Love the ‘Lib’

Selina Olga Santiago

The familiar scent, the rusty shelves, and the dusty old books full of never-ending stories and
chronicles. A little room where everything begins, as the knowledge forms and new ideas are
born. A room where learning starts, inside Valenzuela National High School’s library.

Usually, a library is filled with thousands of pieces of information and knowledge. Yet, for the
past few years, its purpose has not been for the students to read and learn from, but to collect
dust and a few other dirt in the room. Though, the busy librarian comes in sometimes, and a few
more students who take care of the library are always there to make sure it's presentable once
a student decides to take a book from one of the old shelves and read it. Happens once in a
blue moon.

It is only often used for training, remediation, and competitions. Merely an event’s place. A
location for meetings. Not a place to read. Well, not anymore. Even though you can still learn
inside its four enlightening walls, just not with the help of its dusty old books who are sitting and
waiting for a long time. A chance of them being scanned through by a student is one out of ten.

Maybe students are now too busy using their gadget to research. This hub of information has
long been forgotten by almost everyone, except for the busy librarian and the students who
clean it every after class. It is now nothing, but an old dusty room filled with books, that hold no
sense nor power, without readers who will seize the beauty and knowledge it contains.

The familiar scent, the rusty shelves, and the dusty old books full of never-ending stories and
chronicles should be encountered and experienced by everyone. Every superficial world on
each page should be visited and explored by learners. The blue moons should come more
often. And the students should utilize and learn from the four enlightening walls of the school
library. Have some time to visit and explore what books are there to enjoy and to learn.