Standards for School Library Media Centers ELIZABETH R. PERALEJO Chair, TC-LIS CHED

Standards – a measure of quality or value set up by those in authority and by general consent to be followed as model or example. Board for Librarians (PRC) – the lone agency mandated by law “to adopt policies and set the standards for all types of libraries . . .” (R.A. 9246, Article II, Section 8) Objective : to serve as guidelines for developing library programs that will help attain quality service for all types of libraries in the country.

INTRODUCTION An effective school library media center must reflect the needs of its school population. It must be properly and adequately equipped to meet the needs of the curriculum and the users. In order for it to be a real partner in the attainment of educational goals, a set of standards must be followed. The said standards will apply to elementary and secondary schools in order to assure continuity and quality instruction at all grade/year levels in both the public and private school sectors in the Philippines.

VISION, MISSION, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES A. A clearly defined vision, mission, goals and objectives for the school library media center shall be established in terms of line with the philosophy, goals and objectives of the school. [ B. A set of policies, procedures, rules, and regulations shall be formulated by the library head and staff to ensure consistency in the operation of services.] – Transfer to Standard II : Administration [C. A written Manual of Operation as well as Student/ Faculty Guides shall be maintained and continuously updated to serve as guide to the staff in the implementation of tasks and to the users in the utilization of resources and services.] – same as B B. The statement of library mission, goals and objectives shall be reviewed periodically and revised as necessary. C. The library’s Vision, Mission, Goal, and Objectives shall be strategically posted within the library and on its Website (if any).

II. ADMINISTRATION   An unified program integrating integrated library and audiovisual programs sections under the leadership of a qualified and competent professional is recommended shall be maintained.  - A1: “A unified program for library under the leadership of a qualified librarian.” (remove competent professional?) - A2: “A unified program for AV under a trained AV technician with direct supervision of a licensed librarian.” (who is also in-charge of the library?)

II. ADMINISTRATION B. Where there are two or more professional librarians, one is appointed as the head to oversee the smooth implementation of services as well as the supervision of personnel. - add “based on [qualification,] educational attainment, length of service [tenure], seminars/trainings [CPDs] [attended], and performance.” C. The school library media center shall be regularly evaluated in terms of its services, personnel and resources, not only by the students but also by the faculty. - include tools for evaluation (too prescriptive)

II. ADMINISTRATION D. A set of policies, procedures, rules, and regulations shall be formulated by the library head and staff to ensure consistency in the operation of services. E. A written Manual of Operation as well as Student/ Faculty Guides shall be maintained and continuously updated to serve as guide to the staff in the implementation of tasks and to the users in the utilization of resources and services. - Transferred from Standard I (V-M-G-O) to II (Administration)

III. HUMAN RESOURCES III.   A. The school library media center shall be appropriately staffed by full time licensed librarians and trained clerical support, the number of which is proportionate to student population.   - “Strict compliance to staff size vis-a-vis enrolment should be monitored.” 1. Size - For an enrollment of 2,000 . . . “add AV technician” 2. Qualifications (define in detail) 2.1 Professional Librarian - “add AB Bachelor of Arts Major in Library Science” 2.2 Library Assistant – College/secretarial graduate whose expertise is fitted for library work. 2.3 AV Technician – 2 year course in Electronics, preferably with library science units or experience.

III. HUMAN RESOURCES B. The professional/licensed librarian shall be given a FULL (?) faculty status, with corresponding privileges and other benefits comparable to those of the teaching faculty. The school administration shall enforce the same. - Faculty status should not be management prerogative but should be in accordance with existing laws on librarians’ status. [not stated in RA 9246] - It must be strictly followed/observed by school administrators/ owners. - Compliance to DepEd Memo on School Library Standards should be monitored and strictly enforced. Non-compliance should have a corresponding penalty/sanction. - DepEd Order No. 56, S 2011 says . . . ; CMO says . . .

IV. A. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT The recommended size of the various collections for an enrollment of less than 1,000 students are as follows : 5.2 Twenty percent (20%) of the total collection shall be published within the last ten (10) years, except for resources that belong to the Natural Sciences which is five (5) years; 5.3 A basic subscription to 15 (10) titles of general interest magazines and 10 (8) titles of professional journals in print and electronic format; - Magazines/journals are expensive esp. those prof. journals. Will these 10 titles of . . . and 15 titles of . . .give justice to our public schools? Are eJournals or online journals counted? - Yes, they will, and they can be. As such, we lower the number and add the phrase “in print and electronic format”.

IV. A. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT The recommended size of the various collections for an enrollment of less than 1,000 students are as follows : 5.6 A starting collection of non-print materials on various formats as follows : - 15 titles of slide sets; 25 titles of transparency sets - delete slide and transparency sets - 50 titles of electronic resources (e.g. CD-ROMs, audio books, etc.) - delete CD-ROMs and change nos. and examples to : 5 e-content, 5 e-Journals, 5 e-Books - maintain the number but change examples to (e-Books, e-Journals, and online databases) 5.7 A variety of AV equipment available in amounts adequate to serve the instructional program of the school. - provide basic list; identify AV equipment (too prescriptive)

Dewey Decimal Classification Percentage of Increase Recommended Percentages Within the Collection (for School Library Media Centers) Dewey Decimal Classification Percentage of Increase Exemplary Standards 000-099 General Works 100-199 Philosophy 200-299 Religion 300-399 Social Sciences 400-499 Languages 500-599 Pure Sciences 600-699 Applied Sciences 700-799 Fine Arts & Recreation 800-899 Literature 910-929 Geography/Travel/ Biography 900-999 History Fiction Picture and Easy Books Filipiniana Elem. / Sec. 2% / 4% 1% / 1% 3% / 4% 7% / 10% .5% / 1% 8% / 10% 5% / 10% 3% / 6% 6.5% / 10% 8% / 6% 10% / 8% 20% / 15% 20% 6% / 15% 100% / 100% BEYOND RECOGNIZED STANDARDS

Collection Compared to Standards IV. A. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT 4. The librarian/media specialist, in coordination with the faculty, shall be responsible for the selection and acquisition of all materials based on a written Collection Development Plan. Collection Compared to Standards

Collection Development Plan IV. A. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT Collection Development Plan Cont … Notes : * Based on the minimum standards set by the Board for Librarians for secondary school libraries. ** Recommended no. of books : a basic collection of 5,000 titles for 1,000 and below student population (20% of which shall be published within the last 10 years)

Collection Development Plan Cont … No. of Material/s Per Topic IV. A. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT Collection Development Plan Cont … No. of Material/s Per Topic

IV. B. SELECTION AND ORGANIZATION  1. Book selection shall be a shared responsibility among the librarians, teachers and administrators; - add students at the end. - I don’t think we can make this a responsibility for elementary/high school students, though we can solicit their recommendations.  2. Basic policies for the selection and deselection of printed and non-printed materials shall be formally and clearly formulated.

IV. C. PRESERVATION AND SECURITY The school library media center shall have a program for the care and preservation of all its collection. It should also have an adequate safeguard against loss, mutilation, and theft. In addition, a disaster preparedness, response, and recovery plan for the library and its collection shall be formulated and actualized/put into action.

V. SERVICES AND UTILIZATION 2. Announcements of acquisition and other promotional activities shall be made periodically. - add “through print and non-print (social media)” 3. Coordination Collaboration with the faculty shall be done to promote effective use of the school library media center as well as to develop and improve the reading habits of students. 4. Instruction on the effective use of the library media center and on various information sources shall be given to the students as well as to the faculty. - develop a library instruction standard per grade level to set as guide - add “to those who are involved in the library (staff, parents, student practicumers, teacher librarians)

VI. PHYSICAL FACILITIES 1. The school library media center shall be housed in a barrier-free and flexible facility that can accommodate a seating capacity of 10% of the total student population. - put provision for below 500 (20%) and above 500 student population (10%) - increase seating capacity to 20% of the student population 2. The library shall provide a storage space room for the print inactive collection and supplies, a reading area for faculty, a workroom area and a store room, an office for the head librarian/media center coordinator, as well as a space a room for formal library instruction. - add an adjective to describe “storage space” 3. In big schools where the library is also a media centers, a space shall be provided for group discussion, Web surfing, listening and viewing, as well as for the storage, distribution, and repair of . . . 4. The . . . center shall be appropriately equipped with attractive and, at the same time, functional furniture to make it inviting aesthetically appealing to young users.

VII. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES AND SERVICES A. The school library media center shall have facilities for information and communication technology and services for the efficient retrieval and dissemination of information resources by the library staff and its users. This includes computer workstations with Internet connectivity, printers, scanners, headphones, and the like. B. Policies and procedures in the use and maintenance of ICT resources and services shall be formulated and managed by a qualified staff with the requisite skills.

VIII. FINANCIAL RESOURCES 1. The school shall provide adequate funds for staffing and sufficient funds to acquire resources and supplies in support of the school library media center programs. - add standard amount or estimated amount for funding 2. To sustain the library’s growth and development, a library/AV fee shall be collected, reviewed periodically and updated whenever necessary. - provide basis for library fee/library budget + funds coming from this shall be budgeted for library and AV collections - Add a statement of support where to get the salary of the librarian, its increase, and the like.

IX. LINKAGES AND NETWORKING 2. The school library media center shall establish linkages with other resource centers in the vicinity/community (e.g. barangay, public and special libraries) and refer students to their collections. where students can be referred to for research and additional sources of information. - add private organizations such as Rotary Club, embassies

Thank You and Good Day!