ILOILO – How many municipalities in this province have public libraries?
“Wala kadtoan ang mga estudyante kon mag-research, especially on local history,” said Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Demy Sonza of the 2nd District.
This province has 42 municipalities and one component city, Passi.
“Sang una ang mga banwa may libraries pero karon wala na,” said Sonza, chairperson of the Provincial Board’s committee on culture, arts, history, and tourism, but he did not cite figures.
There could be municipalities with public libraries, he said, but these may likely have a dearth of reading materials.
A public municipal library must be, first and foremost, a repository of information about the locality, its history, local heroes or homegrown distinguished people, said Sonza, a respected local historian and writer.
Sonza said he planned to introduce a resolution encouraging local governments to open libraries and calling on the provincial government to provide them with technical and financial assistance.
A local government need not erect a separate building for a public library, said Sonza. A room at the municipal hall may already do, he stressed./PN
