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CHAPTER 1
THE INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Library is a place where literary and artistic materials, such as books,
periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, magazines, records, and tapes, are kept for
reading, reference and/or lending. Libraries may differ in many aspects but they
all have the same objective which is to support the educational and research
purposes of its mother organization.
Evaluation and standards always go hand in hand since standards serve
as the yardstick for the process. Academic libraries, being part of academic
institutions, are always evaluated internally by the librarians, users, or university
administration and externally by government agencies.
Adhering to standards is an assurance of good quality. Standards are
known to be models derived from best practices. Therefore, when standards are
followed, practices and procedures are said to be outstanding. However, when
standards are not attuned to the times, conforming to these would be defeating
the purpose of improvement. Standards are also man made, and thus, they are
based on reality.

Therefore, no standards exist prior to the presence of

something. For instance, no standards on the use of databases in libraries were

written until such time that databases have been developed and applied. Since
these are based on reality, these are also subject to mortality.

Regardless of the fact that standards are not perfect, these are powerful
tools that they can impose upon those to whom they apply. Standards dictate the
norm and lay down the rules. Standards therefore regulate conditions and set
forth consistency.
Libraries today must find ways to optimize operations, maximize
resources, enhance services and serve customers.They are essential partners in
creating educated communities for they provide opportunities for self-education,
life-long learning and self-improvement.
The continuing trend of knowledge outburst and the rapid advances in
science and technology put emphasis on the use of the school library among
students to help them pursue their academic activities and gain knowledge
beyond their textbooks and their teachers' lectures. As the heart of a school
institution, the library should be planned and organized to meet the needs and
challenges of our rapidly advancing society especially if it speaks of quality
education.
The library responds to the challenge of technology by introducing digital
library services whose objective is to widen the range of information resources
available and to add value to their content by making them accessible through
telecommunication networks, so that users can access them anytime and
anywhere.
The main purpose of this paper is to determine the efficiency of the CKC
School Library based on the standards of the Department of Education for school

libraries and on the opinion of the CKC students; and so to suggest some ways
to improve its collection, personnel, services and usage, physical facilities and
networking.
In recent surveys, findings showed that many Philippine school libraries in
general hardly meet the requirements imposed in the standards. In order to carry
out the library's goal to provide learning experiences that would help students
become discriminating consumers and skilled creators of information, an
effective Library Instruction Program (LIP) also known as Bibliographic
Instruction (BI) needs to be developed.
It is important to know the standards given by the DepEd for school
libraries in order to acquire the quality of such that is more conducive to learning
and more visiting for the students.
Learning is the core of the Department of Educations (DepEd) mandate.
However, DepEd is not only a learner-centered government institution; it is also
an organization that constantly incorporates the learning process in implementing
education policies and programs consistent with its vision, to wit:
We dream of Filipinos who passionately love their country and whose
values and competencies enable them to realize their full potential and contribute
meaningfully to building the nation.
As a learner-centered public institution, the Department of Education
continuously improves itself to better serve its stakeholders.
The Department sustains its progressive orientation by ensuring that its
actions are informed by sound and relevant evidence from research. Evaluation

research can draw lessons from past and existing education programs and
identify ways to improve them. Policy studies can define problems and generate
possible solutions. Social experiments can compare the effects of school
interventions, and weed out ineffective from promising ones.

(Enclosure to

DepEd Order No. 39, s. 2016)

In detail, the DepEd standards both quantitative and qualitative seeks to
improve the access, usage, administration, management and collections of public
institutions including school libraries.
The opinion of the students is also an important factor into the
development of the library since one of its common functions is to aid the
educational needs of the students. They are the primary customers of school
libraries since they make up a huge number of the schools population.
Institutional self-assessment of the status of school libraries allows school
heads, principals, and school librarians to determine their library's strengths and
weaknesses and find accurate solutions to resolve them.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the efficiency and adequacy of the CKC
library based on the standards of the DepEd for school libraries and on the
opinion of the CKC students.
Specifically, this study intends to answer the following questions:

1. What is the standing of the CKC library in the opinion of CKC students
based on the following:
1.1. structure/appearance of facilities;
1.2. services offered, and;
1.3. references/research materials?
2. What is the standing of the CKC Library according to the standards given
by the DepEd for school libraries:
2.1. its mission, goals, objectives;
2.2. human resources;
2.3. collection management;
2.4. services and utilization;
2.5. physical facilities, and;
2.6. linkages and networking?
3. What is the level of efficiency and adequacy of the CKC Library based on
the standards of the DepEd for school libraries and on the opinion of the
CKC students?

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This

study will

be

conducted

to

determine

the

efficiency and

conduciveness to learning of the CKC High School Library on the school year
2016-2017. The research tries to know the opinion of the CKC students and the
standards of the Department of Education for school libraries and so to contrast
and evaluate the standing of the CKC Library in order to improve its overall
features and to pass for DepEds qualifications for school libraries.

Operational Definition of terms

The following are the terms used in this study. The words are defined
according to how they are utilized in the study for better comprehension of the
study.
Discriminating consumers- refers to a person who has the ability to
identify subtle differences and appreciate good quality or taste.
Library-a room, building, or institution where collections of books and
other research materials are kept.
Mandate-an authoritative order: an official command or instruction from an
authority.
Standard-a level of quality or excellence that is accepted as the norm or
by which actual attainments are judged.

Significance of the Study

The study will benefit the following: students, faculty members, school,
librarians from other schools/public libraries, and researchers.
Students.This would help the students make library researches easier
and more convenient. It can also save their time and ensure the credibility of the
resources to be used.
Faculty Members. They will have almost the same benefit as that of the
students. The outcome of the research may also be useful to the faculty
members for additional references and adequate facility ideas.
School. This is generally for the benefit of the school. The result of this
research can help them achieve the ideal school library and therefore achieve
high ratings during evaluation.
Librarians. The librarians coming from other schools or public libraries
would also gain from this study. They can use the outcome of this research as a
guide to develop better services and a more conducive library. Likewise, they can
also check the efficiency of the library they are working at using this research
paper.
Lastly, Researchers. Aside from enriching their knowledge on the
research topic, the researchers would also enhance their knowledge on writing
research which is the main goal in the execution of this study. Furthermore, the
research would also help future researchers that may have the same topic with
this paper. They may use this as a source to conduct their study.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents related literature and local studies that are
considered relevant to the present study. These are reviewed and compiled to
provide in depth background about the research problem.
The school library information landscape
According to the National Library of New Zealand and the New Zealand
Ministry of Education (2002) there are guidelines that have helped principals,
teachers, boards of trustees, and library teams develop their school libraries to
support student learning. President (2008) describes libraries as the only
providers of universally accessible lifelong learning opportunities.
At the heart of these guidelines is a conceptual framework of six guiding
principles for library development:

Information literacy

Service

Reading

Access

Information resources

Place
The

flexibility of

the

guidelines

framework

allows

for

changing

perspectives and options, enabling schools to explore and calibrate these to

meet their individual circumstances. The principles are also broad enough to
withstand and encompass the changes occurring over time in the information
landscape.
Function of the library
Libraries have been considered an integral part of the education program.
It is a center of information thus; it is referred to as a learning laboratory. Libraries
are service agency. It provides various services, one of which is the reference.
Brillo (2009) stated that the objective of a good reference service is to provide
accurate and up-to-date information as quickly as possible. Information
technology has not only made this possible but has also enhanced library
collections by widening the library access to various types of information
resources beyond geographic boundaries.
To provide efficient service to clients, especially students and teachers,
libraries need to preserve their collection. As mentioned by AmRheim (2010), it is
a challenge for libraries to be able to give user the best possible service. Such
service involves preserving the collection so that the user wants is always there
and is conveniently available for use for as long as he or she needs it. He also
said that journal mutilation affects students education. Students cannot use the
library resources to the fullest because they cannot find articles in mutilated
journals. They often have to wait for days to get replacement pages, or not at all.

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Moreover, the acquisition development needs professional library staff to

ensure the quality of collections (books, magazines, journals, periodicals, etc.).
Jayoma (2011) pointed out that selection of library materials must be undertaken
by professional librarians to meet the particular mission and adjectives of the
library and its parent school. In addition, to the individual library user, an optimum
library collection is one that has all the books located closely together on its
shelves where one aspects to find them and when one wants them.
According to Mohammed (2008), a library is a collection of a wide variety
of library materials housed in each school centrally organized by staff
professionally prepared to offer service to students and teachers that will enrich
and support the educational program of the school. In other words, it is an
integral part of the school, not an adjunct. It is also the intellectual center of the
school. He also opined that the school library is an essential ingredient in
learning at the level of education (elementary, secondary and tertiary).
Standards for school libraries
The Department of Educations minimum standard for school libraries
(2012) identified the following types of books (library resources) which school
libraries should acquire to include reference books, non-fiction including
textbooks, supplementary reading materials, fiction and easy-to-read books
(story books, novels, cartoons). The establishment of school libraries stock with a
variety of reading materials is one thing, but the exploitation of such resources to
achieve

ones

ends

is

another.

Users visit the library for many reasons, namely; to prepare for

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examination, for leisure reading, for serious academic work, etc. Okeason, et. al.
(2013) in their views on students utilization of library resources remark that the
ability to read in the most important mental skill that a person can acquire.
The literature reuse used and included in this chapter had provided the
researcher with basic ideas about efficiency and adequacy of secondary school
libraries which they used as guide in the conceptualization of her own research
work.
Related studies
Services in the library
A number of local studies had been conducted about efficiency and
adequacy of school libraries as perceived by the student-users. A study of the
Easter Visayas State University (2013) revealed that the library cater to the
needs of users by carrying out its function along direct services which include
circulation, reference and information services. In terms of physical facilities, the
EVSU Library provides adequate space, accessible building, functional
equipment and furniture, proper ventilation and lighting. Circulation services were
generally perceived god by the student-users, which are the provision of library
cards, reference services and physical facilities. Last perceived facilities were;
adequate time to read books, orientation and information on new acquisition,
accessibility of library collection, and a more conducive atmosphere for study and
research. Among direct services, there were significant differences in perception;

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users were more satisfied with circulation services as compared with reference
and information services,
Flores (2010) assessed the library services of Bicol State University. Her
findings revealed that along utilization of reader services, information services,
and technical services, these were all rated fair. The perceived strengths along
readers services were lending books and periodicals, providing assistance,
accessibility of materials, providing duplicating machine and other facilities whole
along technical services, bibliography and organization of library materials are all
implemented as strongest or good. Furthermore, the library provided satisfactory
services to all courses and students in all year levels.
The study of Montilla (2010) showed that the following needs improvement
and attention from the library managers: library facilitator and equipment, manner
of which questions were answered and participation of clients in library decisionmaking. Survey also showed that libraries are good on the following: personal
attention of the staff, scheduled library hours, location and atmosphere of the
libraries, and professionalism and assistance from staff. The main findings were:
1) Overall library performance and service quality positively affect client
satisfaction; 2) Educational attainment of clients does not affect the overall library
performance and client satisfaction; and, 3) There are no significant differences
between client satisfaction, overall library performance and service quality
between and among different universities.

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In the study of Villaluz (2011), findings showed that the reference

collections of the selected school libraries where very adequate, and the
reference services were very adequate, and the reference services to be very
efficient in responding to the academic demands of the students. Among the
problems encountered by the students regarding the collections were
obsolescence, incompleteness and unavailability, while in the reference services,
the students found the librarian or assistants to be difficult to approach and
unavailable for reference questions. For the reference collections, it was
recommended that the library should acquire or at least update their reference
collections especially the encyclopaedia, library facilitator should also be
improved for the preservation of the library materials and for a more conducive
place for learning.
Meanwhile, Snog (2012) conducted a study which revealed that the
facilities, services and management of private school libraries in Tagbolaran City
are in developing status. Non-library oriented administrators and poor financial
support for the library, are the main problems met by the respondents. Private
school libraries will be better developed by talking into the consideration the
training personnel, policy making, proper disbursement of library trends, spacious
reading area, and adequate support from the school.
The studies cited in this chapter had developed the researcher in
formulating the frameworks of her study and in choosing the most suitable
methodology.