by Allianah Junnice Bolotaulo | November 3, 2022
Silliman University (SU) Library celebrated the 88th National Book Week from Nov. 17-23, with the theme “Basa, Bayan, Bukas.”
The SU Library staff organized various contests and activities, including the Balak Binisaya and Mobile Photography Contest.
Grylle Adrian Malala from the College of Mass Communication and Yuan Ceagor Raquel from the College of Business Administration won first place in the Mobile Photography Contest and Balak Binisaya, respectively.
Malala shared that his entry entitled “Corridor of Knowledge,” was mainly inspired by his experience of moments when he would go to the library and walk through the corridors filled with books.
“I don’t read, but as I witnessed how other photographs captured a genuine second on a click, I realized how books and reading are able to make someone more knowledgeable, a knowledge they’ll carry as time flies,” he said.
On the importance of celebrating National Book Week, he shared, “With how we are slowly being consumed by advancements, it makes us remember our classic ways of accumulating information and submit ourselves back to tradition.”
Meanwhile, on his winning piece Balandro, Raquel aimed to deliver the piece as a representation of systemic reform, history, and national destiny.
“I also wanted my piece to serve as a sternly worded critique of the socio-political ills that have actively compounded the country’s educational crises,” he further explained.
Raquel stated that the Visayan style of spoken word poetry is an important channel for introducing and re-emphasizing certain social, economic, political, and cultural discussion points to promote reform and accountability.
Moreover, University Librarian Asst. Prof. Sarah Angiela Ragay explained that “Basa, Bayan, Bukas” shows the importance of how reading can direct the nation to a more sustainable future both for the libraries and the book industry.
“The objective of Book Week is to inculcate in the minds of our students the love of reading and how it impacts their future,” she said.
Other contests and activities of the university’s celebration included the book buffet, freedom wall, library trivia, mobile photography contest, Balak Binisaya contest, and an outreach program done by the staff.
