“We felt it would be a service to the community and Lopez employees, and as part of the Eugenio Lopez Foundation Inc.’s mission to encourage love of reading,” explains Lopez Museum and Library executive director Cedie Lopez Vargas when asked why, after more than 55 years, the library is lending out some of its collection.

“We also want the public to consider the depth and breadth of the Filipiniana collection,” Vargas adds.

The lending library section started in 2013 when management noticed that there were duplicates among the more than 20,000 Filipiniana collection, including coffee table books. These duplicates, they felt, could be lent out for five to seven days, renewable, to members of the Lopez Museum.

The annual membership fee is only P1,500, which entitles a member to borrow two books at a time. There are other membership benefits like discounts on lectures, workshop fees and free unlimited use of the library.

But what members feel is the most important benefit is that they could take out books on famous artists like Hidalgo, Zobel, Manansala and Sanso, among others. There are also local history books on Iloilo, Pasig, Parañaque and Cavite as well as biographies, children’s books, volumes on culinary topics, literature, architecture and others.

Members of all ages will find something in the collection to interest them and make them appreciate the value of reading.

Part of the lending policies include the acceptance of the responsibility for using the books with care, returning these to the library according to established loan policies, and not losing or damaging the books through negligence.

Members feel that bringing home such hard-to-find books, even for just a few days, is a worthwhile experience for bibliophiles of all ages.

The Lopez Memorial Museum is at the ground floor, Benpres Building, Exchange Road corner Meralco Avenue, Pasig City. Museum days and hours are Mondays to Saturdays, except holidays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Avail of unlimited access to exhibitions and library resources by signing up for the Lopez Museum membership program. Members can borrow books from the lending section and get discounts on lectures, workshops and services for only P1,500. (Story/Photos by: Dulce Festin-Baybay)