As part of the 60th anniversary celebration of the UP Diliman College of Media and Communication (formerly College of Mass Communication / CMC), a book fair was launched as homage to the college’s “connection with books or the print media,” as CMC Dean Ma. Diosa V. Labiste put it.
In her message at the opening of the three-day book fair Gunita, Labiste highlighted CMC’s history as a home to writers and its legacy of producing authors, editors, and translators.
“We are continually interpellated by our former deans and colleagues who recognized the writer in us, or make us feel recognized by them. In return, we produced a desired response, ‘Yes, that’s me, that’s who I am!’ the effect of this interpellation is that, we acknowledged the hailing, and internalize the responsibility that we have to commit to for the future of the college and of this country, and forces us to shatter our writer’s block and re-enter our academic fields characterized by a new way of feeling or seeing reality,” Labiste said.
In closing, she confidently forecasted that CMC, like a book, will outlast the age of artificial intelligence.
“Who knows what kind of book would evolve in the future? But do note that a printed book militates against technological forms like e-books and audiobooks, perhaps continually reminding us that books are still peerless in the realm of ideas, belief, emotions, and behaviors. Think of a printed book like a foot stuck in a door, preventing it from closing it entirely, or still leaving it open to possibilities,” she said.
The Gunita book fair opened on Oct. 16 at the CMC Plaridel Hall, featuring12 book exhibitors.
CMC Head Librarian Gladys Florendo said, “We gather to celebrate the power of storytelling, the importance of dialogue, and the enduring role of media in building a more informed and expressive society.”
The 12 exhibitors at the book fair were Anvil, Vibal, Gantala Press, Southern Voices (Indie Reads), Third World Studies Center, Center for People Empowerment and Governance, Philippine Social Sciences Council, UP Press, Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, Roel’s Bookstore, Packing Sheets, and Libri (formerly Linar).
Present at the opening were CMC officials, faculty, REPS, staff, and students, and guests of the college that included former CMC dean Georgina R. Encanto, Professor Emeritus and former CMC dean Nicanor G. Tiongson, University Librarian Elvira B. Lapuz.
