Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna urged the public to visit the city’s public libraries as she led the celebration of the 77th anniversary of the Manila City Library (MCL) this month.

“Para sa mga di nakakaalam, marami tayong libraries. Pilit nating pinatataas ang antas ng  serbisyo na ibinibigay ng ating mga library, kung kaya’t dumarami po ang ating mga kliyente, mula bata hanggang matanda. Ngayon kasi digital generation na, karamihan ng pagri-research ay ginagawa na lang sa loob ng tahanan at ito ay sa tulong ng internet.  Pero di parin matutumbasan ang pagbubukas ng aklat (For those who don't know, we have many libraries. We strive to increase the level of service provided by our libraries, which is why our clients are increasing, from young to old. Now that it's the digital generation, most of the research is done at home with the help of the internet. But the opening of the book is still incomparable),” Mayor Honey said on Saturday, Oct. 21.

 Director Mylene Villanueva, MCL head, said the MCL branches have provided a total of 156,856 to 61,269 library users from January to September this year, notwithstanding the fact that five branches of MCL are currently not functional since they are under rehabilitation.

Those who used the library’s computers and wifi reached 15,099 while those who borrowed books were 21,762.  

The library served 47,891 children and 425 senior citizens.

The MCL was also able to visit 167 barangays and 11 schools through its charity programs.

The city government said that MCL had received various recognitions from the national government. 

Meanwhile, the mayor reiterated that parents must convince their children to visit Manila’s public libraries.

“Marami pa rin po tayong mapupulot na aral pag tayo ay talagang nagbabasa, ‘yun dati po nating ginagawa.  Mas nahahasa tayo. Di naman po lahat ng nababasa natin sa Google ay pawang katotohanan.  Kadalasan, kulang-kulang o di kaya ay hindi totoo. Kaya hinihikayat ko ang lahat lalo na ‘yung me mga anak, na bisitahin n’yo po ang ating mga library sa buong Kamaynilaan (We can learn a lot more if we really read, that's what we used to do. We are sharper. Not everything we read on Google is true. Often, it is incomplete or false. So I encourage everyone, especially my children, to visit our libraries all over Manila).”

She vowed that the MCL will continuously help provide quality educational services to raise the level of intellect of students in the city.