A Day at the Archives

10 February 2013

            We normally just write posts about some of our more exciting days here so that might give you the impression that all we do is eat out and travel. We thought it might be more truthful if we write a few posts about what our time here is really like. Since the whole reason we’re here is to do research at some of Manila’s many libraries and archives, I thought we might start with a description of a day at the archives. I don’t normally take photos of my daily routine so don’t have any to spice this up.

            I’ve done work in nine different libraries/archives/museums/private collections here in Manila since August. Lately, I’ve been going to the National Library and the Lopez Museum, so I’ll describe what a typical day is like when I work there.

            I head off to the Ateneo swimming pool around 6:20am for a swim and then get to my Ateneo office a little after 8:00. I take a quick nap to wait for rush hour and then leave for the train around 8:50. It’s about a 20-minute walk from my office to the nearest LRT station.

Brief interruption here about the train system:

Manila's train system

            I really prefer using the train system in Manila over taxis or jeepneys but it’s not quite like the subway in New York or the El in Chicago. For one, imagine only three trains serving everyone in metro New York City. We’re lucky that we’re relatively close to a station and that many of the places we want to go are near stations. The three train lines here include one line that runs East-West across the city (LRT 2) and two lines that run parallel North-South routes (LRT1 and MRT), intersecting with the East-West line. Different companies run the LRT and MRT, so if you need to get to Makati from our neighborhood, for example, you have to have different cards for each train.

            I like using the trains because they are reliable, cheap, and can float over the traffic of the city. The one drawback to some is that, while the LRT2 is normally pleasant to ride (it’s used less and has wider cars), the LRT1 and MRT can be quite crowded throughout the day. The MRT is usually so crowded going south down towards Makati, for example, that you can never get on the first train from the Araneta station that I use. One day, when I arrived a little after 9:00am, I had to wait for five trains to pass before I managed to squeeze onto the sixth. The trains are normally so crowded that, when they arrive at a station, only two or three more people can squeeze on so you just have to wait until you can fit.

On the train, many people don’t actually hold on to anything because you’re so tightly packed that you can’t really lean or fall if the train slows or brakes suddenly. Getting on and off can be a little tricky sometimes because fellow passengers often don’t get out of the way to let you off. At the same time, the passengers wanting to board are normally rushing on. You really have to push through the crowd to get off. If I can manage to get behind someone else trying to exit I feel like I’m a football player following a blocker to get off the train. Lots of people warn about getting pick-pocketed on the trains but I can’t imagine how anyone has room to move their arms to grab anything. Still, we’re always pretty careful with our stuff on the trains and have been lucky so far.

Anyway, back to a typically day of research:

If I’m going to the Lopez Museum, I take the LRT2 two stops and then walk about 10 minutes over to the MRT station (while this is a transfer point, the two stations aren’t actually connected). When I arrive there around 9:30 or so, there are normally anywhere from 300 to 500 people waiting on the platform in somewhat orderly lines in front of where the train doors will be. On Friday I was able to get on the third train that came through so I only had to wait about ten minutes. Then I travel for two stops on the MRT and walk 20 minutes to the Lopez museum. The whole commute takes about 90 minutes.

The Lopez museum’s library is relatively unusual because it has digitized most of its collection of old periodicals and books. They have a database on computers there with images of all their holdings. I sit in front of one of their computers and go through old newspapers and magazines page by page until I find something interesting. Then I normally write notes about it on my laptop and continue on.

I normally leave by 3:00 to beat the afternoon rush hour, arriving back to our apartment by 4:30 or so. This is pretty much the same routine I use for the National Library except that my commute is different (although it takes about the same amount of time). Also, the scenery near the National Library is a bit different. Instead of walking past MegaMall, I walk past the Seafarer's Center along the Luneta where hundreds of sailors are seeking employment from various recruiters out on the street. At the National Library, though, I’ve been going through some of their special collections of sheet music that are housed in dozens of boxes. I go through each box piece by piece and photograph relevant pieces of sheet music.

I normally can only manage to get down to the archives two or three times a week because the commute and research can be a bit draining (and hard on my neck). Also, I have to stay on top of all the information I gather. On the days when I’m not at the libraries, I’m in my office organizing all my notes from the day before. This can be quite tedious and time consuming but if I don’t have a good system for organizing my notes I won’t be able to use or locate the information I find. While this sounds quite boring, I’ve found lots of great material, much more than I was expecting.