FE ANGELA MANANSALA-VERZOSA, 1946Present-day librarians explore many ways to respond to the changes in the
environment as they are affecting the perceptions and expectations of library users. This
is especially truer in the academic environment where college and university librarians
serve as catalysts of change.
One such academic librarian is Fe Angela Manansala-Verzosa, who spent nearly
forty years as organizer of special library collections and archival materials, such as the
Presidential Papers in The National Library (1967-1969), the manuscript collections at the
University of the Philippines Diliman/Main Library (1969-1971) and at Ateneo de Manila
University (1974-1975), the presidential library-archives-museum of the Jose P. Laurel
Memorial Foundation (1975-1987), and at present, the institutional archives of De La
Salle University (1988- 2006), where she has contributed to effecting changes, not only
in providing better access to these library resources, but more importantly, in preserving
materials of enduring value for the sake of our cultural heritage.
She graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman with an A.B.
major in History. She began her career in library service in 1967 when she was asked by
then National Library Director, Dr. Serafin D. Quiason, to work on the joint project of the
University of Michigan and the National Library on the organization and microfilming of
the Presidential Papers of Manuel L. Quezon.
After the completion of the project in 1969, she moved on to the University of the
Philippines Main Library to set up the Microfilm Section and organize the papers of UP
President Carlos P. Romulo. Within a two-year span, she was able to organize and
microfilm the Hukbalahap records including the court records of Amado Hernandez et al.
In 1971, she was commissioned by the Carlos P. Garcia Memorial Society to organize the
presidential papers of Carlos P. Garcia at his Bohol, Quezon City residence.
In 1974, Ms. Verzosa joined Ateneo de Manila University Library as microfilm
librarian on a part-time arrangement, which she requested from Fr. Robert Suchan, to
give her more time for her two growing sons. In 1975 she took a full-time job as chief
archivist-librarian of the Jose P. Laurel Memorial Foundation, where she set up the
presidential archives-museum-library of the late President. In 1979, she was promoted
to the position of Foundation Administrator and Secretary to its Board of Trustees, which
she held until 1987.
In February 1988, she joined De La Salle University Library as its first University
Archivist, having set up its University Archives in less than a year. In 1994, she was
appointed University Library Director, while holding on to the position of the University
Archivist in a concurrent capacity. During her first three-year term, she succeeded in
strengthening the Library’s Special Collections with donations from several well-known
faculty members and alumni such as Lorenzo M. Tanada, Francisco Ortigas Jr., Jose W.
Diokno. Its Memorabilia and Museum collections expanded to include the numismatic
collection of Felipe Liao and the earthenware collections of Daniel Tantoco and Jaime
Laya.
The Library’s automation project also highlighted her achievements as academic
library director. In 1995, De La Salle University Library became the first academic
library to go public with its online catalog via the Internet’s World Wide Web. In the
same year, the DOST-ESEP Library Network was launched with DLSU Library as one of
the flag institutions. In the words of a foreign library consultant who was tasked to
assess the ESEP library network, “Mrs. Verzosa possessed the aggressive leadership and
is committed to electronic technology. She sees great value in promoting her library, its
services, collections and human resources.” In the same year, DOST awarded her with a
fellowship grant to pursue an overseas summer study-training course at the University of
Wales in Aberystwyth on Library and Information Studies
Since 1995, she has served in various capacities in two important library
associations in the country, the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (as President
2000), the umbrella organization of professional (licensed) librarians, and the Philippine
Association of Academic and Research Librarians (as President 2000 and 2004). . In
June 2001 she was elected head of the Executive Committee of the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts-National Committee on Libraries and Information Services
(NCCA-NCLIS) until 2004
As President of both organizations (PLAI and PAARL) in the year 2000 and as
member of the Executive Board of the 11th Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians
(CONSAL), she represented the country and headed a delegation of more than 30
librarians to the 11th CONSAL in Singapore. The following year, she received the
ASEAN Training Grant, sponsored by the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which
enabled her at the same time to attend the CONSAL-sponsored E-TLAS Conference
2001 on the emerging trends in library and archival services. For CONSAL 2003
held in Brunei, she was invited to deliver a plenary paper on Copyright Protection for
Philippine Publications. In the same year, she attended the International Council on
Archives – Section on Universities and Research Institutions (ICA-SUV) conference in
Poland. In August 2004, she presented a paper to the pre-Congress seminar held by
ICA-SUV at Vienna, Austria. Her paper was on “Increasing Access to Archival
Knowledge”. In November of the same year, she delivered a plenary paper to the
Asian Library Conference in Bangkok, Thailand on “The future of Library Cooperation
in Southeast Asia.”
In recognition of her tireless efforts as an acknowledged leader in Philippine
librarianship, she was awarded by the Philippine Association of Academic and
Research Librarians as the “Academic Librarian of the Year for 1996.” In 1998, she
received the Cirilo B. Perez Award given by the Philippine Librarians Association as
Over-all Chairman of the National Book Week celebration in 1997. On June 4, 1999,
she received a Centennial Award given by the National Centennial CommissionWomen Sector as “Tagahabi ng Kasaysayan” in recognition of her contribution in the
writing of women’s herstories. And on November 30, 1999, she received the
Severino Velasco Award from PLAI for her outstanding contribution as Conference
organizer. On 30 November 2001, she received the prestigious Gabriel A. Bernardo
Award, given in recognition of her exemplary leadership in steering the Association
to greater success, by the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. during the PLAI
Fellowship Luncheon held at Manila Midtown Hotel. In January of 2002, she was
honored by the Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians with the
prestigious 2001 Professional Service Award in recognition of her “wholehearted
dedication to the cause of librarianship” in the Philippines. On November 29, 2002
she was presented with the Service Award by the Philippine Librarians Association
Inc. She was again presented by PAARL her second Professional Service Award last
January 2006 for her service as President of the organization for the second time in
2004. Finally, her lifetime achievements were recognized in June 2006 by the
Professional Regulation Commission when she was awarded the Outstanding
Professional Librarian of the year, a month after her retirement from De La Salle
University. On 25 January 2008, PAARL presented her with its Lifetime Achievement
Award.
She has served on numerous occasions as conference organizer, resource speaker
and lecturer, in both local, regional, and national conferences, seminars and training
programs to share her knowledge, skill or expertise in the field of library and archival
management, and in information technology and its application to library and archival
functions.
As a researcher and writer, Ms. Verzosa has contributed to the literature on
Philippine librarianship with her publications and researches on the presidential archives
system, archival administration, library collection development, and library automation.
Ms. Verzosa has written articles on the presidential papers of Manuel L. Quezon, Carlos P.
Garcia, Elpidio Quirino, and Jose P. Laurel. Her thesis on the status of the Papers of Eight
Philippine Presidents was submitted in 1978 in fulfillment of her master’s degree in
Library Science. Among her published articles are: “The Japanese Reparation Papers on
Microfilm,” (in Southeast Asia Microfilms Newsletter 17: 1-8, July 1979), “Archiving the
Presidents’ Papers,” (in Philippine Panorama 22, no. 37: 7, 26, Sept. 12, 1993),
“Developing an Archival Curriculum,” (in Tanglaw 2, no. 2: 51-56, January 1994), and
“Building environments for library and archival collections,” (PAARL Bulletin 1, no. 1:
27-35, 1997). Among the in-house publications and books she has authored/coedited/compiled are the following: Filipiniana on Microfilms (1971), Andrew B. Gonzalez,
FSC: a Bibliography of his Writings, 1960-1990 (1990), As Others Saw Us: a Chronicle
of the Works of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (1990), Faculty Publicatiions and
Other Writings (1991), and DLSU Chronicle, 1993-1994 (1994). Her recent paper on
“Library Automation And Its Impact On Strategic Planning For Academic Libraries”
appeared as an electronic publication of Asian Libraries, a quarterly publication of MCB
University Press (1997). Other articles appeared in the Asia Library News, namely:
Occupational Safety and Health Concerns in Library Work Places, and The State of the
Filipiniana Collections at DLSU Library.
Finally, as a member of the DLSU ranked faculty, she was active as a Board
director of the Faculty Association’s Board, contributing her skill and expertise in
negotiating for a new Faculty Manual (1993 and (2002) as a member of the Technical
Panel for its Revision representing the Academic Service (Non-Teaching) Faculty.
Outside the academe, Ms. Verzosa is well-known for her community service, having
served as a former Barangay councilwoman in Molino, Bacoor, Cavite, representing her
subdivision, Bahayang Pag-Asa, where she served for several terms as its Homeowners
association’s president, and president of the League of Homeowners Associations in
Molino 5.
She is married to Candelario Lahoz Verzosa, former Executive Director of the
Cooperative Development Authority, and together raised two sons, Atty. Carlos Voltaire
Verzosa and Dr. Mario Verzosa III.