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CHAPTER 1- THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Public libraries were a collection of materials, a shelter for books, and a place to study.

However, in today’s technology, people have the easiest access in information. Almost

everything can be searched through internet and although not all available information in

the web is reliable, people have been relying to the internet for the information they need.

According to “The Digital Future Report,” from the USC Annenberg School Centre for

the Digital Future September 2004 study, only 12 % of established media, 17% of

government sites and 1% of site posts are accurate. Thorough research and study will be

hard to obtain with this unorganized and unreliable information. It is inevitable to

compare the library and the internet seeing that the two is both a medium for data

collection. But as what Joyce B. Radcliff (Serials Librarian) Library VS Internet, of

Tennessee State University said:

“The Internet is not a substitute for the library, but a search tool to be used in addition to

traditional sources in the library.”

The library plays a very important role in promoting the progress of knowledge. There

are many people who love reading. But they can’t afford to buy books because the prices

of books are very high. So when one becomes a member of a library, he can borrow

valuable books.

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A member can borrow two books at a time and he can keep it with him for two weeks.

Libraries are particularly useful for poor children. Even those who are better off can’t

afford to buy all the books they require for their studies. For instance, invaluable books

like Encyclopedias and large dictionaries cannot be purchased.(Jayanath, 2008)

As gateways to knowledge and culture, libraries play a fundamental role in society. The

resources and services they offer create opportunities for learning, support literacy and

education, and help shape the new ideas and perspectives that are central to a creative and

innovative society. They also help ensure an authentic record of knowledge created and

accumulated by past generations. In a world without libraries, it would be difficult to

advance research and human knowledge or preserve the world’s cumulative knowledge

and heritage for future generations.(Ben, 2012)

The emergence of the digital culture may have been seen as a challenge to the existence

of traditional libraries and in response to the technological innovations and digitization of

resources, the traditional forms of library systems have changed. Shifting the focus of

public library design from storing & protecting valuable paper back (hard copies)

resources to the experience of an active public space of learning, engaging and reading.

The concept of hybrid library, a fusion of virtual and haptic dimensions of space and

services, has offered one possible strategy for survival and further development of library

as a societal institution.

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Libraries are combining the access and trust characteristics of a third place with a hub

role in the community – using partnerships with other institutions to connect people with

services and help. There are plenty of challenges with this role. Community needs and the

requests of visitors are increasingly straining or overwhelming library funds; and

although many libraries are retraining staff, achieving the appropriate mix of skills is

difficult. But as the University of Pennsylvania study found, “public libraries are

dynamic, socially responsive institutions, a nexus of diversity, and a lifeline for the most

vulnerable among us.” More policymakers and government officials need to recognize

this, and incorporate libraries into budgets and plans to build an accessible-for-all

library.(Cabello & Butler, 2017)

The local government of Cavite has been formulating programs that will help each person

in the community to bridge the growing gap of virtual and traditional learning system.

Although Cavite has its own provincial library, the establishment is not enough to suffice

the needs of the users and perform the programs efficiently. For this reason, a smarter,

more secured and modern facility for Caviteño researchers must be provided, a proposed

library that can accommodate all types of users-- a study hub for researchers, a stepping

stone for the less fortunate--- A library with social integrity.

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1.1.1 Rationale of the Study

Recently, in Cebu City, one student suggested to open their public library for 24/7. In

which, the LGU obliged. The city mayor, Mayor Osmena, saw merit in the suggestion

and opened the library in March this year, furnishing it with, aside from air-

conditioning, good lighting, closed-circuit television cameras and free Wi-Fi. The

Rizal Public Library made history as the first-ever 24/7 library in the country. It is

open to all, with students given priority.

The library has proven to be a success, providing students a safe and conducive place

to study or read for pleasure after school hours. The facility’s free resources,

including Wi-Fi, books and periodicals, have become great equalizers, giving people

the same opportunities and access to learning no matter their economic bracket.

Surrounded by periodicals and books, visitors are encouraged as well to go beyond

social media for their source of facts and information, a crucial alternative in the age

of falsehoods and fake news.The number of user that who used the library increased

by 296% in a span of a year, which proves that an efficient, secured and modern

library is a vital part of a healthy and smart community.(Inquirer Editorial, 2018)

As of April 2017, Cavite province’s population is at 4.2 million with 96.52% literacy

rate. The said province has 482 private schools and 333 public schools, 815 schools in

total. These students alongside the people of Cavite will be distributed to 12 public

libraries that are affiliated by the NLP (National Library of the Philippines).

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With majority of them being inside the Municipality and the Provincial library itself

being inside the Legislative Building, the people of Cavite only has a little and almost

no access to the facilities.

Striving to give a better education for Caviteños has been a huge campaign of the

workers of the Cavite Provincial Library. For their programs to be executed precisely,

an adequate spacefor facilities must be provided. However, observing that the current

space given to the library is only a small portion of the Legislative Building is

disheartening. Left in this condition, the library workers still thrives to provide the

best service they can. They believe that efficiency of a library is not determined by

the space they occupy but by the services they provide—a principle of a true public

servant. Due to this reason, this proposal aims to claim that this people’s vision for

the future of Caviteños deserve to have a building suitable to the needs of their

programs.

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1.1.2 Background of the Study

Library is the store-house of knowledge. Way back history, documents were written and

printed in paper to preserve and record data but because of the development of science

and technology, electronic media has been taking over the traditional way of storing data.

Libraries are dynamic and flexible, it grows along with the human civilization. Human

needs are improving drastically that urges the development of different kinds of libraries

resulting into four different types.

1. Academic Library

This is a type of library attached to academic institutions like schools, colleges

and university. This type of library serves students, research scholars, teachers

and other personnel inside the academic institution. Academic library is

classified into three which are the school libraries, college libraries and

university libraries.

2. Special Library

This type of library serves a particular group of people such as employees of a

firm of government department or staffs and members of a professional or

research organization.

3. Public Library

Also called as circulating library, this type of library is for public use that is

funded by public sources which may be from local to national central

government level and may be operated by civil servants.

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4. National Library

This type of library is established by the government of the country to serve as

preeminent repository of information for that country. The difference of a

National Library to a Public Library is that they rarely allow citizens to

borrow books as they have numerous rare, valuable and significant works. A

National Library is that library which has the duty of collecting and preserving

the literature of the nation within and outside the country, Thus, National

Library are those libraries whose community is the nation at large.

(Ashikuzzaman, 2016)

a. Historical Background of the Public Library in the Philippines

Public libraries play a major role in a society. All services they provide create

opportunities in learning, supporting and providing education. It is a place of

knowledge a storage of authentic records, researches and past studies that sharpens

thinking and develops new ideas that are vital for an innovative, creative and smart

community.

The country’s first public library was the American Circulating Library (ACL)

established in Manila on March 9, 1900. On March 5, 1901, the American Military

Governor in the Philippines, through Public Act No. 96, accepted the ACL as a

donation of ACL Association to the American Insular Government. Public Law Act

No. 1935 consolidated all libraries and created the Philippine Library. In 1916, the

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Philippine Library, Division of Archives, Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks of

Executive Bureau, and the Law Library of the Philippine Assembly were merged and

called Philippine Library and Museum (PLM). Twelve years later, the Philippine

Legislature separated the museum from the library; Public Law No. 3477 in 1928

changed the name from PLM to National Library. (Manila Bulletin, 2017)

NLP, the premier public library and repository of Philippine history and culture, is the

keeper of printed and recorded cultural, intellectual, and literary materials. Its wide

Filipiniana collection, books, bibliographic services, journals, databases, maps,

stamps, drawings, and manuscripts are rich sources of information and knowledge for

Filipino students and researchers. (Manila Bulletin, 2017)

There are 1,238 public libraries affiliated with NLP, consisting of one regional public

library, four congressional district, 49 provincial, 101 city, 577 municipal, and 506

barangay or comamunity libraries. Sharing of information and materials between

NLP and public libraries is through computer link-up eLib. NLP provides public

libraries with book allocations.More public libraries were built with the enactment of

Republic Act 7743 on June 17, 1994, mandating the establishment of congressional,

city, and municipal libraries and barangay reading centers nationwide. Public libraries

bring NLP services in the regions; bookmobiles or mini-libraries make available

books, magazines, and reading matters to barriofolk and rural pupils in remote

communities. Books on wheels, forming an integral part of the library system, serves

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as vital link between local governments and community members, provides access to

underprivileged segment of population, facilities various government programs, and

stimulates reading habits in rural areas where there are no libraries or reading centers.

(Manila Bulletin, 2017)

b. Cavite Provincial Library

In order to catch up with the information age the Local Government of Cavite has

gone E-Lib and installed computer on the ground floor of the Legislative Building

just across the room where the provincial library is situated. This change has been

implemented by Vice-Governor Dencito “Osboy” supported by Governor

AyongMaliksi that aims to transform the present library into a world-class store-

house of knowledge and information available and accessible to the Cavitenos,

especially students, teachers, researchers, and other clients who could avail of the

services via the use of computers.

Campana also said that there is a grand plan in the future to have a separate library,

museum and archives building , not just a space in the Legislative Building. "We as

Cavitenos have our distinct history, culture and the arts to preserve to present them as

a showcase to our future generations . We can only do this if we can build, maintain

and operate a single edifice housing all of these. This will contain all our historical

artifacts, documents, writings, and boo/ks.

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This will be our gift and legacy to generations of Cavitenos ahead of us", said

Campana. This latest development in the provincial library is also in accord with the

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)/UNESCO

Internet Manifesto Guidelines , an offshoot of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights of the United Nations which the Philippines is signatory. It aims to provide

and guarantee freedom of access to information and freedom of expression among

individuals, known as IFLA/FAIFE in international parlance. (Rio, 2009)

c. Hybrid Library

The hybrid library is a term that has entered the parlance of the library and

information profession in the past three years. It is viewed as a halfway step towards

the fully digital library. It isa means of integrating the traditional library with

thedigital library. The contemporary information user now has to operate in a hybrid

environment whereelectronic and paper-based sources are used alongsideeach other.It

is possible to view the hybrid library as anattempt to reaffirm the library’s traditional

roles in an electronic environment.The sense that the hybrid library has its roots in the

desire for more than just seamless access to traditional and electronic information,

with the aim of providing a richer information environment for users, is inescapable.

The term ‘hybrid’ is often used in descriptions of activities or services that combine

two established features. The earliest use of the term ‘hybrid library’ is by Sutton. In

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his consideration of service models, he identified four types of libraries on a

continuum running from the traditional to the digital: traditional, automated, hybrid

and digital. He said there has been or will be ‘an inevitable shift along the continuum

from library as place to library as logical entity’. The traditional library is defined as a

specific place with a finite collection of tangible information and it is geographically

constrained. Computerisation of serials control, circulation and cataloguing contribute

to the automated library and the online public access catalogue (OPAC) is its

principal feature. In the automated library, the tools point to non-digital media and the

focus remains on the local collection. In the digital library, the notion of place will be

left behind. In Sutton’s hybrid library,‘the balance of print and digital meta-

information leans increasingly toward the digital’. There is coexistence of traditional

and digital collections and the possibility for totally unconstrained geographic access

to digital resources located elsewhere to which the library provides a network

gateway. Sutton suggested staff assist in the cost-effectiveness of his hybrid library

by mediating between the users and, primarily, the digital tools.

The hybridlibrary is a useful term, but it is possible to query whythe term is required

when the term ‘library’ mightsuffice. Most libraries are hybrid. Most libraries

dealwith a variety of media and use common cataloguing and classification rules. It is

just a way of highlightinga particular aspect of a library.

1.1.3 Statement of the Problem

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Methods of learning have been growing rapidly along with the digital age and the

libraries around the world have been enhancing their facilities due to the reason that the

current situation of the traditional libraries cannot meet the present needs of the users.

This study aims to establish a New Cavite Hybrid Public Library that provides diversified

learning facilityand sought to answer the following in order to develop an effective

design:

1. What makes a library an effective learning ground?

2. What is the most suitable location and size of a provincial library?

3. How can a hybrid library bring out a sense of public-ness?

4. What architectural form can cater a hybrid library?

5. How can architecture help the image and definition of a library?

6. How can the proposal be considered as a benchmark for public library in the

Philippines?

1.1.4 Project Goals and Objectives

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The proposal entitled: “A Proposed Hybrid Public Library for the Province of Cavite:A

Diversified Learning Facility in TreceMartires City” envisioned to design an architectural

piece that answers the needs adequate to the things that the current Provincial Library

lacks. In order to achieve this goal, this study aims to satisfy the following objectives:

1. Provide an effective location and adequate space for the new provincial public

library of Cavite.

2. Design a learning space with a sense of public-ness through the sense of

interaction.

3. Re-imagine the purpose and function of a library and conceptualize an

architectural form from it.

1.1.5 Significance of the Study

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This study may provide solution to certain practical problem that existing libraries in the

Philippines has been experiencing. This is a systematic research effort that can be related

to other studies in which it may serve as a reference. This could provide additional

knowledge that responds to the needs and problems that the current libraries have been

facing. The findings of this research will benefit the following:

A. The Personnel

This study will help and provide comfort for thepersonnel inside the

library as their needs were taken into consideration.

B. The Students

By creating a student centred space through this proposal, students of

Cavite with different practice in learning can be connected and influence one

another.

C. The Educators

This study will help the educators in providing a better place and methods

with respect to an individual manner of studying and learning.

D. The Community

Through this proposal the outdated facilities of existing libraries can be

addressed and improved incorporating the concept of a hybrid library. This

proposal can draw participation from the LGU that may be the start of a new

leap in public library facilities.

1.1.6 Scope and Delimitations

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This thesis is a study of the proposed New Cavite Provincial Library, a facility

designed to meet the standards of a contemporary Hybrid Library that can cater the

existing and future programs of the Local Government Unit for the current library.

The aspects worked into were:

1. The competence of existing facilities in Cavite Provincial Library through

descriptive method.

2. The search for a suitable site along the province of Cavite that is under the

authority of the provincial government.

3. The awareness of people in community regarding the existence and

workability of the current Cavite Provincial Library.

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1.1.7 Conceptual Framework

Below is an IPO model that indicates the approach in system analysis of the project

proposal New Cavite Provincial Library.

PROCESS
•Related Literature
and Projects
•Interpretation of •Architectural
•Trece Martires City Data through graphs Programming
Profile and tables. •Site Selection Criteria
•Cavite Provincial •City Librarian •Acitivy Analysis
Library Data Interview •Design Translation
•Architectural •Photo
Principles of Design Documentations
•Site ocular visitation

INPUT •Collaboration of
related projects to OUTPUT
determine common
needs.
•Input rejoinder
analysis.

Figure 1.1 IPO Model

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1.1.8 Definition of Terms

Contemporary- marked by characteristics of the present period: MODERN

Digital Divide- the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the

Internet, and those who do not.

Digital Library- A digital library, digital repository, or digital collection, is an online

database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, or other digital

media formats.

Diversified- make or become more diverse or varied.

Egalitarian- relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve

equal rights and opportunities.

Hybrid- a thing made by combining two different elements; a mixture.

Information Age- The ongoing digital shift from the industrial onset.

Internet- a global computer network providing a variety of information and

communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized

communication protocols.

Makerspace- a place in which people with shared interests, especially in computing or

technology, can gather to work on projects while sharing ideas, equipment, and

knowledge.

Parallel- In math, parallel means two lines that never intersect––think of an equal sign.

Figuratively, parallel means similar, or happening at the same time. A story might

describe the parallel lives of three close friends.

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Parallelism- the state of being parallel or of corresponding in some way.

Perception- the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.

Receptor- an organ or cell able to respond to light, heat, or other external stimulus and

transmit a signal to a sensory nerve.

Sensory Perception- performing neurophysiological processing of the stimuli in their

environment.

Stimulus- a thing that rouses activity or energy in someone or something; a spur or

incentive.

1.1.9 Acronyms

CLAI- Cavite Librarians Association, Inc.

CPL- Cavite Provincial Library

IFLA- International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

LDIP- Local Development Investment Programming

LGU- Local Government Unit

NBCP- National Building Code of the Philippines

NLP- National Library of the Philippines

PLAI- Philippine Librarians Association, Inc.

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