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9th CDNLAO Meeting: Philippines Country Report

Update on the National Library of the Philippines

by Andoracion Mendoza Bolos, Director

1. LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION

Library Organisational Structure

Our present National Library of the Philippines (NLP) originated from the Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas which was established in 1900. It was inaugurated in 1891 with Don Pedro A. Paterno as its first Director. The practice of librarianship however did not begin until the American Circulating Library was donated to the Philippine government in 1901. This formed the nucleus of what was to be later known as the National Library of the Philippines.

The National Library of the Philippines was one of the cultural agencies of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS). Now, it is one of the attached agencies of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) of the Office of the President by Executive Order No. 80 dated March 5, 1999.

NLP performs a dual function, that of a national library and as a central node of the public library. As a national library, its primary purpose is to collect and preserve the national literature and printed cultural heritage of the country. It comprises non-reading areas namely: Administrative, Bibliographic Services, Catalogue, Collection Development, and the Copyright Office and the Information Technology Centre; and reading areas which are; Asia and Oceania, Filipiniana, Government Publications, Library for the Blind, Reference Divisions, the Public Libraries Division and the Multi-Media Center.

1.1 Public Libraries

A network of public libraries in the country operates under the aegis of the National Library of the Philippines.

In the performance of its public library function, NLP acts as the central node of the public library system in the country. At present, there are 861 public libraries nationwide and 14 bookmobiles. The National Library of the Philippines through its Public Libraries Division plans and conducts training programs, meetings, seminars and conferences for public librarians. It also provides guidance and technical assistance to local government units (LGUs) in the establishment, development and maintenance of public libraries and bookmobile services in the provinces, cities and municipalities and barangays throughout the country. This is in connection with the implementation of the Republic Act 7743 which was signed into law on June 17, 1994. This law, an Act to Establish Congressional, District, City and Municipal Libraries and Barangay Centers throughout the country, adds another milestone in the library function of NLP, thus strengthening our program of reaching out to the community through the barangay/or village reading centres. It is in the rural communities where the "hunger" for knowledge and information must be addressed. In the urban centres at least, many types of libraries and information centres are found especially in Metro Manila where the library centres of excellence are concentrated.

1.2 Library Associations

There are eight (8) library associations whose membership is identified according to the type of library. These are the Philippine Association for Academic and Research Libraries (PAARL), the Philippine Association of Teachers of Library Science (PATLS), the Association of Special Libraries in the Philippines (ASLP), Agricultural Libraries Association of the Philippines (ALAP), Philippine Group of Law Librarians (PGLL), Philippine Association of School Librarians (PASL), Medical and Health Libraries Association of the Philippines (MAHLAP) and the Public Librarians Association of the Philippines (PLAP). The Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAl), is the PRC (Professional Regulations Commission) accredited national association of librarians. A list of associations and contacts is here (checked Mar 2006)

1.3 Academic Libraries

The first academic library was the Library of the Colegio de St.Tomas. Established in 1611, the college was founded by Fray Miguel de Benavidez, O.P. Archbishop of Manila. The initial book collection was from his personal collection.

Academic libraries are directly under the institutions of which they are a part and these educational institutions are in turn directly linked to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). State colleges and universities however, have their own separate charters and governance of their respective libraries is covered by their respective charters.

1.4 Special Libraries of Private Firms / Institutions and Department Libraries of Government Agencies

Special libraries and those of different government agencies are fairly autonomous, responsible only to the corporations and institutions which they serve. These types of libraries and documentation centres in the country are mostly located in Metro Manila although a few are sparsely organized in some provinces and cities.

1.5 Establishment of New Public Libraries

The National Library of the Philippines in coordination with local government units establishes public libraries in different localities of the country. In 1999, there were 48 libraries established making a total of 838. To date, 23 were added to the network of public libraries to total 861. NLP regularly allocates library materials to these libraries through its Collection Development Division. Annual allocation is always done during the celebrations of Public Library Day and National Book Week, every March 9 and November 24-30 respectively.

1.6 Visitors and Membership

The National Library of the Philippines implemented the use of a reader's card in July 2001. The card is requiremed before a library user can use the library's resources. The reader's card fee is 50.00 or equivalent to US$1.00 and is a lifetime membership card. Our database shows that 45,155 library users have applied for a reader's card. These patrons are mainly students and professionals.

During 2000, readership in NLP's reading rooms reached a total of 195,640, while materials used totalled 228,587 items.

On the other hand, the 861 public libraries located in different parts of the country served 1,177,598 readers during the year and loaned out 1,474,770 volumes of library materials.

1.7 New Features in the Library

1.7.1 The Internet Service

To provide better access and delivery of the latest global information to library users that are not only limited to NLP library resources, NLP has just recently opened its Internet Room which will offer internet services to its library users. The site is located at the ground floor of the Library and has 20 units available for use.

Likewise, the National Library of the Philippines has launched its official web site http://www.nlp.gov.ph wherein one of its features is the On-Line Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) where users from anywhere in the world can access bibliographic information on the collection of the Library and the public libraries as well. To date, the database comprises 131,188 titles consisting of Filipiniana (Philippine) materials (monographs and indexed articles), and foreign library materials. They are searchable by author, title, subject, keyword and or combination. NLP's staff do continuous encoding of our collection into the new system so that users can access whatever information they need.

The web server of NLP will be on for 24 hours a day in order for users from other countries with different time zones to access our web site.

2. COLLECTION PROFILE

There are about 1,054,000 volumes in the National Library of the Philippines as of December 2000 excluding serials, books and other non-book library materials.

Collections of government publications, microforms, audio-video tapes, CDs, CD-ROMs, United Nations and U.S. Federal publications, Asia and Oceania, library materials for the visually impaired clienteles (such as braille and large print) are some of our important collections. Lastly, there are the reference and serials collections.

2.1. The Rare books and Manuscripts Collections

The Filipiniana (Philippine) collection has a rich array of both printed and manuscript materials written in major Philippine dialect such as Tagalog, llocano, Cebuano, Bikol and Hiligaynon. Historical materials concerning the history of the Philippines from the Spanish to the Japanese period are sizable and among the most precious collections are the original manuscripts of our national hero, Jose P. Rizal's twin novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

The Rare Books collection of the Filipiniana Division is 14,722 volumes.

Other manuscripts available are the Revolutionary Papers (1860-1903), Presidential Papers of Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmena and Carlos P. Garcia as well as some historical data materials, literary and other papers of historical value.

2.2. Bibliographies and Indexes Published

The National Library of the Philippines serves as the national bibliographic agency for the country. In this regard, the Bibliographic Services Division takes charge of preparing and publishing the Philippine National Bibliography (PNB). This publication is published quarterly with an annual cumulation. Other publications prepared by the Division are special bibliographies such as Bibliography on Philippine Bibliographies, Manila Bibliography, Bikol Bibliography, etc.

Other publications of the NLP are Research Guide Series which now consist of 53 volumes. These publications are finding aids of rare books, manuscripts and special collections of the Filipiniana Division.

2.3. National Databases

The National Library of the Philippines has the following national databases under the framework of its Philippine Library Information Network (PHILIN):

3. Infrastructure

3.1 Dedicated Library Network Infrastructure

The Philippine Library Information Network (PHILIN) has the following functions:

PHILIN is an integrated library management information system wherein the various functions and services are modules or subsystems that make up the Library's total information system. Further, these modules can be a sub-network itself dedicated to providing access to library-based information.

The National Library has the following network infrastructure:

1. Main Library

a) National Library Information Network (NLIN)

b) Office of the Director MIS

c) OPAC

2. Public Libraries Network

3.2 Connectivity at the National Level

The National Library's internet connectivity is through SkyInternet wherein a 64 Kbps bandwidth with a committed information rate of 16kbps dedicated leased line.

4. SERVICES

4.1 Reference Services

A total of about 195,640 researchers were served in year 2000 in the various reading rooms where library hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from Monday to Saturday except holidays.

These reading rooms provide reference service to the public, assist library clientele in the use of the OPAC and locating books in the stack room at the Filipiniana Division. An open shelf system has been implemented since July 2000 due to the computerisation of the circulation system. The staff of the Divisions also prepare/compile special annotated bibliographies of the book collection to complement other reference tools.

4.2 Lending Services

4.2.1. On-Line Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)

OPAC is one of the Library's computerized projects. It aims to provide adequate and efficient services to the reading public. This was implemented in 1997 at the Filipiniana Division. Since its implementation, the OPAC has been very useful to library users facilitating their search for materials instead of using the conventional card catalogue, thus saving time and effort on the part of researchers.

4.2.2. Computerized Circulation System at the Filipiniana Division

The Computerized Circulation System is a system that uses barcodes for lending the General Book Collection of all NLP's major reading rooms, particularly the Filipiniana Collection through the Circulation Module of the Library. Solution System. Barcode labels are printed and pasted on reading materials, which allow readers fast registration of borrowed items by passing through a barcode reader machine.

This computerized system was implemented on July 15, 2000 and facilitates the lending of library materials at the Filipiniana Division, which had previously been done manually. It also enables NLP staff to keep track of the location of specific items and circulate them efficiently.
The NLP management hopes to implement the same system in other reading rooms in year 2001.

4.3 National Bibliographic Services

The National Library of the Philippines is mandated to provide efficient access to the different information resources and services of NLP and one of these is an up-to-date Philippine National Bibliography (PNB) and a National Union Catalogue. The Bibliographic Services Division (BSD) undertakes these activities:

4.3.1 Philippine National Bibliography (PNB)

A very important reference tool for librarians, scholars, publishers, researchers, etc., the PNB is a collection of bibliographic records of the country's national literature that truly reflects the intellectual and cultural growth and development of the Filipino people. It includes monographs, first issues of periodicals, printed music scores, government publications and conference proceedings and non-book materials such as sound recordings, maps, CDs, etc

4.3.2.1 Cataloguing-in-Publication Program (CIP)

NLP through its Bibliographic Services Division has been implementing Cataloguing-ln-Publication (CIP) Data as part of the expansion of the PNB System. This program provides a bibliographic description in advance of publication. CIP as a cataloguing tool for librarians minimizes unnecessary duplication of cataloguing data.

4.3.2. 2 Standard Numbering Systems

It is the responsibility of the National Library to conform, establish and maintain national and international standard in library and information services, which are:

4.4. Reading Promotion/Information Literacy Programmes

The promotion of books and good reading habits is a project of the Committee on Libraries and Information Services under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The Director of the National Library of the Philippines is the Commissioner of NCCA.

NLP is an active member of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY). It conducts storytelling, creative workshops and exhibition of international children's books, to promote books and reading in our children. It also co-sponsors with the Philippine Library Association the annual national book week celebration towards the end of November to heighten awareness on the importance of books and libraries. Each year a theme is developed focusing on the value of books and reading for human progress and national development. To make the public libraries a more effective carrier of information, NLP has furnished them bookmobiles or "libraries on wheels" to reach out to far-flung, inaccessible areas where libraries have never been seen. So far, 14 bookmobiles have been distributed to less developed regions and provinces to extend library services, make books accessible to places without means of transportation. The bookmobile service particularly benefits the farmers, housewives, out-of-school youth, and small children not yet of school age. With the bookmobiles, everyone gets acquainted at least with what is happening in the world beyond the immediate surroundings of the village.

The National library of the Philippines serves as the national bibliographic agency in the country. In this regard, the Bibliographic Services Division takes charge of NLP's participation in UNESCO's programmes on Universal Bibliographic Control (UBC) and Universal Availability of Publications (UAP). Researchers can avail of national publications through interlibrary loan requests.

4.7. Special Services

4.7.1. The Library for the Blind

The National library of the Philippines is mandated to serve the blind and visually-impaired Filipinos. House Bill No. 5397 authored by the late Congresswoman Estelita G. Juco provided for the Establishment of a Braille Department in The National Library.

The Library for the Blind Division was established in 1993 and occupies an area of 400,989 square meters at the ground floor of the building. It helps to cultivate and develop the talents of the visually-impaired and blind Filipino citizens in the various fields of knowledge through access to its special library materials such as braille, large prints and tapes.

5. TRAINING

5.1 Number of Professional Librarians

The National Library of the Philippines has a staff complement of 152 - 53 of whom are licensed librarians, 41 are graduates without library qualifications but are trained in library work and 46 belong to the administrative and support staff.

5.2. Number of Library training schools

There are 45 library schools in the country, I I of them are offering graduate courses leading to a Master's degree in Library Science. Library science courses, began in 1914 at the University of the Philippines, are now offered in the various regions of which 11 are in Metro Manila, 17 in Luzon, 16 in the Visayan region and 11in Mindanao region.

5.3. Major Training Initiatives

The implementation of the Public Libraries Information Network (PUBLIN) in 1998, the National Library of the Philippines conducted a series of training on the application of the first library system until recently NLP upgraded it into a new library system software. Library Solution system. The training series have helped public librarians to become more computer literate and appreciate how the library system saves their time and effort in library work.

The trainers for these training series were the staff of NLP who were trained rigidly at the main headquarters in the United States.

6. COPYRIGHT

The National Library of the Philippines implements Part IV, the Law on Copyright of Republic Act 8293 through its Copyright Office.

6.1. Number of Copyright / IPR Watchdogs or Associations

The most significant development of IPR protection in the Philippines was the establishment of a Presidential lnter-Agency Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (PIAC-IPR) under Executive Order No. 60 to respond to the need for coordination among enforcement agencies, as well as policy and regulatory reform. The PIAC-IPR, chaired by the Secretary of Trade and Industry and co-chaired by the Secretary of Justice is composed of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and the top Executives from the following agencies:

6.2. Number of Copyright Ctearance Centres

The Copyright Office of the National Library of the Philippines is the sole institution where application for copyright is processed and granted to copyright owner.

6.3. Major Changes in the Copyright / IPR Laws Impacting Libraries

Part IV of RA 8293 is the Law on Copyright. It repealed Presidential Decree (PD) 49. Copyright in the Philippines has been administered by the National Library of the Philippines for more than 80 years. Although, an Intellectual Property Office has been created as provided for in the Intellectual Property Code (RA 8293). The National Library of the Philippines still administers Copyright under the new Code. In fact, the Code has mandated the Director of the National Library of the Philippines to issue Safeguards and Regulations on Copyright which was already issued on August 13, 1999 and took effect on August 29, 1999, Fifteen (15) days after copies thereof were filed in the University of the Philippines Law Centre pursuant to the Administrative Code of 1987.

Section 188 of the new Code is on Reprographic Reproduction by Libraries which provides that notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection 177.6, any library or archive whose activities are not for profit, may have the right to make a single copy of the work by reprographic reproduction without the consent of the creator or proprietor.

Materials forming part of the collections mentioned in the preceding paragraph which by reason of their fragility or rarity, cannot be lent to users in their original form, may be reproduced by photography for purpose of loans. It is equally permissable to make, by means of reprographic reproduction of isolated articles contained in composite works, as well as brief portions of other published works, in order to supply them when this is considered expedient, to persons requesting their loan for purposes of research or study instead of lending the volumes or booklets which contained them.

When a copy of a work is found to be incomplete, the missing portions may be reproduced by means of photography, provided they only constitute a minor portion of the total work. Nevertheless, it shall not be permitted to produce a volume of a work published in several volumes or to produce missing tomes or parts of magazines or similar works, unless the volume, tome or part is out of stock with booksellers, the printing house and the publishers.

Every library which, by law, is entitled to receive one or two copies of a printed work shall be entitled, when special reasons so require, to reproduce, by means of photography, a copy of a published work; the acquisition of which is considered necessary for the collections of the library, but which is out of stock with booksellers, the printing house and the publisher.

A work belonging to the collections mentioned in the first paragraph of this section which has not been disseminated may not be reproduced or published without the consent of the creator or proprietor. However, such work may be reproduced for purposes of preservation.

REFERENCES:

1. Bolos, Adoracion M. Copyright in the Philippines. - Manila : UE-Foundation for Research & Advanced Studies, Inc., 2000.
2. Developing a culture of reading.- Manila :PNU, 1999.
3. The National Library of the Philippines. - Manila : NLP, 1992.
4. Philippine country report on intellectual property right protection. 1994.
5. Philippine libraries in national development : a country report. - CONSAL X : Malaysia, 1996.
6. Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. 1998.
7. Santos, Antonio M. Primer on the "Philippine Librarianship Act".


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