First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos recently inaugurated a permanent gallery on the second floor of the National Library of the Philippines for over 66,000 books, which she discovered while doing housekeeping at the Malacañan Palace.
Bookworms and academic scholars can now get their hands on cultural books and law books—some of them first edition copies signed by the author—that were kept in storage in Malacañang for years, if not decades.
Araneta-Marcos said the books, many of which had mold due to poor storage, would be put to better use by being accessible to the public.
“Part of my duties as ‘fierce lady’ is to fix one room a week in Malacañang. We went to a room and it was full of books, cultural books, heritage books, law books. There were 66,000 all in all, some of them were in the floor, some of them are amag (mold) the law books especially were first edition signed by the author themselves,” she said.
Mrs. Marcos thanked the administrators and directors of the National Library for making access to the donated books free of charge.
“Thank you for preserving the works of our national heroes– along with books, maps and memorabilia that have shaped our heritage. The fact that you made this priceless collection accessible to the public free of charge is an achievement in itself,” she said.
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