About

  1. PROJECT TITLE: Pangasiniana Archive and Online Index to its Literature (PAOIL) Website
  2. PROJECT BACKGROUND: The proponent having worked on a few studies on the Pangasinan language in the last two years determined that the Pangasinan language is endangered and intervention must be done to help prevent this from happening. This was based on studies published by Anderson and Anderson (2007), the activities and actions of the Pangasinan provincial government, through the efforts of then Governor Amado T. Espino III, and the result of the proponent’s first study of the proponent where junior high school students from Pangasinan consider their mother tongue to be Filipino instead of Pangasinan.
    While the Philippine government, through the Department of Education, is trying to help prevent language death in our country through the Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) where the mother tongue language is being taught in the Pre-K to Grade 3 levels. Several studies made on this topic revealed problems in the implementation of the program. The lack of materials on the mother tongue to be used by the students and teachers and the knowledge and skill of the teacher in speaking the language were two of the main problems identified and added to the fact that not all schools practice MTB-MLE, especially in private schools.
    More than about the language being lost, the culture of Pangasinan may eventually die along with it; simply because nobody is passing these cultures to the next generations. In support to the UNESCO Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001), the International Federation of Libraries/Associations (IFLA) later came up with its Multicultural Library Manifesto (2009) which states that: “libraries of all types should reflect, support and promote cultural and linguistic diversity at the international, national, and local levels, and thus work for cross-cultural dialogue and active citizenship.” This emphasizes the roles that libraries have in the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity.
    Guided by the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage as its main concept, (UNESCO, 2003), the last study by the proponent aimed to determine the amount of Pangasinan language materials (oral traditions and expressions) available in selected Pangasinan public libraries. Further, the extent of the practice of Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), particularly oral traditions and expressions in these libraries. The ICH Safeguarding is an important measure of preservation and reduces language death.
    The study revealed that the Pangasinan public libraries included had only three (3) unique materials that are Pangasinan oral traditions and expressions and most of them are songs. Further, it was found out that these libraries are not practicing safeguarding of Pangasinan oral traditions and expressions as presented by the UNESCO.
    This project hopes to create awareness on the dearth of information resources on Pangasinan and the Pangasinan language otherwise known as Pangasiniana. No less than the
    Provincial Governor of Pangasinan, Amado Espino III has acknowledged that the Pangasinan language is dying and that efforts have to be made to reverse this decline. The creation of the Center for Pangasinan Studies, a collaborative effort with the University of the Philippines, the published the “Ortograpiya na salitan Pangasinan”, created the Provincial Cultural and Historical Commission and use of Pangasinan language within the office are proofs that the Pangasinan Province is serious in preserving the use of its indigenous language.
    As a library institution in support of Academic activities, the Metro-Dagupan Colleges (MDC) Library would like to contribute to this purpose. The proponent intends to seek and gather available Pangasiniana resources from the various libraries in the province of Pangasinan and develop an online index accessible to the public. The materials gathered will be made available online through a planned website called PAOIL or acronym for Pangasiniana Archive and Online Index to its Literature. The term PAOIL is derived from the Pangasinan word “pawil” which Pangasiniana Archive and Online Index to its Literature (PAOIL) Website which means “return.” Ideally, the MDC Library aims to return the love people used to have on their language and the culture of Pangasinan.
    Having a received a small grant from MOWCAP-ACC, the MDC Library is working towards the realization of the PAOIL website and seek content partners who share the same goal
    of promoting Pangasiniana resources and encourage more Pangasiniana research and publications.

Functional specifications and description of the Proposed Website:
The website will have the following functional capabilities:
• Search collection by online users;
• Maintain, search, view Pangasiniana collection database;
• Maintain, search, view partner Library information;
• Website administration to edit or update Pangasiniana collection database and library
partner information;
• Listen to or download, where applicable, Pangasiniana audio-visual collection;
• Generate a list of searches done by the library users for possible acquisition; and
• Prepare usage reports and statistics of the collection.
The users will be able to search the online database for Pangasiniana resources that are entered into the system by the Partner Library representatives. The collection will feature only Pangasiniana resources, i.e., anything in connection to Pangasinan, its culture, places, people and its language. For a start, the website will contain bibliographic information and a short annotation of the Pangasiniana resources. Later on, the website may also contain digital resources, uploaded by Partner Library representatives in accordance with the copyright law. If the resource does not have a digital file uploaded, the system will act as an index where the user will be pointed to where they can access the resource personally. There will also be an easy contact button where the needed resource is located, so users can immediately contact the Library.

  1. Date and venue of Project implementation. The project will be completed by December 31, 2019, as stipulated in the grant. The MDC, through its Library, will be the main host
    and Project implementor.
  2. Project purpose:
    The project intends for the development of a website for Pangasiniana materials.
    Specifically, it intends to:
    a) To promote the local history collection in the various Pangasinan Libraries (private or public);
    b) Record and create an index of Pangasiniana resources available in partner libraries (all types) and make it available online to the public through a website;
    c) To have a single site for all Pangasinan-related studies and resources to assist researchers in their information needs;
    d) To promote awareness on the number of Pangasinan resources currently available and encourage more researchers to do Pangasinan studies research; and
    e) To build a community of Libraries/Librarians or other similar professionals to contribute to building the online collection of Pangasinan studies and resources.

(c) 2019, MDC Library