USM Celebrates National Book Week, Launches new Library Logo

The Kundo E. Pahm Learning Resource Center (KEPLRC) of the University of Southern Mindanao headed by Professor Susan S. Martinez, successfully conducted the 91^st National Book Week culmination program on December 5, 2025, at the KEPLRC lobby, USM, Kabacan, Cotabato.

In a speech from Professor Martinez, she expressed her optimism of how books and other learning materials bring confidence in learning to the readers and learners.

“We look forward to this meaningful showcase of how books, stories, and knowledge continue to inspire and empower us to overcome challenges and dream for a brighter future for all of us.”

Simultaneously, the celebration paved the way for the launch of the new KEPLRC logo which was made by the Digital logo-making contest winner, Eduard A. Flores, Jr. He is a third year BS Computer Science student from the Department of Computing Library and Information Science.

During the event, Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Leorence C. Tandog delivered an inspirational speech recognizing the facts from different research results on why a large population of Filipino students are not fond of reading that commonly resulted to low reading comprehension. She emphasized that the strong foundational habit of reading starts at a young age and gradually drops at the age of nine to thirteen due to lack of reading resources design for that specific age bracket.

“Filipino students, in general ay mahina sa reading comprehension at hindi na develop and interest towards reading kasi kulang tayo sa support and at the same time kulang din tayo sa materials appropriate for our Filipino readers… In this celebration, I am really hoping that we are going away from that direction.”

With the theme “Tulay and Pagbasa sa Bukas na Puno ng Pag-asa”, several competitions and recognition activities were featured from the monthlong celebration. The events include Digital logo-making contest, Who’s who? and recognizing the library’s top borrower awardees.