8 November 2022

The Davao City Library and Information Center (CLIC), in celebration of the Philippine Book Development, continues its literacy campaign in the city’s far-flung areas through the Book Mobile Library’s “Magbasa Ta” program.

Carrying 1,965 book titles, the mobile library arrived at the Teofilo V. Fernandez Elementary School in Indangan, Buhangin on Tuesday, making it the fifth public school visited by the mobile library’s literacy program since its relaunching post-pandemic.

All 2,655 Teofilo grade school pupils were able to access the library’s circulation and choose any book they wish to read.

Aside from book-reading and story-telling activities, the Magbasa Ta literacy campaign also includes a disaster preparedness and awareness orientation and film viewing.

In an interview with the City Information Office, CLIC-Book Mobile Library program head Arniel Enoc said the mobile library will visit 10 other schools this month.

The campaign aims to encourage the love of learning in children, said Enoc, as well as to re-acquaint young readers with the consumption of printed content, as most of them spent the past two years of the pandemic locked indoors, consuming online digital content.

Enoc said the Magbasa Ta campaign prioritizes the most far-flung schools and barangays in the city with little to no access to public libraries.

“Ang tumong gyud ani kay matabangan nato ang mga bata na naa sa mga far-flung barangays. Kadtong lagyo gyud na lugar ang among gina-priority kay dili sila dali maka-adto sa atong City Library ug District Libraries (Our goal is to help the children in far-flung barangays. We prioritize the most far-flung areas because they cannot easily visit the City Library and the District Libraries),” Enoc said.

The library is scheduled to visit 45 schools in far-flung areas from November 9, 2022 to April 12, 2023.

Enoc added that the mobile library will also be visiting remote barangays during the summer break to further promote literacy throughout the city. CIO