Background: In July 2002, Bing del Rosario started discussions with the principal of Bagumbayan Elementary School in Bagumbayan, Quezon City to draw up plans for a new library. She found a sizeable percentage of schoolchildren who did not meet the minimum requirements for reading literacy at their grade level and believed that a modest reading room, stocked with sufficient storybooks, would be an effective vehicle to launch her “100% reading literacy” program. As Bing del Rosario worked on the design, the concept evolved, from a modest reading room to a multi-room multi-media fully-fitted-out center that would be a showcase and a model for future library projects in the public elementary schools.

The Library Today: The Multimedia Learning Center was designed to support eight different “functions”: a general student reading area, with enough tables and chairs to accommodate a large number of simultaneous reader-users, with book shelves in easy reach; a video screening area, where videos are selected based on grade level and are to be scheduled based on teacher requests; a computer station room, where all PC programs to be installed would have research (for example, Encarta, Kids Encyclopedia) or reading (for example, Living Books or Walt Disney interactive story books) or skill-building content (for example, keyboard typing speed and accuracy); an audio section, where well-loved stories are narrated on U.S.-produced audio tapes and audio CDs; a story-telling section, where volunteer storytellers are invited on regularly-scheduled basis to read Pilipino and English stories to the children; a “game” area, where a select number of word games (Scrabble) thinking games (for example, Chess, dominoes, Connect Four, Game of the Generals, etc.) and manipulative materials (building blocks, etc.) are permanently assigned; a crafts and activities area, to be used for crafts see-and-do sessions, such as origami, drawing, sculpture, card tricks, magic, optical illusions, etc.; a faculty lounge area, with magazines and periodicals where teachers can gather or work, meet or just casually lounge.

Originally planned to take over the area of three classrooms, which consisted of 1,250 square feet or 125 square meters, the plans were quickly redrafted to include the corridor space, which added another 325 square feet or 32.5 square meters, for a total of 157.5 square meters. The library has a maximum capacity of 125-130 people at any one time. That includes the 52 seats in the main reading room, the 20 seats in the educational game area, the six seats in the computer-audio room, and the 45-55 floor-seating positions possible in the video-story-telling section. It was inaugurated in July 2003. Since its opening over three years ago, the library has always been filled in the afternoon with students eager to read, work with PC software, listen to audio tapes, watch video clips, or listen to stories. Bing had made it a point to personally read to the kids twice a week.

Continuing Investment in New Titles. But for a library to continue to be successful and to draw a consistent crowd day in and day out, it is imperative that the titles – books, software, audio tapes, DVDs – be regularly refreshed. Based on his three-year experience in running the library, Bing had concluded, as a rough rule of thumb, that a quarterly infusion of titles, equivalent to P15,000 to P25,000 worth every three months, was needed. That was aside from the normal operating expenses for repairs and maintenance of computers, audio equipment, lighting fixtures, tables, chairs, shelves, video equipment, etc.

Accenture Gets Involved. So it was a godsend when Accenture volunteered to shoulder the quarterly infusion of new titles for one full year, starting November 2006. In practice, Bing would still be the one to purchase the titles but the donations would be in Accenture’s name. Accenture’s Nescel Asuncion turned over Accenture’s first donation of new titles—worth over P20,000—last November 6, with the school principal Thelma Co and librarian Grace Pelagio in attendance. 150 new books, eight audio CDs, 10 VCDs, and 13 DVDs