Long overdue: an investigative study on the state of the Philippine public library system
Abstract Austria, M.A.C. & Lozarie, D.B.A. (2014). Long overdue: an investigative study on the state of the Philippine public library system, Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication. This thesis examines the state of the Philippine public library system. Republic Act 7743, enacted on June 17, 1994, calls for the establishment of public libraries in all of the country’s Congressional districts, cities, municipalities, and barangays. To identify whether the goals of the law have been met, this thesis provides case studies of six libraries in the National Capital Region and interviews with government officials involved in the public library system, including the National Library of the Philippines. Some cities have been able to successfully implement the law. However, two decades after the enactment of RA 7743, the law is still unevenly applied, and many libraries continue to suffer from problems such as insufficient funding and inefficient local administrative policy.