The City College of Cagayan de Oro, in collaboration with the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. - Northern Mindanao Region Librarians Council (PLAI-NMRLC), successfully organized the Librarians Forum and Oath-Taking Ceremony for newly licensed librarians on December 6, 2024. Held at the Audio-Visual Room (AVR) of the City College, the event underscored the institution's dedication to fostering professional growth and lifelong learning among library professionals.
The event commenced with welcome remarks delivered by Dr. Kurt S. Candilas, Vice-President for Administration, setting the tone for an engaging day of learning and reflection. The day-long program featured a distinguished lineup of speakers and sessions tailored to enhance professional practices and address critical issues in the field. Discussions included:
Session 1: Ms. Faith Q. Colarte, Director of Student Welfare Services at the City College of CDO, shared insights on “Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing: Creating Safe Spaces in the Library.” Session 2: Dr. Melody R. Agcito, President of PLAI-NMRLC, explored “Empowering the Association: PLAI-NMRLC’s Guiding Policies for Collective Growth.” Session 3: A PRC Requirements Forum and the much-anticipated oath-taking ceremony were facilitated by Ms. Julie L. Sabalza, Regional Director of PRC-10.
Session 4: Dr. Jestoni P. Babia, President of the City College of CDO, highlighted the role of libraries in achieving global goals with his presentation on “Integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Libraries.” During her session, Dr. Agcito expressed her gratitude and inspiration, saying: "𝘛𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴! 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘖𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘓𝘈𝘐-𝘕𝘔𝘙𝘓𝘊 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘰, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘋𝘳. 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪 𝘗. 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭."
The program concluded with a heartfelt message from Ms. Remedios B. Janier, Executive Vice-President of PLAI, inspiring participants to continue advancing the profession through innovation, inclusivity, and collaboration. The College extends its warmest congratulations to the newly licensed librarians. This milestone marks the beginning of their journey to champion mental health, inclusivity, and sustainability within the library profession.