The celebration of the National Book Week in the Philippines started in 1934 through the proclamation issued by Governor General Frank Murphy. It is celebrated from June 18 to 24 of every year, which aims to awaken the reading interest of Filipinos and to promote the resources and services offered by public libraries to the community.
In 1936, the National Book Week celebration was moved to November 24 to 30 of every year through Proclamation No. 109 signed by the late President Manuel L. Quezon. Since then, the National Book Week has been observed and celebrated throughout the entire country with an overarching goal of promoting the love, joy, and appreciation for reading.
This year, the High School Learning Resource Center celebrated the 86th National Book Week on November 23 – December 4, 2020, with the theme: “Libraries as Catalysts in the New Normal Environment: Changes. Reforms. Transformations.”
Our National Book Week 2020 poster was inspired by the school’s experience in this new learning environment. Students, teachers, and formators are portrayed on board of a boat, which symbolize the commitment of the community to sail and navigate through uncharted territories brought by the global health crisis. The pages of the book act as waves, which represent the importance of books and reading for the community to continue sailing forward.
This year marks a lot of first in our National Book Week celebration. Our annual onsite and MIBF book fairs have been transformed into a “click” and “add-to-cart” online book fair. This year’s online book fair was made possible in partnership with Fully Booked and Scholastic. The online book fair serves as an avenue that provides a convenient way for the community to purchase learning resources and introduce them to different genres of literature.
Fun-filled activities conducted in the confines of the HS LRC building have been conducted virtually through Schoology and popular social media platforms. The Quotable Quotes Challenge, Reveal your Character, and Face Shield Design Contest activities provided an opportunity for our high school students to deepen their appreciation and love for reading.
The literary prowess of students were also challenged in the Spoken Word Poetry activity.We are delighted to announce that Matthew Anthony Ranin (G11-B) and Iñigo Miguel Tagapan (G9-I) are the declared winners of this event.
We are also thankful to our dear colleagues who stepped up and took the spotlight in sharing their favorite books through the #YouGotBooked activity. Mr. Neil Evangelista, Ms. Marwille Vardeleon, and Ms. Sheiren De Villa are the top three participants of this contest. As a sign of our appreciation and gratitude, all winners and selected participants will receive gift certificates and amazing prizes from the HS LRC.
This new learning environment brings a handful of challenges and setbacks, but most importantly, it creates a multitude of opportunities for us to explore, rethink, and reimagine ways to promote the love, joy, and appreciation for reading to the entire Xavier School community.
Let us all continue our mission and keep on sailing forward!
Sources:
Official Gazette. (1936, November 19). Proclamation No. 109, s. 1936. Designating the Period
from November 24 to 30 of Each Year as National Book Week. Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1936/11/19/proclamation-no-109-s-1936/
Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (n.d.). National Book Week.http://plai.org.ph/national-
