Licensing and Library Legislation: The Philippine Experience Thelma S. Kim Regional Conference on Libraries, Archives and Museums in conjunction with the 25 th Anniversary of Brunei Darussalam Library Association November 30-December 2, 2011

Libraries in the Philippines were established in the 1500s i.e. convents and churches e.g. San Agustin Convent in Manila

Requisites of a profession a) Body of Knowledge b) Body of Literature c) Professional Associations d) System of Education e) Ethical Code f) Process of Certification, and Licensing

Laws\Library Legislation Definition: Library legislation is defined as laws setting up and regulating individual libraries particular categories of library or the whole library system of a state. Library legislation is also laws that define, support or delimit some particular activity or activities of libraries (International Encyclopedia of Information and library, 2003, p 383)

RA 6966 or Philippine Librarianship Act of It provided for the professionalization of Filipino Librarians, the creation of the Board for Librarians to regulate the practice of the profession, and to provide guidelines for the licensure examination for librarians, and the implementation for the Code of Ethics for librarians (Versoza, 2003, p. 2319)

Change of the old Philippine Library Association, Inc. (PLAI) to Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (PLAI) but retaining the acronym PLAI for SEC registration

RA 9246 Philippine Librarianship Act of 2003 Objectives: a) National examination of licensure, Registration of librarians, issuance of Certificate of Registration, and Professional Identification Card b) Supervision, control, and regulation of the practice of Librarianship

RA 9246 Philippine Librarianship Act of 2003 c) Integration of librarians under one national organization; and d) Development of professional competence of librarians

Coverage of the licensure examination 1. Selection and acquisition of multimedia sources of information 2. Cataloging ad classification 3. Abstracting and Indexing

Coverage of the licensure examination 1. Reference, Bibliography, and Information Science Organization, management, and development and maintenance of multi- media based library or information services, laws, trends and practices affecting the profession; and 4. Information technology

The grandfather’s clause is a provision allowing the issuance of a Certificate of Registration, and Professional Identification Card without the licensure examination The “Grandfather’s clause”

PLAI lobbied in both houses of Congress for the passage of RA 6966 then RA 9246

PLAI as the integrated national Association of librarians will continue to be the sentinel and vanguard in seeing to it that the dignity, honor, and prestige of the profession is observed, and that the highest degree of professionalism among its members is upheld