140. THE MOST OUTSTANDING PUBLIC LIBRARY ADMINISTRATOR IN THE PHILIPPINES 2021

            THE MOST OUTSTANDING PUBLIC LIBRARY ADMINISTRATOR

                                                IN THE PHILIPPINES 2021

                                                Dr. Troy Alexander Gozum Miano, LPT

                                                                    26 August 2021

Never in my wildest dream have I seen myself heading the Isabela Museum and Library (IML). I remember when I was present in one of the main events of the IML over a year after the opening of the former provincial capitol building for public use on November 6, 2000 on the occasion of the seminar on local history and opening of the “Tilamsik ng Liwanag” exhibit. Governor Benjamin G. Dy and wife Madam Cecile M. Dy were the guests of honor.  Only recently, I was able to secure a rare photo of the aforementioned event with me as a photo bomber behind the distinguish guests. After 17 years, I received an order from Governor Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III upon the recommendation of Provincial Administrator Atty. Noel Manuel R. Lopez designating me as the head of the IML which was originally attached to the Office of the Governor on top of being the Provincial Tourism Officer.

Never in my wildest dream would I imagine to receive an award as the head of the IML. To comply with the letter downloaded to the IML, museum head, Engr. Jesus Ferdinand C. Ordoñez, and librarian, Ms. Christine Gayle F. Aglibo, they submitted six entries for the annual contest. A panel interview via zoom was conducted and after a couple of weeks, the Governor received a communication stating the outcome of the search. Yesterday, August 25, the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) and The Asia Foundation (TAF) conferred the Unang Gantimpala, 2021 Gawad Parangal sa Natatanging Propesyunal na Tagapangasiwa ng Pampublikong Aklatan. The awarding ceremony took place towards the end of the 1^st ASEAN Virtual Regional Conference of Public Librarians.

This is my second national award. In 2013, I was bestowed The Outstanding Councilor of the Philippines (TOCP) Award and I was one of the ten local legislators out of 16,000 honored. My recent recognition, on the other hand, the NLP and TAF through their hand-picked judges, chose me as the lone 1^st place winner in the entire country. Our Governor, Rodolfo “Rodito” T. Albano III and I both received a trophy, a NLP medallion plus a 15,000 peso cash reward.

The main text of the award reads:

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE PHILIPPINES (NLP) and THE ASIA FOUNDATION (TAF)

KATIBAYAN NG PAGKILALA

ipinagkakaloob kay

TROY ALEXANDER G. MIANO, DPA

Nanunuparang Pinuno, Isabela Museum and Library

UNANG GANTIMPALA 2021 GAWAD PARANGAL SA NATATANGING PROPESYUNAL NA TAGAPANGASIWA NG PAMPUBLIKONG AKLATAN

bilang pagkilala sa kanyang matapat at masigasig na paglilingkod sa pampublikong aklatan sa pamamagitan ng pagpapamalas ng masiglang bahagi ng kanyang buhay at paglalaan ng sarili nang walang pasubali sa pagganap sa tungkuling iniatang sa kanya, sa pamamagitan ng mahusay na pamumuno sa kanyang mga nasasakupan at pagtataguyod ng inobasyon para sa pagbibigay ng karangalan sa pampublikong aklatan, at bilang mabuting ehemplo sa kapwa niyang nanunungkulang tagapaglingkod (officer-in-charge) gayundin sa lipunang kanyang ginagalawan at sa sambayanang Pilipino.

Ipinagkaloob ngayong ika-25 ng Agosto, 2021.

Cesar Gilbert Q. Adriano - Director IV, NLP

Sam Chittick - Country Representative, TAF

The brass trophy is very unique and was designed and sculptured by Roen Bustos Capule. An inscription in a plate at the back reads: “Ang tropeong ito ay sumasalamin sa mga taong nagbigay ng malaking kontribusyon sa lipunan sa pamamagitan ng paglingkod sa pampublikong aklatan para sa iba’t-ibang sektor ng komunidad. Makikita rito ang isang libro na puno ng simbolo tulad ng mukha, isang usbong ng dahon, araw at tatlong bituin. Ang libro na puno ng kaalaman at inspirasyon; ang mukha ay kumakatawan sa taong paparangalan; ang isang usbong ng dahon na ibig sabihin ay patuloy pang sisibol ang taong magagaling at nagmamalasakit; ang isang araw at tatlong bituin na sumisimbolo sa Bansang Pilipinas.

Virtual awarding ceremonies are a product of the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost everything is recorded in advance. The trophies and medal were sent a month earlier and a video was prepared with me and Governor Rodito Albano receiving the award and sent to the NLP Secretariat for proper editing. I was very fortunate since Vice Governor Bojie Dy, my ninong, was present. LPGMA Partylist Representative and fellow kababayan, Allan U. Ty, was also around that fateful afternoon.

BOMBO Radyo Cauayan interviewed me through Bombo Exiquiel Quilang in their early morning show and posted in social media. Brigada News Cauayan through Ms. Rhea A. Pataray also made a similar interview and posted in Facebook (FB). Well wishers flooded my FB wall and the post of my mother and others who shared my post including a kababayan from Calbayog City, Samar. Numerous personal calls were constant the rest of the day until late evening.

I was asked a couple of times by the judges during the panel interview and the anchors of the two radio stations, what were the reasons why I was chosen in this year’s roster of winners. I enumerated a number of the significant considerations.

In 2017, during the early days of my watch, I submitted a report on the status of the old IML building. Governor Bojie Dy and PA Noel Lopez, on the other hand, incorporated in the annual budget a substantial amount for the rehabilitation of the IML building including the fencing of the whole compound. The structure endured natural calamities for the past two decades and badly needed repairs especially the roofing of the second floor which was holed by Typhoon Lawin in 2016 and the two wings of the building.

Before the end of the term of Governor Bojie Dy in 2019, Children’s International donated to the Provincial Government of Isabela over 46,000 books from Kansas, U.S.A. Governor Rodito Albano, in turn, decided that the aforementioned books be forwarded to far flung public schools in the province. In coordinated efforts with the Department of Education (DepEd) Division of Isabela headed by Dr. Madelyn L. Macalling and the Division of Ilagan headed by Dr. Gilbert N. Tong, elementary and high school books reached the far areas of Ilagan, San Mariano, Benito Soliven, Gamu, Angadanan, Echague, Jones, and the coastal towns of Palanan and Dinapigue. The public libraries of the Local Government Units (LGU) of Alicia, Cabatuan, Dinapigue, Palanan, San Manuel and Santa Maria also received the imported books. A number of barangay reading centers also received allocations. The book donation will continue for over a year until the remaining coastal towns and the whole remote areas are reached.     

Under my watch, the association of librarians in Isabela was conceived. A permanent librarian in the IML was hired and was given a permanent position. The archives section was institutionalized wherein the minutes of the Provincial Board since 1909 are kept. The minutes of these sessions are the oldest remaining documents of its kind in the Philippines. Virtual exhibits were posted very regularly in social media especially during national celebrations and commemorations.

Since 2017, long before the Covid 19 pandemic, a regular Friday clean-up, sanitation and disinfection is done. Furthermore, the IML strictly followed all health protocols set by the taskforce. Moreover, the officers and staff of the IML were trained by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) on security and safety procedures.

The Provincial Government of Isabela through the Isabela Museum and Library will continue to serve the students and library aficionados not only from Isabela but also travellers and tourists both local and foreign. Isabela’s museum and library will carry on to be a repository of history, culture and the arts and the home of world-class public servants.