Baliwag Municipal Library and Museum

Baliwag is dubbed as the financial, commercial, and education center of Northern Bulacan because of the many businesses, financial institutions and tertiary schools there that cater to the needs of Baliwag itself as well as of neighboring towns such as San Ildefonso, San Rafael, Bustos, Angat, Pulilan, Plaridel, Apalit and Candaba. It is no wonder that the town's population quadruples during the day when all these institutions are open. For this very lively town and center, a silent sentinel stood in the midst, always waiting to be discovered by those who are hungry for knowledge, as well as cultural and historical information. They just need to look for the century-old municipal hall of Baliwag and there, in all of its glory, is the Baliwag Municipal Library and Museum.

Old Baliwag Municipal Hall, the home of Baliwag Municipal Library and Museum

Baliwag Municipal Library and Museum is directly under the Office of the Mayor. It is now under the care of the Mr. Heherson C. Cruz, the Municipal Librarian while the museum section is under Ms. Susie Villanueva, the Museum Curator.

THE BALIWAG MUNICIPAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM 
Based on the interview with Mr. Heherson C. Cruz,
Municipal Librarian (2017 - Present), Assistant Librarian (2012 - 2017)

It's not easy being the one to tend to a library full of heritage, from the building itself, to the valuable books that it hold, and to the collection of artifacts and museum pieces that it exhibits and takes care of. Take away the museum part and the library is still very much important, even just taking into consideration the wealth of local history books in its collection. This valuable library was established in the 1970's when the Baliwag Municipal Government transferred to a newer town hall. The old town hall which is a Spanish-era house was turned into a Library and Museum through the suggestion of different historical associations in Baliwag and the province of Bulacan during the incumbency of Mayor Florentino Vergel de Dios. These historical associations has been very much instrumental in the establishment as well as the continued existence of the library. Today, historical associations such as Samahang Pangkasaysayan ng Bulakan (SAMPAKA), Pangkat Saliksik ng Kasaysayan ng Baliwag at Baliwag Historical Association, Inc. are the ones which helps in maintaining this institution.

The present librarian, Mr. Heherson C. Cruz, became the Municipal Librarian just last year, 2017, but he has been serving in the library as early as 2012 in his capacity as assistant librarian. He is a licensed librarian who finished both his Bachelor and Master's Degree in Library and Information Science at Baliwag University. He succeeded Resureccion Gaspar when the latter retired in 2017.

The library has not stopped its operation since it opened in the 1970's except when the building was renovated in 2016, as part of the measures taken to preserve it because it has just been declared by the National Museum as an Important Cultural Property. The library is non-operational for 6 months that the restoration is ongoing though library users can still request for information materials they need, provided it is part of the small collections the library personnel has set aside because of their high frequency of utilization.

The building itself that house the library and the museum is a very historical one which has played an important role in the history of the town of Baliwag. It has been the town's official hall since the American Period and all of the town mayor who has ever served Baliwag since the Americans set foot in the town has held office there until the 1970's. Because of its cultural and historical importance to the town, it was called as the "Tahanan ng Kasaysayan ng Kalinangan ng Bayan ng Baliwag.

Notable users of the library are the members of the different historical associations already mentioned above but one stands out among the rest: Mr. Pedro Cabingao, a local history enthusiast who is a well known Facebook personality in Bulacan known as Batang Baliwag. According to Mr. Cruz, Mr. Cabingao can always be seen poring over books in the library looking for historical trivia and tidbits about Baliwag that he can post in FB. Because of having so many followers, his posts about the history and cultural life of Baliwag and neighboring towns are big hits and able to educate and inform many people about the greatness of Baliwag's past. Many of those posts couldn't have reached the social media if not for the rich collection of the Baliwag Municipal Library.



To listen to the author's whole interview with Mr. Cruz, you may go to the Bulacan Provincial Library and ask the librarian there about the ORAL HISTORY OF BULACAN PUBLIC LIBRARIES PROJECT. Transcript of the whole interview is also available on site.