filipina librarians at ucla

For the past few decades, there has only been one Filipino librarian at UCLA. Her name is Eloisa Borah, and she is currently the Head of Public Services at the Rosenfeld Management Library. When she found out that I'd been hired, she was very excited and emailed me right away and welcomed me to UCLA. I was in the Philippines at that time, so my response actually got lost in the iffy Internet connection. When I did come back to LA, I emailed her again, and she has been nothing but very helpful.

For years, Eloisa has taken it upon herself to serve as an informal mentor to Filipino library/information students at UCLA. She plans a get-together with them twice a year. On Wednesday, June 28, 2008, she planned a get-together and was kind enough to invite me. Aside from Eloisa and another student that I had met at a previous event, I met three other students (one is graduating at the end of this semester).

While I definitely was a little bit out of the loop (as I just met them), it was great to have to have the opportunity to gather informally and meet other Filipina American librarians. It's always nice to already know a few people on campus before starting my new job. And, of course, one always has to network.