Plaridel Municipal Library

This town, formerly known as Quingua, is one of the oldest towns of Bulacan. From its womb was born some other Bulacan towns such as Angat and San Rafael, and possibly, Pulilan. It got its present name in 1936 in honor of Bulacan’s foremost hero, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, who used the pen name “Plaridel”. The town is famous for its Spanish-era Church of Santiago Apostol and other heritage houses dotting its town center and nearby barangays.

For this town of 107,805 people (Census 2015), a municipal library can be found situated at the municipal hall, the Plaridel Municipal Library. The library is directly under the Office of the Vice-Mayor and is presently being managed by the municipal librarian, Marlon Mariano.

PLARIDEL MUNICIPAL LIBRARY 
Based on interviews with Marlon Mariano (Municipal Librarian, 2005 - present),
and Estrellita Quinay (OIC- Municipal Librarian, 2001 - 2004)

Plaridel Municipal Library is a veritable source of the town’s local history due to its many clippings and bounded collection of articles and fiesta souvenirs about the town including articles and old photos of different Plaridel landmarks such as the Battle of Quingua in Barangay Agnaya, the Plaridel Airport, the old church, the simborio, the old municipal hall, and many others. In addition to these, the library also has a sizeable collection of Bulakañana materials for the use of casual readers as well as researchers.

Presently, it is under the management of Marlon Mariano who was the municipal librarian since 2005. He is a licensed librarian and a graduate of BEEd Major in Library Science from Bulacan State University (BSU). He is also a member of the BPLAI and served as the organization’s vice-president in the past, and now its current treasurer. When he applied as the municipal librarian, the position was vacant because the former OIC-librarian was co-terminus with the former mayor. The said OIC-librarian was Estrellita Quinay, Mariano’s former teacher in St. James Academy. She served as the OIC-Municipal Librarian from 2001-2004 and was just months away from taking her licensure exam for librarians when the town’s administration changed. She has an AB Major in English as well as BSEd Major in Social Studies degree from Southern Luzon Colleges. She also studied in UP Los Baños for a time before pursuing said degrees. When she was serving as the municipal librarian, she took library courses in BSU but transferred to PNU later where she finished her 2 year Certificate in Library Studies.

The library is reportedly established in 1971 but Mariano discovered through his research that the library might have already existed in 1956 based on the memorandum receipt of books he found in the records of the National Library. The year 1971, according to him, was only based on interviews with other old employees and town officials and not on official documents. Since library has to be already existing before it can be accredited by the National Library and be given book allocations, Mariano places the library’s establishment 2 or 3 years earlier, 1953 or 1954. When asked about the library’s establishment, Quinay said that she has no idea about the exact date but shared that the library already exists when she relocated to Plaridel in the 1980’s.

The existence of the library has been continuous but its operation is not. Quinay remembers that when she arrived, the library was so filthy and much of the collections are obsolete, many of which came as a donation from the US and not applicable to the use of the locals. She asked for donations from her former students at St. James Academy to beef up the collection, cleaned and rearranged the library, and made it available for use during the lunch time when many of the students from nearby schools have time to go to the library. She shared that before she arrived, the library is being taken cared of by a municipal employee though it was always close because said employee was doing other tasks in the municipal hall. Said employee is Ronald Allan Morales who has been serving the library for almost 20 years, longer than Quinay and Mariano combined because he was already a staff there when Quinay arrived in 2001. Mariano was also able to work with Morales when he became the municipal librarian in 2005 until 2017. Quinay and Mariano describe him as a helpful workmate. At the present, Allan serves as a driver in the vice-mayor’s office.

The library has transferred 4 times since the time of Quinay up to the present. When Quinay arrived, it was located in a room adjacent to the mayor’s office in the old municipal hall. It was later transferred to the vacated mayor’s office which at that time already transferred to the new municipal hall. Quinay describes the new location as twice as large as the first one and more comfortable for the users because it was air conditioned. It was the library’s location when Mariano arrived in 2005. In 2006 due to the demolition of the old municipal hall, the library was transferred again, this time in the 2nd floor of the new municipal hall. The office of Sangguniang Bayan was divided into two and the other half became the library’s home for a year. In 2007, the library transferred again in the old conference hall between the office of the mayor and the vice-mayor, and finally in 2008, it transferred to another room in the 3rd floor, and stayed there until today.

In 2011, Mariano added a mini-museum to the library where many old pieces came from their house. It includes old coin collections, old jars, old lamp, and coal iron (plantsa). His mini-museum also includes the original sketch of the famous Battle of Quingua by the National Artist for Sculpture, Abdulmari Imao. Old pictures and portraits of Plaridel can also be found in the mini-museum.

Fortunately, the library has not been affected by any calamities, natural or man-made, that’s why the collection is intact, and continuously growing. With the collection’s growth is the need for more space so Mariano is hoping that the library be transferred to another location which has enough space to accommodate all the users as well as showcase the rich collection the library has, including its mini-museum.

To listen to the author's whole interview with Ms. Manio, Mrs. Añonuevo, and Mrs. Guevan, 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.