Bustos Municipal Library

Bustos is a town which can be found in the north central part of the province of Bulacan. Its history is forever intertwined with its neighboring town Baliwag as it was a part of the latter in the olden times. This town is famous for its heritage cookies called Minasa, giving birth to an annual festival celebrated by the Bustoseños, the Minasa Festival. It has a municipal library officially called Aklatang Bayan ng Bustos currently under the care of Amelita Sanchez. It has its own building located beside the Tourism Office at the Bustos Municipal Compound.

Present Aklatang Bayan ng Bustos (Bustos Municipal Library)

The Aklatang Bayan ng Bustos was served by the the following people since it was established c. 2000: Sylvia Corpuz who works in the Municipal Treasurer's Office at the same time, Bebelina Lazaro who also works as Population Worker, Anne Lazaro who was the very first professional librarian to man the library, and Amelita Sanchez, the present officer-in-charge.

AKLATANG BAYAN NG BUSTOS
Based on interviews with
Amelita Sanchez (OIC-Municipal Librarian, 2016 - present),
Bebelina Lazaro (OIC- Municipal Librarian, 2007 - 2010)

Aklatang Bayan ng Bustos has been existing for more than 15 years already and it had its fair share of fortunate and unfortunate events during those years. No one can best describe those events but the people who has worked in the library during those times such as Amelita Sanchez and Bebelina Lazaro.

The present OIC of the library, Amelita Sanchez, started working there as a library staff in 2011 and left to rest in 2012. She came back again to serve the library in 2015 and has been serving the library since then. She is a BS Psychology graduate of CEU Malolos in 2000 and had library works training with the former librarian Anne Lazaro. She is also an active member of the Bulacan Public Libraries Association, Inc. (BPLAI). Bebelina Lazaro, on the other hand, was designated as the Municipal Librarian from 2007 to 2010 while also serving as a Population Outreach Worker. She finished her Bachelor in Elementary Education at Philippine Normal University.

The library was in an inactive status when Bebelina Lazaro took charge of it in 2007. The former OIC, Sylvia Corpuz has since vacated the position and settled as employee of the Bustos Treasurer's Office. To start with the reactivation of the library, Bebelina Lazaro has to look for the books to put on the library because they were scattered and placed in sacks and stored in different places. Unfortunately, many of the books were already infested by termites and already beyond salvation. Because of lack of library materials, Bebelina led the call to every Bustoseños to donate books to the library. Her call was answered by many people and boxes of books from private individuals arrived in the library. For the first 3 years that she manned the library, Mrs. Bebelina was the lone library staff. When Arnel Mendoza assumed the post, she was given a JO (job order) she only identified as Ms. Cristy who helped her in manning the library especially when she goes out to conduct family planning seminars. When the former Mayor Toti Reyes vacated the Mayor's Office in 2010, she transferred to the library all the books left there to add to the library's measly collection.

The present building occupied by the library hasn't always been for the library alone. Before that, the library was in a small gazebo-like structure in the park which was already demolished. It was then transferred to the second floor of the present building while the first floor was occupied by the Tourism Office as well as the Cooperatives Office. Bebelina described the former library as on open air place with no ceiling, no walls, and with only 2 to 3 book cabinets. When Arnel Mendoza assumed office in 2010, he pushed hard and supported the library's improvement which includes installing a professional librarian as head of the department, and renovating and dedicating the whole building for the sole use of the library.

After Mrs. Bebelina, a professional licensed librarian took the helm and brought the library into even greater heights. She is Anne Lazaro, described as an excellent librarian by both Bebelina Lazaro and Amelita Sanchez. She is considered as the pillar of the present library's modernized and efficient version. She developed the library into what it is today, complete with the internet terminal area, the children's corner, Bulacañana collection, and a museum to boot. During her time, the revitalized library was reopened on May 5, 2011. The museum followed suit in October, 2012.

Aside from transforming the library, she is very much engaged in the research about the local history and heritage of Bustos. She readily offered her help and accompanied Dennis Galvez and Jaime Veneracion, authors of a history book about Bustos, to National Library and other places to look for materials. Unfortunately, she died on 2016, just after finishing her Master in Library and Information Science in Baliwag University.

To listen to the author's whole interview with Mrs. Lazaro and Mrs. Sanchez, 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.