MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Quezon City Public Library (QCPL) is open to operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Rappler learned.

“We just met about it, we are studying the proposal,” Mary Ann Bernal, head of QCPL Readers Services, said on Thursday, March 8, after being asked whether they will follow Cebu City’s Rizal Public Library.

Bernal admitted they met on Wednesday after they heard that the Cebu library was on its way to becoming open 24/7 as the QCPL brands itself as the “premier public library” not just in Quezon City, but the entire country.

The Quezon City Public Library stands beside the Quezon City Hall of Justice, and can accommodate 300 readers at most. It is currently open from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays, and from 8 am to 4 pm on Saturdays. It reopened in 2017 after modernization.

The process: According to Bernal, the approval to open 24/7 will ultimately come from QC Mayor Herbert Bautista.

Before this, QCPL section heads like Bernal would have to meet to account for the necessary budget and logistical changes they would need from the QC local government.

Bautista would then take the proposal and act on it, adjusting the library’s budget allocation so it can function 24/7. According to QCPL finance officials, they currently have an estimated annual budget of P89 million ($1,710,008.11)*.

Test run in June: According to Bernal, they will first test whether readers will go to the QCPL during “extended hours.” The plan is to open until 8 pm starting this June to see how many will stay at night.

She said the test run will happen after summer because fewer readers flock to the library during the summer season.

Citizens’ opinion matter: According to Bernal, the proposal will only fly if enough QC residents back it up.

“Baka kasi mamaya buksan namin lahat ng aircon at ipagstay ang mga personnel tapos tatatlo lang ang pumunta, so kailangan may marami pupunta,” Bernal said.

(We might end up opening the air conditioning system and having our employees stay late, only to find ourselves accommodating just 3 readers. We need many people to come.)

The QCPL can be reached through their Facebook page. – Rappler.com

*US$1 = P52.05