PAARL Standards going 10: is there a need to update?

“Standards are not a celebration of mediocrity nor intended to provide a level of comfort by showing activities or statistics that represent a hypothetical average. Rather, the standards provide a path, sometimes difficult, to an ideal.” – Illinois Library Association

History of PAARL Standards study of the library resources initiated by BHE FAPE conducted the survey 1977 – Tentative Library Standards for Private Higher Education presented at PLA Convention in June 1988 – PAARL took initiative of revising it with Ms. M.G. Dayrit as Chair and presented for public hearings in October in Iloilo and later in Manila; Final document was submitted to DECS and became known as - DECS Library Standards for Tertiary Education – issued as Inclosure no. 3 to DECS Bulletin no. 1 s – 1998 PAARL conducted seminars to review Library Standards 1999 –2000 PAARL created a Task Force to revise the Standards headed by Mrs. Loreto Serina, and in 2000, appointed Ms. Lolita Gonzales to replace her as Chair; 4 public hearings were conducted (3 in NCR, and last in Cebu City)

History UST Forum – with S. M. Arlante, B. Vibar, and Prof. C. Agcaoili in the panel PLM Forum – with Dean U. Picache, Dean J. Sison, and P. T. Garcia in the panel SM Megamall Forum – C.M. Nera, T.C. Moran, and C.R. Cayaban in the panel Cebu City – forum presided by L. Gonzales with C.M. Nera as resource speaker during PAARL Seminar on “Back to Basics” Final document – PAARL Library Standard 2000 – was presented to BFL in Jan 2001 and in March 2001 to CHED Office of Programs and Standards; published in the 2000 PAARL Directory

“The nicest thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from.” – Andres S. Tannenbaum, Computer Science professor and author

BFL-PRC Task Force on Library Standards Academic Libraries – affecting 1962 HEIs School Libraries – affecting 41,949 elementary schools and 8,287 high schools (as of ) Public Libraries – about 700 Special Libraries –between

Mission, Goals & Objectives shall develop an explicit statement of its mission in conformity with the mandate of the parent institution the development of library mission and goals shall be the responsibility of the library head and staff in consultation with the school officials library objectives shall be reviewed periodically and revised as necessary

Administration supervision and control shall be clearly defined should be administered by a full time professional with Masters Degree in Library Information and Information Science has an Advisory Library Committee shall have a development plan to include development and improvement of library resources

Administration shall be administered and supervised by a licensed, full time librarian under a clearly drawn organizational set-up; responsibilities and authority of the college / university librarian shall be defined in writing. college librarian shall have bachelor’s degree in LIS and at least 3 years experience; university librarian should have Master’s in LIS and at least 5 years supervisory experience has an Advisory Library Committee shall maintain written policies and procedures manuals covering its internal administration and operational activities; submit a written annual report informing the administration and its users on its activities, accomplishments, problems and needs, and its plan of development; shall maintain a systematic and continuous or regular program for its self-improvement

Human Resources Shall have sufficient number and variety of staff size and qualification determined by size & scope of collection, number of hours, rate of acquisition, rate of circulation, nature of processing & nature of service demand First 500 students: 1 professional, 2 clerical staff for every 1000 additional students 1 full time librarian Professional staff – College – BSLS; University – Masters in Library / Information Science Support Staff –Paraprofessionals – BS in any related field and staff doing clerical work should also be Bachelor’s degree holders Status – Academic or faculty status Staff development shall be provided with the corresponding financial assistance from the institution

Human Resources shall have sufficient number and variety of staff size and qualification determined by size & scope of collection, number of hours, rate of acquisition, rate of circulation, nature of processing & nature of service demand First 500 students: 1 professional, 3 clerical staff for every 1000 additional students: 1 full time librarian Professional staff: College – BSLS/IS; University – Masters in LS/IS Paraprofessionals – Bachelor’s degree holder in any field and support staff doing clerical work should have at least 2 years of college education Status – Academic or faculty status for professional librarians Staff development shall be provided with the corresponding financial assistance from the institution

Collection Development shall have library resources relevant to its mission, adequate in quality and quantity, helpful in serving the needs of scholarship and research, as well as progressively developing and growing in accordance with institutional development and expansion plans. Collection Development should be the responsibility of the Advisory Lib. Com. (ALC) shall have a written collection development policies approved by the ALC should conduct periodic review of collection Holdings – Core collection of 5,000 well selected titles for college; 10,000 for university, and one copy of a reserve book for every 25 students

Collection Development Collection development is the joint responsibility of the faculty and the librarian. The library shall define in writing the policies for collection development that will guide the selection and acquisition of materials, in consultation with the faculty, and approved by the administration should conduct periodic review of collection Holdings – Core collection of 5,000 well selected titles for college; 10,000 for university; in addition, five (5) professional titles per student maximum of five (5) copies of frequently used textbooks shall be provided, and one copy of a reserve book for every 25 students

Collection Development Periodicals: 50 periodical titles (minimum) less than 1000 enrollment; 75 titles for ; 100 titles for over journal titles of undergraduate concentration, 6 journal titles of graduate concentration, and 10 journal titles of doctoral for every major field of specialization 30% of the collection shall be published within the last 5 years Non-print resources and electronic/digital resources shall be made available through adequate facilities and equipment Filipiniana materials - 15% of total collection

Collection Development Periodicals: 50 periodical titles (minimum) less than 1000 enrollment; 75 titles for ; 100 titles for over journal titles of undergraduate concentration, 6 journal titles of graduate concentration, and 10 journal titles of doctoral for every major field of specialization regular weeding program of 3 to 5 percent yearly replacement of older materials is recommended availability of CD-ROMs and online databases, and Internet services to supplement the library’s collection of information resources Filipiniana materials - extensive collection to meet demand, and comprehensive acquisition of current Filipiniana titles relevant to the school’s curriculum

Collection Maintenance Organization - should be catalogued and classified according to accepted standards of bibliographic description and a system of classification Catalog shall be in format (card or electronic) that permits concurrent or simultaneous use by library clientele Preservation – shall have a program for the preservation and weeding of its collection Security –shall have policies on security to safeguard the collection from damage, loss, mutilation and theft; shall provide control and security measures in its building and facilities such as emergency exits, fire extinguishers, and built-in emergency lights

Collection Maintenance Organization - should be catalogued and classified according to accepted standards of bibliographic description and a system of classification Catalog shall be in format (card or electronic) that permits concurrent or simultaneous use by library clientele; library shall provide its own cataloging manual of policies and procedures Preservation – library shall have a program for the care and preservation of its own collection, adequate safeguards against damage, loss, mutilation, and theft Control and security measures (provided under Physical Facilities)

Reader Services and Utilization Reader Services – shall include Reference and information services, Circulation, library instruction, audio- visual, electronic resources, photocopying and other services Hours – shall open 10 hours daily Lending policies – shall adopt an open shelf system for easy access; promote reader services by regular announcement or display of new acquisition

Services provide a variety of services that support and expand the instructional, research, and extension service capabilities of the institution services shall be designed to promote and facilitate efficient and effective use of recorded information in all formats by all of the library’s clientele, to include reference and information services Majority of the stock in the collection shall be readily available for lending user instruction shall be provided as specialized and in- depth assistance to individuals on the use of the library’s resources hours of access to the library shall be consistent with reasonable demand should strive to enhance information access through networking, resource sharing, online information services, and use of technological advances, to include interlibrary loan activities and document-delivery services

Physical Facilities adequate space should be provided to house the collection, offices for the staff, librarian’s office and storage space space for special services, seating capacity of not less than 10% of the total enrollment computed at 2 sq. m. per reader proper lighting and ventilation functional furniture and equipment facilities for people with disabilities (PWD) shall be provided.

Physical Facilities building shall provide adequate space for housing the library’s collections, for study and research, and for staff workroom and offices, with provision for future expansion should be made librarian shall be consulted in planning the site/location of the library, its building design, and other architectural/spatial details facilities shall be attractive and designed to provide safety, and promote operational efficiencies and effectiveness of use size of the library building depends on total user population, extent and nature of collection, and staff size provision of standard library furniture, and equipment necessary to access information and to assist instruction

Physical Facilities Provisions for reading comfort - adequate lighting, proper ventilation, and acoustically suited for quiet reading Special provisions for the physically handicapped Control and security measures : provision for ample aisles, emergency exits/escape doors, fire extinguishers and screened windows; emergency warning device, hiring of security guard, installation of monitoring camera, and electronic surveillance system; guidelines on safety and disaster preparedness should be established and implemented

Financial Resources Shall have an annual budget 10% of the total operating budget of the institution library fee shall be at realistic level shall explore other ways of augmenting the library’s financial resources when the institutional funds are inadequate.

Financial Resources shall have an annual budget between 5-10% of the total operating budget of the institution library fee shall be at realistic level and all fees collected shall be used exclusively for the library’s collection development adequate funds shall be allocated by the institution for maintenance, replacement, repairs, renovation and for investment in new and improved means of information access and delivery shall explore other ways of augmenting the library’s financial resources when the institutional funds are inadequate

Linkages and Networking Academic library shall explore internal and external linkages participates in inter-institutional activities and cooperative program for sharing of resources

Linkages and Networking library shall get involved in professional activities, regional, national or international, participate in resource sharing or networking activities, and utilize cooperative library programs to enhance its resources and services and to reduce operating costs (under Administration) participation in exchange programs and consortia or cooperative projects (under Financial Support) to enhance its collection and reduce costs, the library shall initiate and maintain resource-sharing arrangements with other libraries (under Collection Development) library should strive to enhance information access through networking, resource sharing, online information services, and use of technological advances; interlibrary loan activities and document-delivery services shall be encouraged for the purpose of increasing resources and extending cooperation with other libraries (under Services)

PAARL Standards going 10: is there a need to update?

Purpose Should PAARL Standard apply to all types of academic libraries – small college and university libraries, technical institute libraries, large academic libraries, research universities? If yes, should it be prescriptive or comprehensive in scope and context?

Approach qualitative or quantitative? incorporating measurable inputs (money, space, collection, equipment, staff size); quantifying outputs or work done (books circulated, reference queries answered, formulating guidelines on technical standards for bibliographic and other services rendered) qualifying desired outcomes (formulating best practices)

Context of Change rapid changes in ICT – consideration of multiple formats and changing information environment changing roles of academic and research libraries issue of ownership vs. access application of information literacy and library 2.0 revolutionizing user education practices evolving and new roles of librarians as agents of change

Format & Content stick to the old format or adopt new format similar to ACRL? formulate separate documents outlining guidelines for: - Collection development and management - Institutional Library Services - Electronic and Media Resources - Preservation, Conservation, and Reproduction - Interlibrary Loan, Networking, and Consortial Arrangements formulate separate standards for: - College libraries - University libraries - Research university libraries - State colleges and universities - Technical Institutes and community colleges formulate separate statements or documents on: - Access - Information Literacy - Academic/Faculty Status of Professional Librarians

Methodologies/Strategies Create subcommittees, task force, groups Conduct public hearings, consultative meetings, roundtable discussions, etc. Conduct surveys (traditional, online) Utilize blogsites for opinions, comments, suggestions, etc. Get endorsements Publish and disseminate

Methodologies/Strategies Create subcommittees, task force, groups Conduct public hearings, consultative meetings, roundtable discussions, etc. Conduct surveys (traditional, online) Utilize blogsites for opinions, comments, suggestions, etc. Get endorsements Publish and disseminate

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