Alone Together: Experiences of Solo Librarians in the Philippines

Authors

  • Dez Noelle Macasaet Philippine Dominican Center of Institutional Studies

Keywords:

solo librarian, one-person libraries, library management

Abstract

This qualitative study describes the experiences of some solo librarians in the Philippines. With the existence of many libraries managed by librarians working alone or solo, there is still a lack of local literature on this. Therefore, this study aims to provide a better understanding of how solo librarians cope with their work and responsibilities as they manage their respective libraries. A preliminary survey was conducted to determine the respondents who would later voluntarily participate in the study. Through semi-structured interviews, four (4) librarians shared their challenges motivations and views working as a solo librarian, as well as the challenges they have and have been encountering. While many of them experience stress and burn out, administration-related difficulties, and professional isolation, they remain to be motivated by their freedom and independence as professional librarians, familiarity, and altruism.

Author Biography

Dez Noelle Macasaet, Philippine Dominican Center of Institutional Studies

Dez Noelle V. Macasaet has been working as a solo librarian at the Philippine Dominican Center of Institutional Studies since 2014, right after she graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor’s degree in Library and Information Science (BLIS). She is now finishing her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) at the School of Library and Information Studies, UP Diliman. She presented this paper at the 2nd UPSLIS Research Colloquium last December 2019 as part of her graduate course requirement in LIS 271 – Seminar in Philippine Librarianship. Aside from her present work and studies, she is also an active member of the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI).

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Published

2020-12-21

How to Cite

Macasaet, D. N. (2020). Alone Together: Experiences of Solo Librarians in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Librarianship and Information Studies, 40(1), 17–28. Retrieved from http://phjlis.org/index.php/phjlis/article/view/35

Issue

Vol. 40 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Dez Noelle Macasaet

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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