The PLAI-NCR Council launched two important projects at a dinner held at the Villa Immaculada by Tamayo’s Catering, Intramuros, Manila, on November 29, 2006. The dinner is the culminating activity of the weeklong celebration of the National Book Week.

The Scholarship Project aims to provide matriculation fees, other school expenses, including book and transportation allowances to poor and deserving incoming sixth grader and incoming fourth year student in public schools in Metro Manila. Grant is Php 5,000.00 for the elementary level and Php 8,000.00 for the high school level.

The Adopt-A-Metro Manila Public High School Library is aimed at improving a public high school library’s learning resources such as books and other reading materials and making its processes and services more responsive to students needs through the application of modern technologies. The project hopes to solicit not only funds, books and other learning resources but also computers and other technologies that may help improve the services and operations of the library. Materials will be properly cataloged through a computerized cataloging system with OPAC and a computerized circulation system. Library staff will also be trained in these new systems.

These projects were conceived as a result of PLAI-NCR’s realization on the sad state of Philippine education today: limited learning resources from chairs to textbooks and other reading materials, the absence of trained teachers, the imbalance of government funding and student population growth, and some other pressing matters. As education is viewed as a saving grace for a brighter future for the young and as a primary national concern, these projects are seen to improve the current education scenario.

Mrs. SALVACION M. ARLANTE, the outgoing PLAI-NCR chairperson, presented the projects and called on librarians and friends to be counted in this partnership for education. She stressed that we are all stakeholders in the nation’s development and education remains our most vital social concern. She enjoined everyone to invest in our nation’s future TODAY.

Librarians and friends responded enthusiastically as shown by pledges which reached around Php 30,000.00. Among the donors were: MARLO C. CHAVEZ (San Beda College), Php 5,000.00; REBECCA JOCSON (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila), Php 2,000.00, RODOLFO Y. TARLIT (UP), Php 2,000.00. Later, Mrs. Arlante also pledged Php 5,000.00.

Also launched is the online version of the PLAI-NCR COUNCIL NEWSLETTER.