Reading books is a relatively new hobby for me. I only got interested after I graduated from college, in between applying for a job. Some of my favorites include the Da Vinci Code and The Alchemist. Of course, I have only read a few so it’s quite easy to select a favorite.
One problem with books, especially with hard-bound or imported ones, is the price. Imagine if I can read one good book per month which costs Php 500, this will total to Php 6000 per year. Is there an alternative? Fortunately for me, the answer is yes. I do hope that this is also applicable to other universities.
The Ateneo Rizal Library grants access to its vast collection of references to its alumni. This is accomplished by applying for an alumni card which amounts to Php 500 yearly. By depositing Php 600 per book (which can be refunded after returning the book), the library allows for borrowing privileges.
You may think that a library houses only technical references or academic materials but this is not true. Some books available in the library include:
- The Elegant Universe, a popular science book on the physics theory of everything
- my favorite books, the Da Vinci Code and The Alchemist, are also available
- The Chronicles of Narnia, a fantasy novel, I haven’t watched the movie nor read the books. I’m wondering why some of my colleagues got hooked in it.
- technical reference: Operations Research Applications and Algorithms, an excellent and comprehensive overview of O.R. techniques. I’m not yet out of my mind to buy this tome which costs a whopping Php 8,655.
As you can see, there’s a good breadth of categories available. For only Php 500 plus an additional Php 600 per book per year, I think it’s a cost-effective solution. Also, now that I’m applying at U.P. Diliman to continue my graduate study, I can still borrow from the Ateneo library. Now, that’s cool!
