Next on my agenda was to visit the Library of Congress (LC) office in Manila. Currently, UCLA gets the majority of its materials through the LC Cooperative Acquisition Program for Southeast Asia (CAPSEA), so I wanted to visit LC-Manila and meet its staff and to learn about how and where they acquire materials and what its processes are.
LC-Manila is located in the American Embassy compound, so I thought I only had to go a few blocks from the National Library. That's the American Embassy I know, where people go to get their visas and such. It turns out that there is another compound much further down Roxas Blvd. Good thing that my friend realized that the information I had didn't make sense. And good thing we had a driver!
Because the office is in the American Embassy, I had to give my and my friend's ID information when I first made my appointment. I figured it was so they could give this information to the guards who would then let us in. But,I guess it is so they could fill out this form, which a staff person shows to the guards. Then the staff person escorts us in. The driver's and car info wasn't included, so it had to be added, so they could go inside, too.
It's interesting to see inside the compound. It's like a mini-America on Philippine soil. I was saying to my companions, "See, now it's just like you've been to America." (Technically, of course, they have, since that's American soil.)
The LC office is a small one.It has three staff members--one to acquire books, one to do cataloging, and one to do processing. Here I am with the LC-Manila staff:
LC-Manila is located in the American Embassy compound, so I thought I only had to go a few blocks from the National Library. That's the American Embassy I know, where people go to get their visas and such. It turns out that there is another compound much further down Roxas Blvd. Good thing that my friend realized that the information I had didn't make sense. And good thing we had a driver!
Because the office is in the American Embassy, I had to give my and my friend's ID information when I first made my appointment. I figured it was so they could give this information to the guards who would then let us in. But,I guess it is so they could fill out this form, which a staff person shows to the guards. Then the staff person escorts us in. The driver's and car info wasn't included, so it had to be added, so they could go inside, too.
It's interesting to see inside the compound. It's like a mini-America on Philippine soil. I was saying to my companions, "See, now it's just like you've been to America." (Technically, of course, they have, since that's American soil.)
The LC office is a small one.It has three staff members--one to acquire books, one to do cataloging, and one to do processing. Here I am with the LC-Manila staff:
Nanette Abas, the one dressed in purple (we're Lakers colors! or maybe we're ube and mango ice cream...), is the Officer in Charge at LC-Manila. She told me about the kinds of books they acquire for LC and what they offer to CAPSEA members. She also talked about where and how they obtain their materials. She gave me an idea of the kinds and formats of materials that are out there.I definitely learned a lot from this visit. It is one thing to deal with the main CAPSEA office in Jakarta, but it is another thing to know how it works on the ground. It is also nice to have an idea of who the people I'm dealing with are. At the same time, the meeting gave them an opportunity to know me and learn about UCLA's needs.
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