The City Government of Davao opened to the public on Friday, June 15, 2022, the state-of-the-art five-story Davao City Public Library and Information Center (CLIC) at 203 C., Bangoy Street, Brgy. 34-D, Poblacion Davao City.
CLIC Head Salome Enoc, in an interview with Byaheng DO30, said the library is open on weekdays from 7 am to 7 pm. It is open not just for teachers and students but for people from all walks of life.
“We would like the public to know that ang atoang serbisyo dili lang para sa estudyante ug teachers but also for women, and out of school youth. People actually from all walks of life can visit us. Unta i-avail nato ning serbisyo na gihatag sa atoa sa gobyerno and maximize the use of this library (We would like the public to know that our services are not only for the students and teachers but also for women and out-of-school youth. People from all walks of life can visit us. I hope you will avail of the services given by the government and maximize the use of this library),” she said.
Amenities and services
Enoc said that the first floor of the five-story building is where the newspaper and periodicals are found. A coffee shop will soon be opened in the area.
The second floor is intended for hybrid learning for kids.
“Naa ta’y new books diha, hybrid ba, naa pu’y mga online reading materials, ebooks. As you can see provided siya og mga tablet for kids. Naa siya’y educational games (We have new books there, for hybrid learning, we also have online reading materials, ebooks. As you can see the area is provided with tablets for kids. It has educational games),” Enoc said.
She added that the third floor is an area for formal reading. It is for learners, students, and those who are reviewing for exams. The fourth floor is occupied by the Davao City Call Center, which is open 24 hours and caters to queries on various concerns. The same area is being occupied by the IT and also houses the conference rooms.
The fifth floor is where the organic urban garden can be found. They are mulling on using the site as an area for information dissemination on how urban gardening can be done.
Access to online services of government offices such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and other agencies is also among the services offered by the CLIC.
How to get a library Card
Enoc said that to enter the library, one must register and get a library card. Instructions on how to get a library card are posted on: https://www.facebook.com/DCLIC2020/posts/pfbid0KDG3iYcErhvCyQTkp2fsUcLDmKdzJw2zLR9DdETpBVdhtF2s6F4vMikv424vWjAcl
Enoc said that visitors should have completed the registration online before they can enter.
The library card costs Php 30 and Php100.
“Naka-ordinance man gud sya naa kay option to get a 30-peso card and a 100-peso card. Ang 30-peso card usually para ni sa non-resident sa Davao City dili sya ka borrow. Kadtong 100 pesos kung naa kay guarantor allowed ka mag borrow, naa ka’y free use of computer sa IT section, and naa kay WiFi (This is already under an ordinance, you have the option to get the 30-peso card and the 100-peso card. The 30-peso card is for the non-residents of Davao Davao City but they cannot borrow. The 100 peso-card allows you to borrow if you have a guarantor, free use of the computer units at the IT Section and also WiFi),” she said, adding that the library card is good for one year. Residents may borrow the books from general circulation for a week.
Enoc said a budget of almost Php 100 Million was allocated for the building and the non-infrastructure aspect of the library. The Php 50 Million budget came from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and the remaining Php 40 Million plus came from the Trust Fund of the City.
“Dili lang na siya infra, apil na ang non-infra: computers nato diri bag-o ug kaning atong furniture.. (It is not only the infrastructure, they include the non-infra like computers and new furniture),”Enoc said.
Inauguration and Blessing of the City Library
Before it was opened to the public, the building was inaugurated on Thursday, July 14, 2022. It was attended by Mayor Baste Duterte, Vice Mayor Jay Melchor Quitain jr., officials from the National Library of the Philippines, city officials, and some Dabawenyos.
Mayor Baste, in a message, said that he is impressed with the amount of detail and effort put into the city library. He praised the people behind the completion of the project and hoped that Dabawenyos will treat the establishment with care.
“Unta kitang tanan maghatag ta og effort para ampingan nato ang atong City Library (I hope that each of us will exert effort to take care of our City Library),” Mayor Baste said.
He also expects that future infrastructure projects would be completed with the same quality as that of the City Library.
“Sa mga musunod nato nga projects unta i-maintain nato ang ingon ani nga klase sa quality nato sa pagpanarbaho ug pagtukod nato og establishments na mu-provide og services sa katawhan. I am very impressed. Sa musunod pa, let’s do more (For our future projects I hope that we could maintain the same quality of work in the building of establishments that provides services for the public. I am very impressed. For the next projects, let’s do more),” Mayor Baste added.
Quitain said that the establishment of the Davao City Library is a good development in the city.
“This is a big sign that Davao city is really on its way to the top. It is really developing despite the pandemic. As you can see you have structures like this blossoming all around Davao City. This is not the first building that the city has planned for we have the museum, we have the city College, we have the hospital on the way, so congratulations to everyone in the city,” Quitain said.
He invited all Dabawenyos, especially the young students/learners to the air-conditioned state-of-the-art facility where they can read, enjoy, and improve the quality of their education.
For more information about the Davao City Library and Information Center, please inquire through their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DCLIC2020.
