22/09/2026
๐จ.๐ฆ. ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฃ, ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ผ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
The stories and knowledge of Sulu and Mindanao found another avenue for preservation and scholarly access as the United States Library of Congress, the biggest library in the world by catalog size, visited the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) on September 17, 2026, to explore and acquire selected publications produced by the University.
Alison McKee, Field Director for Southeast Asia at the American Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia and Libreny Riyusdha, Acquisitions In-Charge met with Southeastern Philippines Journal of Research and Development Chief Editor Sajed S. Ingilan during their visit to USeP.
The conversation during the engagement centered on USePโs publications featuring Indigenous knowledge, Bangsamoro literature, and other scholarship drawn from the experiences of communities in Sulu and Mindanao. It placed particular attention on how works produced in the Philippines contribute to the documentation and understanding of the country within academic and public collections. As the U.S. Library of Congress noted, โPublications from the Philippines are an important part of the U.S. Library of Congressโ permanent collection, the largest in the world, and they help share information about the country with policymakers, scholars, and the public.โ
Chief Editor Ingilan presented some of the Universityโs publications, including: โDisaster Preparedness and Climate Change: The Indigenous Knowledge of Selected IP Groups in the Davao Region,โ Book 1 of the Universityโs Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP) series, published in 2017; โIndigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management of Selected IP Groups in the Davao Region,โ Book 2 of the IKSP series, published in 2024; โPanumtuman: Anthology of 21st Century Bangsamoro Literatureโ; and โKapandayan: A Journey to the Wisdom of the Selected IP Groups in the Davao Region,โ both published in 2024. Also presented was the Southeastern Philippines Journal of Research and Development (SPJRD), the Universityโs Scopus-indexed journal, which publishes scholarly works about Sulu and Mindanao and provides a platform for studies addressing the regionโs diverse social, cultural, environmental, and developmental contexts.
The value of these publications lies in documenting how communities in Sulu and Mindanao understand and experience their own realities. As Chief Editor Ingilan emphasized, โThese publications carry not only the ilmu (knowledge), but also the identities and experiences of the communities that make up Sulu and Mindanao.โ
Following the discussion, Assoc. Prof. Russel J. Aporbo, Research and Development Center for Arts and Sciences Head, and Ms. Ashlee Jane Inso and Mr. David Matthew Ng, fourth-year AB English Language students, toured the visitors at the College of Arts and Sciences and USeP Main Library and expounded the research and creative works done by the faculty, staff, and students, giving them a closer look at the breadth of scholarship available in the University.
The engagement opened another avenue for Sulu and Mindanao scholarship to be preserved and cataloged within one of the worldโs largest repositories of knowledge. With the prospect of works produced in the region becoming part of the U.S. Library of Congressโ permanent collection, Indigenous knowledge, Bangsamoro literature, and other scholarship from Sulu and Mindanao take their place in the wider intellectual record, affirming that the knowledge produced by its communities is not peripheral to Philippine scholarship, but part of the knowledge the Philippines contributes to the world.
In that sense, the visit gives knowledge produced by and for Sulu and Mindanao a place in a collection that extends across bordersโcarrying the voices, histories, and knowledge of its communities into wider spheres where they can inform, shape, and transform communities and beyond.
