Book Nook Albay

21/09/2026

10/09/2026

Since 2021, the National Book Development Board's The Book Nook Project has also been a force for good in bringing hundreds of Filipino-published books to over 130 communities across the Philippines.

These books have been used for various DepEd programs such as, "Catch Up Fridays," "ARAL Program," and "Brigada Eskwela." This is in addition to various storytelling sessions, writing workshops, community outreach activities, and literacy interventions held inside and outside of Book Nook sites.

We at the Book Nook Legazpi City, Albay congratulate DepEd and EDCOM II on the country's strongest PISA performance since 2018. May we continue to work together in creating a culture of reading in the Philippines one book at a time. It truly takes a village.

Aklat para sa lahat!

Congratulations to DepEd Philippines and EDCOM 2 - The Second Congressional Commission on Education on the country's strongest PISA performance since 2018!

To Secretary Sonny Angara, whose department carried the reforms through to the classroom. To EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee, whose commission kept the evidence in front of policymakers and named the gaps plainly. And to Undersecretary Fatima Panontongan, who has been NBDB's steady counterpart at DepEd and who has argued, here and abroad, that education recovery takes structural work rather than short campaigns.

NBDB has been glad to work alongside them. Since 2023, the Philippine Book Festival has served as DepEd's venue for scoping Supplementary Learning Resources, putting Filipino-published titles in front of the people who choose what reaches public school libraries.

The PISA 2025 results belong to the learners and teachers who earned them. We are grateful to have been part of the effort.

07/09/2026

PRESS RELEASE
04 September 2026

𝐍𝐁𝐃𝐁 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝟓 “𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐨𝐝-𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢” 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐍𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲

More than 270 reading space advocates, educators, artists, and storytellers from 163 Book Nook sites across the country, and as far as South Korea, logged on for four days of capacity-building and benchmarking sessions during the Book Nook Online Assembly, held on August 13 to 14 and August 20 to 21, 2026, via Zoom, as the National Book Development Board (NBDB) moved its annual gathering fully online for the first time—163 stories, one conversation about what keeps a reading space alive.

Organized by the NBDB’s Readership Development Division, the assembly carried the theme “BOOK-od Tangi,” prompting each Book Nook site to spotlight, through , the stories and qualities that set their reading space apart.

“This year’s Book Nook convergence turned into a digital platform. Nevertheless, more than 100 sites showed that Book Nook only needs one screen to celebrate success and inspire one another,” said Book Nook Project Manager Ana Manalaysay.

“For this year, we have invited Book Nook AYAN in Sibagat, Agusan del Sur to discuss partnership strategies; Book Nook Legazpi, Albay for creative engagement; and Book Nook Taltal, Masinloc, Zambales for volunteer mobilization,” Manalaysay added.

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

Over the four-day online assembly, Book Nook coordinators from across the archipelago traded lessons on keeping a reading space alive: sustained community-led programs, turning storytelling into something children remember, and reaching readers who cannot make it to the shelf. Mobile libraries and reading stations built for hard-to-reach communities emerged as one of the assembly’s clearest throughlines, underscoring that access, as much as enthusiasm, decides whether a book finds a reader.

Liza Flores of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan led a workshop on using illustrations and paper cut-outs to make storytelling sessions more engaging. Lawrence Cusipag, founder of the Bagong Silang Community Library, presented the library’s community-driven programs for drawing in young readers, arguing that a reading culture is never built by one person alone.

Towfee Publishing House founder Cristopher Asa spoke on publishing stories that carry Filipino culture, and urged Book Nook sites to encourage readers to write in their own language and their own voice.

The assembly closed with consultations among Book Nook site partners and cluster coordinators to refine existing projects and chart what comes next for their reading spaces.

The shift from an onsite gathering to an online format drew 270 participants representing 163 Book Nook sites, including area coordinators from Book Nook South Korea.

“This online conference is a testament to the diversity of the community we built, and how this community can adapt to various challenges,” NBDB Readership Development Division Acting Chief Daniel Mariano said.

“The shift to digital assembly allowed us to connect with the majority of Book Nook site personnel, but we still believe that nothing can replace the energy and connection of a face-to-face Book Nook Conference,” Manalaysay added.

Founded in 2021 under NBDB Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade, the Book Nook Project is a nationwide network of reading spaces providing access to quality Filipino-authored and published books. The project addresses the need for greater access to Filipino books in communities across the country, guided by the belief that “aklat para sa lahat,” or books for everyone, is a fundamental right.

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Strategic Communications and Exhibitions Division
[email protected]

10/08/2026