Teresita Reyes Ledesma

Ms. Teresita Reyes Ledesma, UP Visayas Pioneer University Librarian*

by

Melchor F. Cichon

October 18, 2007

Today, we honor the retirement of our leader. And her accomplishments.

But I am sure, every one of us here has shared a part of her life.

For more than forty years, Ms. Ledesma, or Ma'am Tess, has been a mainstream in the development of the U.P in the Visayas University Library, not only the library infrastructures but also of the library staff and those students who have gotten  a taste of Ms. Ledesma's dedication, loyalty, helpfulness and tenacity. One of those students who must have gotten a share of these attributes of Ms. Ledema is Ms. Lyncyn Fernandez, one of our 2007 UPV Outstanding Employees.

And so I am.

It was through Ms. Ledesma that my family and I moved in Iloilo City, and later in Miag-a, Iloilo from U.P. Diliman Library.

 It was through her recommendations that I have reached this far in the field of librarianship and literature. 

It was through her that I was able to attend several trainings on librarianship here and abroad, particularly in Malaysia. The two graduate degrees that I have earned were taken during her term as a UPV University Librarian.

It was through her understanding that I have attended several creative writing workshops including those in Silliman University, Dumaguete City and in Iligan City.

It was during her term as the UPV University Librarian that I got two outstanding UPV employee awards, a feat that no other UPV Library staff has duplicated.  

I know many of us will miss those moments when we had to re-arrange and re-arrange the shelves, the plant boxes, and the tables, so that the flow of works would be lighter and fast.

I know many of us will miss her snacks whenever we had our supposedly monthly meetings.

And the debates we had whenever we had hot issues to settle.

And then after which, as if nothing had happened.

I know that many of us will miss Ms. Ledesma's concerns to attain a world class  university library. 

And because of her initiatives and assertiveness, it would be difficult for someone to take her place as there are so many things to finish what she has started.

But I do believe that she will be around to serve as a guiding light to whoever will take her place.

She once told me that in her retirement days, she would help develop the municipal library of Oton, Iloilo where she has been residing. I am sure she will fully enjoy that activity as she will no longer be required to make so many rush reports. No follow-ups. No deadlines.

No, I will not say goodbye to our boss. Instead, I will say, till we meet again.

So my friends and colleagues, let us give a big round of applause to Ms. Teresita Reyes Ledesma, the pioneer university librarian of the University of the Philippines Visayas.
Thank you.

*I wrote this essay on October 18, 2007 when we, the UPV Library staff, rendered a farewell party to Ms. Ledesma during her retirement.