The Heritage Library · 1919–2026
A century of service, in the Club’s own words and pictures
The Balita as members read it, week by week since 1948. The photographs of their projects and fellowship. The plaques, trophies and books the Club gathered in more than a hundred years as Asia’s first Rotary club.
106presidents since 1919
2,237items catalogued
97,496Balita pages to read
11,945photographs
The library is growing: volumes, issues and albums are being added from the Club’s archive every week.
This month’s exhibitThe Club and the fight against polioOctober 24 is World Polio Day, and the Balita shows the Rotary Club of Manila at work against polio for more than seventy years. In 1950 the Club's Co…Visit the exhibit →
Find a nameIs your family in the Balita?Search a name and see every page it was printed on since 1948, year by year.
Ask the archiveAsk a question about the Club’s historyAnswered from the Club’s records and the Balita, with links to the pages.Or walk through the timeline
A century, decade by decade
Eleven decades of the Club
1919–1929Foundations and First Convictions
10 presidents1929–1939Discipline in an Unsettled World
10 presidents1939–1949Silence, War, and Survival
7 presidents · 3 Balita volumes1949–1959From Relief to System
10 presidents · 9 Balita volumes1959–1969Expansion and Confidence
11 presidents1969–1979Service Under Pressure
10 presidents · 9 Balita volumes1979–1989Renewal and Relevance
10 presidents · 11 Balita volumes1989–1999Global Partnerships, Local Depth
10 presidents · 25 Balita volumes1999–2009Scale, Technology and Transition
10 presidents · 24 Balita volumes2009–2019Centennial as Continuum
10 presidents · 11 Balita volumes2019–2027Resilience in a Fragmented World
8 presidents
10 presidents1929–1939Discipline in an Unsettled World10 presidents1939–1949Silence, War, and Survival7 presidents · 3 Balita volumes1949–1959From Relief to System10 presidents · 9 Balita volumes1959–1969Expansion and Confidence11 presidents1969–1979Service Under Pressure10 presidents · 9 Balita volumes1979–1989Renewal and Relevance10 presidents · 11 Balita volumes1989–1999Global Partnerships, Local Depth10 presidents · 25 Balita volumes1999–2009Scale, Technology and Transition10 presidents · 24 Balita volumes2009–2019Centennial as Continuum10 presidents · 11 Balita volumes2019–2027Resilience in a Fragmented World8 presidentsThe reading room
All volumesThe Rotary Balita, from 1948
Every issue as it was printed, page by page, with the text searchable. The Balita itself began in 1919, but the Club’s records before 1948 were lost when they were burned during the war.
Photographs
All albumsThe Club at work and in fellowship
The video room
All 37 filmsThe Club on film
The trophy room
Enter the trophy roomHonors given and received
The collection
Browse the catalogue2,237 items in the Club’s library
Catalogued in 2023: bound Balita volumes, anniversary programs, handbooks, conference books, photo albums, plaques and trophies.
Plaques & trophies 1,194Balita 698Photo albums 103Books by others 56Concerts & chorale 28Inaugural programs 27TOWER Awards 23President Fidel V. Ramos 20International 17District conferences 14Code of policies 13History & anniversaries 12Programs of action 8Handbooks 6Medical missions 6United Nations 6Projects 4Foundation 1Four-Way Test 1