✿ February Spotlight: The Life of a Young Librarian and Bookseller

Before I started college, I told myself volunteering in the library will be a great opportunity to understand the technical side of books.  After all, a library is a system passed down to us by the ancient world. So after enrolling myself, I went directly to the library and asked if I can volunteer.

I am more known as 'ij' in my current circle and in Passion Inside Bookstore, but you can call me Irish, Rish, or bestie. I live in Cavite, currently taking Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. 

GETTING TO KNOW IRISH

Before books, I was so passionate about TV. But during the summer of 2014, my friends introduced me to e-book or electronic book. With One Direction singing in my ears, and love stories after love stories unraveling before my mind's eye, I was hooked. It took many years before I turned into a mystery and classic geek. Because I rely on a high school student allowance, it didn't enter my mind to start collecting books at first. If I may use Wonka and Desiree's line, "I rely on the kindness of strangers." 

When my classmates learned that I was into reading, they would voluntarily lend me their books.

I only started collecting when accidentally I ordered two books published by a no-longer publishing company from a supplier, and I was startled to find out that I was holding in my hand a copy that was thrice as old as me.

Aside from the Bible, there are actually two classic books that impacted me deeply. And I'll gladly name them because I don't understand why they're not so popular. It was The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and Sister Carrie by Theodore Drieser.

Reading these two gothic classics stripped off all the entitlement spirit in me. I read it at a time when I was into the 'BLING' era— when all I see is the glitter and possibilities and getting rich and thinking rich and all that jazz. These two books humbled me.

How did you get into reading classic literature?

I didn't know there was such a genre as classic then. Only that Detective Conan (anime character) talks  non-stop about Sherlock Holmes — and I like Detective Conan A LOT. So I went to my dad to ask if Sherlock Holmes was a real thing. He didn't know either, so I started researching. Honestly, I first read Arthur Conan Doyle's creation long before I started reading the manga of Detective Conan. The first time I read it was on a PDF I downloaded for free, on my phone, and I wasn't the least intimidated by the Victorian language. 

One thing I know is that I am curious.  And with my Merriam Webster app on hand, I read, and read, and read. Every word I didn't know means an addition to my lexicon of vocabularies.

Who are some of the authors you love and why?

In Christian fiction, that would be Robin Lee Hatcher. In memoirs and biography, Frank McCourt. In Wattpad, HeadphonesAndLuck and Purpleyhan. In contemporary literature, Khaled Hosseini and Carlos Ruiz Zafon. In classic, Thomas Hardy and Edith Wharton. If I just want to have fun and relax, it's Neil Gaiman. In the Bible, it's David, Solomon, Habakkuk anddd Luke. The why lies in their creations. Please do try 'em.

HOW IRISH GOT INTO BOOKSELLING

Passion Inside started as a bookstagram account. And although I have money enough at that point to indulge in book buying, my shelf space was too limited. And so I started an experiment. I decided that after I finish a book, I should sell it. 

My first customer was Ate Ella who is now a professor in Ateneo. Soon enough, I find that the books I read started attracting readers of classics and mystery books. I also got the opportunity to learn their stories. Ate Ella's endorsement through her post & stories helped a lot! It became a cycle. Until we started buying books more than I can read, but I was "able-bodied" to circulate in the market anyway.  Passion Inside used to be called 'Read Like Never Before', but it was such a mouthful.

I used to always dream of being the CEO of a company named 'Passion Inside'. Vague in name, because it can be anything, but true to its form. So it became Passion Inside Bookstore, or PIBS for short. I learned a lot throughout the years. But more than that, I also carry with me my father's teaching: Smile even if they're only passersby, and my mother's advice, too: Treat the customer like family.

Given the growing number of book sellers online nowadays, what fuels you to continue serving through Passion Inside?

Oh, I like meeting readers! It's unfortunate that I rarely find a ka-co-genre though, but that's okay.

And frankly, I think this is the reason why I never thrive in a book club. Because I love the diversity. I love to see readers reading different kinds of books. I love scrolling through Instagram and seeing the progress of everyone on it. I love knowing that I am not alone in seasons when I feel like only reading every once in a while, and that's acceptable.

I never thrive in a book club. Because I love the diversity.

APPLYING AS A STUDENT LIBRARIAN

The Rejection

Before I started college, I told myself that volunteering in the library will be a great opportunity to understand the technical side of books. After all, a library is a system passed down to us by the ancient world. So after enrolling myself, I went directly to the library, and asked if I can volunteer. I remember the confused faces of the library staff. You see, there were no advertisements about this so my proposal surprised them. However, since the pandemic just ended, access to the library was limited and they did not need much help. So they told me they cannot cater to my request yet. I went home disappointed. But that's okay.

The Reflection

During the summer break of 2023, I reflected, like every human being facing the question of what do I really want to do in life? and where do I invest my energy and time?

I told myself, 'If you really want to work with books, you have to try to work in a library.'

Finally Accepted

What kept me motivated was the family we created in the library. A week before January 2024 ended, me and my co-SLAs ate out. Joey, a friend and co-SLA asked, 'what are you most grateful about in the library?' and I answered I'm thankful for them, which we all agree. Because even when we're tired, we still look at each other with a ready smile, and that refreshed us.

  Irish worked in the library of the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA - Molino where she also studies Psychology.

Librarians do a lot of things. I said this time and time again in PIBS, they're one of the busiest people in the planet. But I guess, for me, their most valuable role is that they are the supplier of knowledge available and accessible to the community. 

I think of librarians as the middleman between readers and all the technicalities, so we can get access to the knowledge conveniently and ready-made. 

You should see how librarians juggle meeting and calling suppliers, choosing the best books, searching the web for the best online sites for journals and research materials, all the while preparing these books in a systematic order. This is so that clients will have what they need to support their readings in a matter of less than two minutes. They're amazing. I promise, they deserve the respect.

During the past four months, our library conducted a lot of events. We were rolling with things to do and expect. We also had this free books event - instead of donating the old books to a third party, the school library gave them away to the community of UPHSD-Molino. 

Most people think that the library is not a fun place. Are you kidding me? Our librarians are thinking of events just to let the world see how fun it is to be part of that community.

What It Takes to be a Librarian

My specific tasks in the library were focused at the Circulation Section, where the students and faculties go to transact with book borrowing, returning, and renewal; renting of the Discussion Room, Media and/or Internet room; guiding the students in using the library system and scanning ID's for attendance. However, I became more active in the Technical Section. Here, we process the books and memos. We update the inventory, go around the university following up on the memos of our department, take stocks from the property office, shelve books, plastic-cover the books, prepare library cards, shelf read, and decorate the library with reminders and holiday joy every once in a while. 

For anyone and everyone who is interested in working in the library, I suggest you eat right, sleep right and enjoy the presence of your kapwa student worker and the library staff. Kasi you really need all the strength, focus, energy and most of all your smile intact. My chief librarian used to say, 'It's all about resilience.' 

As for knowledge, I didn't possess any before I started. So everything I learned, I learned from experience. 

I guess one of the specific skills one has to possess was to know how to shush the noisy kids haha! Kidding aside, an understanding of how to shelf read, MS Excel shortcuts, how your library system works, and how to talk to talk to people of authority is what you'll need (for our memo people), if you're a volunteer or part time worker. 

Just be open to learn and try. It helps a lot. Be patient. When you're too shy to ask a library staff, go to a co-student library assistant, and ask. I bet you'll be a natural in less than 10 days.

Faith & Literature

When I was a kid, I used to always have nightmares, and I would wake up around midnight to 3 AM - devil's hour, they say. But then I'll find my dad at our dining room, reading his Bible. So I started doing that, too. I'd wake up from a nightmare, get our gold-edged Tagalog Bible and start reading.

One Christmas night, our friends from church gifted me and my sister a Children's Bible. I wasn't much of a reader then, but I read that book one story at a time. Another church friend gave us a book that I consider to be the turning point of it all, The House of Simple Blessings.  When I turned 14, I received my first novels, passed down from my father's shelf. Looking back, I realized that God used these moments and gifts to lead me closer to one conclusion: And that is through and through, I can only my find my rest in Him. Naturally, I sought Him.

The funny thing is, I see Him in places I never thought I'll do. I parallel God's involvement in the lives of the characters in the Bible in almost every book I read. 

I never really plan what to read. I just kinda go 'Lord, please lead me what to read next.' 

I think we can safely say that the Bible is not only God's love letter, it is also a historical record of the most grandeur stories. From the parting of the Red Sea, to Daniel in the lion' den, to Joseph being sold by his brothers into slavery and the becoming a prime minister in Egypt, to Jesus coming to the world, his miracles and wonders and love, and the birth of Christianity.

And you know what Solomon said, nothing is ever really new under the sun. Things get updated or modified but the point of it all still remains, and it all came from one ancient idea.

HOW TO SUPPORT

You can send me pambili po ng Jollibee sa— kidding! Do visit us: 

📸 Instagram: Passion Inside by ijl

💬 Facebook: Passion Inside 

🛒 Shopee: Passion Inside Bookstore

If you want to talk about anything at all, such as books, movies, art, events, your dreams, your plans, world domination, etc., or would like to share reels, do not think twice, and just hit me up at the DMs. 🤍 Just remember this simple rule, I sleep early hehe.

Thank you for being here! Our theme for February is ‘Love Your Local Library’ as we celebrate Library Lover’s Month. Leave a comment for us to read! We'd love to hear your thoughts.

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