“One month. If I were to decide the amount of time we had needed to prepare the 24/7 library, it would be one month.”
On March 5, 2017, in the Facebook comment section of one of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s posts, a netizen named Mitch Roldan reached out to ask for the implementation of a 24/7 library.
The mayor broadcasted the request and asked for public feedback. And when the public responded positively, Osmeña merely noted this and said, “give me a week.”
Updates of the ongoing changes in the public library were soon publicized and that Wednesday, March 7, 2018, he sent the Cebu City Public Library Head Librarian, Ms. Rosario C. Chua, the memo on the new 24/7 policy.
“When we received his directive to open the library for 24/7. I couldn’t imagine that we could take him up on his challenge because there were only six of us at that time,” Ms. Chua said in Cebuano. “I was worried because it was all happening too fast. There wasn’t even a proper orientation, it was just immediately being announced in an online post.”
As the mayor announced the 24/7 library’s opening to be on Friday of that week, giving the library staff just one day to accommodate the continued inflow of requests.
Previously operating from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, the library had to undergo construction, an addition of staff and furniture, installation of Wi-Fi routers, and policy changes, to name a few. All this in just 24 hours.
And on March 9, 2018, the Cebu City Public Library first opened its doors as the pioneer 24/7 library in the Philippines.
Adjusting to the changes
“The first week was critical,” the head librarian stated in Cebuano. “We were still learning how to operate the new system and the clients seemed to be overwhelmed with the changes, as well. They kept asking for more and it seemed like they weren’t able to understand that we were adjusting with them.”
The demands kept coming in and the staff, now numbering to 28, were still adjusting to the situation. Batches of 30 - 40 people would visit the library at the same time and expect their requests to be fulfilled immediately.
As the newly hired staff lacked training in library management and they were unable to meet all the demands of their clients, the library’s feedback box was littered with complaints.
The sudden onslaught of visitors resulted in the crowding of the space, making the need for bigger space, more seats and the lack of thorough preparation apparent.
“There was continuous demand for more coffee, beds, and lockers, to name a few,” she recalled. “Of course, we can’t accommodate them immediately, especially considering we only had 24 hours to prepare.”
Twenty-four hours to equip a library for 24/7 service was not enough time, according to Miss Chua. The new fast-paced work schedule left the head librarian with less than five hours of sleep and in constant confusion of what day it was.
“Like a doctor, I’m on-call,” she laughed. “We used to be able to distinguish the weekends since those were non-working days before, but since we now hold shifts everyday, we sometimes don’t know what day it is anymore.”
The head librarian, like the other two licensed librarians in residence, have had to take in more work ever since the public library’s doors stayed open past 5 p.m., stepping in when no one else can. The staff, rotating with shifts in the morning, evening, and dawn, have also had to step in especially with a bigger crowd.
“We don’t have an increase in salary,” Ms. Chua revealed. “Even though we don’t have as much sleep or have to deal with a bigger crowd than we’re used to, we still only hold eight-hour shifts like we used to.”
New policies
With the shift from regular working hours to working all hours, the library has had to deal with a number of requests and complaints from its visitors. Before it became the Philippines’s first 24/7 library, the Cebu City Public Library held a standard of dress that all visitors must adhere to.
The library previously banned people in above the knee shorts, skirts and/or tank tops or sleeveless tops inside. The policy was strictly enforced to “respect” other clients and the library itself. When this was made known to a group wearing short shorts and tank tops, they filed a complaint to Mayor Osmeña on the issue and the library responded by taking down the policy.
It wasn’t only with clothing that the library had to give in on. When the mayor first announced improvements in the library in preparation for its 24/7 service, Mayor Osmeña mentioned ‘coffee’. As, according to Miss Chua, the biggest enemy of books is water, this posed quite a dilemma to the staff.
“Some of the people coming in were acting like they were in a picnic. They’d hide between the shelves and leave their trash, empty cups, and unfinished snacks between books or on the floor,” the head librarian frowned.
The lack of proper waste disposal has lead to a still ongoing problem in the library. Among books and people, rodents have found home in the library. To address this and prevent further problems, Miss Chua has advised the consuming of food and beverages to be done outside of the library.
Although this wasn’t met with much enthusiasm, the head librarian stood firm with the thought, “They must understand that this is a library, they must also respect the rules in the library.”
Ongoing projects
The three things needed to take into account when preparing a 24/7 library, Miss Chua noted in hindsight, are staff, space, and crowd control.
As the 24-hour preparation for its opening was not enough, these three things still seek improvement. Currently, plans and a budget for a second-story was approved by Miss Chua’s superior.
“One thing I really noticed when the 24/7 library opened was the loss of our Senior Citizen clients, who stopped coming in once they saw how busy the library has become,” she noted sadly. “This is why the second floor will be ready so the students can have their own space to study or to discuss, and the first floor can welcome back our previous clients.”
Aside from space expansion, the library is also constructing a soundproof multimedia room fit for story-telling, film showing and seminars. The room is scheduled to be finished and available for use by late December or early January.
The Cebu City Public Library has gone far since March 9, 2018. A former average of around a thousand visits per month has given way to more than 15,000 visits in a month. In October alone, people made their way to the library 17, 984 times.
Before the year is out, Miss Rosario Chua, estimates the total number of visits to be around a hundred thousand. Seemingly in awe of this, she reveals that she always hoped this would happen but never thought it really would.
“Becoming a 24/7 library was a big challenge for us, especially with such little time to prepare. But as days passed, we got used to it and we were able to adjust to the situation. Even though, there are still challenges every day, we are happy that our office is now relevant to the community.”