Bid for public libraries starts in Antique

PANDAN, ANTIQUE, Philippines – Lamenting the severe shortage of public libraries in the country, a group of reading advocates and booklovers in Antique province has launched a movement to set up public libraries and encourage reading.

Formed on April 28, Antiqueños for Reading and Public Libraries hopes to push national and local government leaders, nongovernment organizations and donors to set up public libraries and reading centers in Antique and the rest of the country.

“The nationwide lack of public libraries affects millions of Filipinos, many of whom cannot afford to buy their own reading materials,” said Leo Dioso, chair of the group’s organizing committee, in a statement.

Republic Act No. 7743 (An Act Providing for the Establishment of Congressional, City and Municipal Libraries and Barangay Reading Centers throughout the Philippines) requires the establishment of at least 1,949 public libraries and 42,028 barangay reading centers in the country.

But only 689 public libraries and 427 barangay reading centers currently exist, or just

35 percent of the required  minimum number of public libraries and 1  percent of the required minimum number of barangay reading centers, according to Dioso.

Dioso is a retired UN auditor who donated a modern library to Pandan town  that now holds more than 25,000 books.