When you're an Experimental Psychology student like me, there's a huge probability that you'll be…read morespending most of your time in the library checking out books, looking for journals to cite in your final paper, and using the computers to cram one of your class requirements. With the New Rizal Library in Ateneo, you can do all of this in the nick of time. The New Rizal Library is home to a wide collection of books and journals for your cognitive needs. The library has five floors that you can explore. The first floor is where Ateneo graduates can research materials and information for their further studies. The second floor is the multimedia resource center which can be used for media equipment. They also have rooms that you can reserve for your psychological experiments or film viewing. The third and fourth floor house a wide collection of books, journals, and magazines for research purposes, while the fifth floor, which is the most crowded area of the library, has the study hall where can students meet-up for group projects and discussions. If you're already done studying for all of your classes, you can go to the library to sleep or to make palamig.

Need to do some research? No place better than here!…read more Arguably the most comprehensive, full-service academic library in the Philippines today, the Rizal Library serves as a study, teaching, and research support facility to the university community and researchers from the outside. The new library has 5 floors that houses the circulation and reserve sections, information commons with ample seating and open-access computers, a multimedia center, and technical services facilities among others. Most conveniently, they have online international database access terminals like Euromonitor (a magic tool for business students where they can get FREE research studies on consumer markets for reference) and JStore, a vast interdisciplinary academic journal archive, along with sooo many others! The library also has collections of rare Filipiniana materials including a Jose Rizal exhibit of his own memorabilia, personal donations of Filipino historians, writers, scientists, and other distinguished scholars in the Pardo de Tavera Collection, a microform center, a library of women's writings, an American historical collection, and others. It's a pretty complete library and they hold regular site visits, seminars, and training sessions for librarian groups in and outside of Manila to develop library science and services in the country. They frequently tie up with other top university libraries for projects as well. It's open to outsiders too, so students from nearby universities like to come visit and use the facilities to aid their own work. Personally, I love the Rizal library for its modern yet scholarly atmosphere, making it such a good place to study, do work, or y'know... sleep. Haha! It's super comfortable, albeit a little cold inside, but nothing a snuggly jacket won't fix! The roof deck is mainly an open study area with group tables, but it sometimes transforms to a temporary event space... like when there's a big NBA or UAAP game on. It's not all stuffy school stuff at the Rizal Lib. ;)

The National Library is an anachronism - that's the only word that comes to mind. It's housed in an…read moreancient building along United Nations, inside the Luneta complex, and looks to be made from the same mold as the National Museum and Art Gallery. You need a library card to get in - an actual library card. They have an online catalog, but it's always broken, so you have to revert to their card catalogue. Card catalogue! Who even knows how to use one of those? Their elevator has a ceiling fan that might decapitate you any second, and to pick a floor, you need to pull a knob, twist it, and push it back in. But I consider all these ancient hardships as challenges - as all vast hoards of knowledge need a good set of obstacles to deter all but the most persevering. Once you get inside, you forget all these anyway. Your eyes focus on the rows and rows of books - ancient tomes covered in dust (because they don't clean), with pages that turn into even more dust when you try to flip them (what do you mean climate control?). Every bibliophile or history buff should spend at least an afternoon here. Bring a mask though, and an inhaler.

CAMP lib has been one of my lurk arounds in UP Manila. Of course, this is the only place in UP…read moreManila where I could take naps. Well, studying is also my intent going there. The place is fairly new because CAMP just moved to a new building. I kinda miss the older one because it was more spacious than the one we have right now. However, I'm still not complaining about the new one because despite the smaller space, it's still enough because there's not a lot of people inside except during lunch breaks. What I also love about now is that they're now open even during lunch breaks and every Saturday which really helped during our thesis work. I just hope the librarian gets doesn't complain especially on instances where discussions get intense. Well, that's something you really can't take away from librarians. They really take silence seriously even if there's no one else in the room that you'll bother.

I've never really liked the idea of studying at cafes or coffee and tea places because there's too…read moremany people most of the time and the background music tends to distract me from reading. I still prefer studying at home and during times that I don't find our house accommodating for quiet reading, I usually go to the nearest library. I'm from Pasig but it takes me two hours to get to Manila where I study. I'm thankful that Pasig City has a library that is just one tricycle ride away from my place. Despite the library locating inside an elementary school, the guards will let you in as long as you're wearing decent casual clothes and any valid ID. Just state your intent as well. There's also only a few people going here and most of them are also college students particularly from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig (PLP) which is just a few blocks away. I just wish that the library is also open on weekends so that I have a place where I can really study and no one will disturb me. On the same building, there's also a learning centrum that's pretty similar to the Mind Museum that's just downstairs although I haven't checked it out despite the frequent visits here. You know what's also weird? It's the Ronald McDonald display at the bench right beside the entrance that scares me. I'm also wondering how it got there because the nearest Mcdo branch is around two blocks away from the library. (Enter Twilight Zone music).

You know you're a big deal when you're known in Metro Manila as "Main Library" (or MainLib for UPD…read morestudents, with their constant need to shorten everything). Not Gonzales Hall, not the UP School of Library and Information Sciences, not the UP-Diliman library. Just Main Library. PROS: It houses SLIS on the third floor! Librarian ng Bayan!; It is huge and expansive and would hold even the most obscure books your major subject may need (unless someone else borrowed it already). They also have records and archives that are older than you or your great grandma; They have an online database as well for easier book hunting. Very ideal for research. CONS: There's no air-conditioning but there are industrial fans. So get ready to hold on to your papers and books and notebooks as these babies could blow your clothes off; Facilities are not as updated or "hi-tech" as other universities' libraries; It may get scary and it smells like old books and old people, but just think of it as the spirits of the countless academics doing research here years ago. TL;DR: Bask in the glory of this gargantuan structure of knowledge, just don't mind the old computers.

As a UP Diliman student, there are three reasons as to why I visit the Main Lib: there's a required…read morefilm-viewing session in one of my classes, I need a quiet place to sit down and do nothing, and I need a book which is not available in my home college's library. Nevertheless, the Main Library houses a vast collection of books, compilation of researches, back issues of newspapers, films that you could not just download online, etc. For me, the Main Lib is a classic place because it brings you back in time, especially when you use the manual newspaper reader (which is very cool, try it once!). On the upper floors, you can find the original oblation statue, and marvel at it up close. Even if the Main Lib does not have air conditioning, the fans are there for you! Just sit on an angle wherein your papers would not be blown away in an instant.

Now famous as the usual date spot for the two main characters in the local film 'English Only…read morePlease,' Cool Beans brings together book and coffee lovers alike. The place is really small, nothing really impressive with the interiors, except for the shelves full of books. They have a good selection including the classics to poetry books to mainstream. I also appreciated that there was a lot of local authors up there. It isn't a library, of course, but it's a satisfying collection. I wouldn't say I would go back for their food. Some of the items I sampled weren't bad but a bit forgettable, like the butterscotch bar and the iced mocha. But I suppose the rest of their coffee, like the brewed ones from Sagada which they take pride in, are must-try's. (Disclaimer: I'm not a big caffeine person, so you should probably try them out and see for yourself.) The restroom had a funny sign reprimanding users from doing "Number 2" because the toilet clogs. It was amusing, but if you think about it, what if you absolutely had to? Unsurprisingly, they also didn't have WiFi. If you're a bystander waiting to pass time or just looking for a nice quiet afternoon with a book and cup of coffee, this place offers exactly that.

Among the many Maginhawa must-go establishments is Cool Beans Café, a cozy coffee spot that also…read morehappens to be a library. Cool Beans is heaven for anyone looking for a great place to work, write, contemplate on life or whatever. First off, with a name like Cool Beans, you'd look for great tasting coffee. Aside from your usual syrup-coated blended drinks and universal lattes and mochas, Cool Beans specializes in roasted highland coffee - strong and smokey, with honest coffee that doesn't need the help of sugar. (Or milk either! This coffee is best served as is.) My favorite is the Kalinga iced coffee, but they also serve Sagada and Benguet roasts. As for food, not to worry. Their menu consists of breakfast sets, omelets, sandwiches, pasta selections, rice meals, and a variety of small desserts. I confess that I haven't really explored their menu. :/ Their coffee grabs my attention too much. Another thing that makes Cool Beans cool - it's a library. This means books, books, books - and a great selection at that! From the classic literature to graphic novels to old fashioned newspapers in the age of technology, there's something for every bookworm on their shelves. I'm a huge bookworm, and I just love that as a library, they encourage their clientele to keep their voices down, promoting a peaceful but productive and creative atmosphere. All in all, this café is a breath of fresh air from the usual mainstream coffee shops filled with people on the go. This place actually makes you want to stay with your cup of coffee, grab a book and a comfy couch, and just read the afternoon away!