Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz’s tips to encourage kids to read:
• Read aloud to them. A story is sure to be a hit if they could relate to it.
• Make reading time with kids a structured regular part of their day. Begin with five minutes every day— that will mean a lot.
• The adult must be seen reading. Children must have reading models. Otherwise, why will they bother to read?
• Surround the child with reading materials. Books, magazines, comics — anything which could be read.
• Allow children to say whether they like the book or not. Eventually, have them choose what they would want to be read to them or they want to read.
• It’s perfectly okay to read the same story over and over again.
Spread the Words
You may want to share your books. Donate to your district’s public school libraries, barangay, or to these organizations:
• A-Book-Saya Group. Email abooksaya@yahoo.com or armanddean@deanandkingspr.com. Call 7030040, 3538482, or 3393732.
• KaEskwela. Log on to www.kaeskwela.org.
• Perth-Manila Book Project. Email anamaine@gmail.com or log on to www.perthmanilabookproject.wordpress.com.
• Reach Out! Youth Filipino (ROYFIL). Visit Christian Family Center Building, 58 Sto. Domingo Street,
Barangay Holy Spirit, Quezon City. Email carinarcpm@yahoo.com or log on to www.royfil.com/index.html.
• Releaf Project. Visit 10 Ceylon St. Paranaque City Philippines 1711. Email donate@releafproject.org or log on to www.releafproject.org or visit facebook.com/releafproject.
• ChildHope’s Mobile Library. Visit 1210 Peñafrancia Street, Paco, Manila 1007. Call 5634647
or log on to www.childhope.org.ph.
• Goodwill Industries of the Philippines Inc. Visit 22 VRCC Road, VFP Industrial Area, Veterance Center, Taguig City. Call 8387170, 8661600, or telefax 8373094. Log on to http://goodwillph.com.
