ARE LIBRARIES IMPORTANT TO THE ADVENTIST PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION?

 Libraries are very very essential to the Seventh-day Adventist philosophy of education in consonance with Ellen G. White’s principles. In her book Education, Ellen White stresses, and I’ll quote it verbatim “Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator—individuality, power to think and to do… It is the work of true education to develop this power, to train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men’s thoughts.”

            Youth are likened to the animals that don’t think and train themselves to be thinkers. It is the duty of the parents to educate, to maximize the minds of their children to be critical thinkers, youth who can reason with in-depth meaning. The youth shouldn’t settle for less, just learn principles because they are taught.  They should judge carefully and evaluate every point emphasized. Children are encouraged to be creative in their learning as Ellen White emphasized education for life.

            Where do these children go if any institution or school hasn’t have any place to do research and verification of what is being taught in school. In this case a library is a must. It should become the hub of every learning institution. This should be the focal point and the center of every school’s learning activity and interest.

            Keith Clouten  in his article The Library of Faith supports the idea of creative learning  and research methods are accomplished only with access to a wide range of learning resources. It is in this basis that the library indeed becomes the heart of the campus.

            If the library should be the heart of the campus it must not only contain what it is – broad and balanced collection of learning, it must give access to the world of information. This is due to the rapid change and transition we face. The library must provide patron access to a large pool of resources. The library’s collection and organization should reflect a Seventh-day Adventist Christian perspective or worldview. That every Seventh-day Adventist institution’s education curriculum has to consider the whole being of every student , and the integration of faith and learning.

            The library’s collections should represent a diversity of ideas and viewpoints of study and interest. Every library shouldn’t restrict in its collection to answer only one side. Or  being bias. Even Jesus Himself says

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” God gave us freedom, a very important gift, it encloses the freedom in discovering the truth. Thus, our library should provide a “diversity of learning materials” (Clouten) which reflects various ideas, perceptions and interpretations. This will attract more patrons if the library identifies and acquires these significant materials.

            The library’s mission of any institution must be formulated that in such a way it summarizes the purpose of Adventist education.”To restore in man the lost image of his Maker…to promote the development of body, mind and soul”.  The library should have a strong program of bibliographic instruction. This will entice neophytes or the freshies to retrieve information and reference resources more independently. Without this, students will be misled. The students should be introduced to a range of reference tools for accessing Christian literature. Another very important element a school library should have is that a library should welcome opportunities to provide meaningful student employment.  Mountain View College employs this policy before during my father’s era “No Work, No Eat” . I was still able to enjoy this work/study ethic during my time. I’ve worked in several departments from my alma mater. Now, I kept telling this story to my children that they should also enjoy, respect, understand the value and dignity of labor. I always emphasize this to them.

            Lastly, the library should explore creative ways of serving its community. Every aspect in the library matters. The library must be able to act as an intermediary agent between the student and information resources. The students must be well aware of what’s going on inside this hub. Even the design and decoration and style or set-up of every furniture counts.

            In conclusion, every library has unique roles to play with and demonstrate in every community. It is the role of every librarian to support its mission and objectives, develop and make-known its Christian perspectives and worldview, that others will pursue.

OVERCOMING A HANDICAP (IN RETROSPECT)

Before I came to Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (pronounced as AIIAS - ayas), I never knew how to use the computer and knew about all its functions.  I considered it my handicap.  The course WORD PROCESSING (a course requirement I enrolled at)  gave me a little confidence to apply for a job offered by the institution. ( I tried to apply for a secretary position in the Library, was interviewed and was accepted.)   It was  the second course I took some few years back. This time I am again taking a course called INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA where we are taught digital imaging - a basic image editing, desktop publishing - how to create a brochure, do powerpoint presentation, web development, web log (blogs), video production-where  we are to accomplish certain educational lesson that we are interested in, and many others.

These courses make me overcome my inhibitions, insecurities and awkward feelings towards technology.  I can remember the first time I touched a computer, I felt so nervous thinking that the computer might hurt me or vice versa.  My teacher was somewhat strict when it comes to encoding. ( This encoding thing is somewhat not new to me for I learned basic typing way back in college.)  She would hit my hand if I touched the keyboard while she was still explaining.  I was too excited to implement what I've learned.  For my instructor that was aggressiveness.  Initially, I felt bad, but in the end, I smiled because had I quit and have given up, I won't be taking this course now which enables me to further my knowledge in technology.