Library strategies in the implementation of the senior high school program among private schools in Antique Province

Abstract

The recently implemented Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, also known in short as the K-12 program, was made a point of reference for this study whereby a survey was made on the strategies of how the private senior high school libraries had adopted to the trend in terms primarily of the visible aspects of library features. The area of focus was the Province of Antique, in Panay Island, Philippines. The study aimed to determine the developments in such areas as building and physical space provision and similar matters, information technology requirements, personnel, collection and financial support, endeavoring to find out also compliance with the published standards for school libraries where necessary. The one-shot survey design of the study was used for this descriptive-comparative research, whereby the same data gathering instrument was likewise used as follow-up interview guide that occasioned the ocular visit to each respondent. Data compared the status of schools ending SY 2015-16 and the latest as of first semester SY 2019-20. The findings revealed that out of a total of 14 respondent private schools, 3 were from the most populated town of San Jose, but half of the total towns surveyed had one school each, and are mostly sectarian/diocesan schools. The most common K-12 strand offered was the HUMSS, but the TechVoc track was most popular in enrollment. The librarian or personnel in-charge were equally male and female, averaging 3-5 years tenure, but only 1 is a licensed library professional. Most libraries are shared by both junior and senior secondary school levels. Library space provision is only complied by one-third by the respondents according to the Philippine standards. Majority had the regular facilities, fixture and furniture provisions, and used permanent materials for building construction. Majority also had information technology tools, though quantity may not suffice for enrolments. Most of them grew their library collections by purchase, solicitation of donations, but in some cases certain former college holdings were reclassified as senior high school holdings. No adequate records of acquisition by K-12 strands offered could be traced as yet. In general, strategies as far as the space provision were: adjacent library space expansions, renovation which increase floor spaces, and only one occupied a newly constructed building, while some merely re-arranged their floor plans for more efficient functions; most acquired new additional shelves and furniture, used monobloc plastic chairs to replace wooden chairs. Personnel provisions utilized part time employees of the school among other strategies, and increased library fees for support of the library. The informational technology adaptive strategies included use of wifi- routers, multi-media projectors, updating of computer OS and other computer-related functions. For some, a new software system was adopted for borrowing of collections and easy report retrieval. With the many discovered possible suggestions for improvement which this researcher actually noted, some recommendations were offered toward a better over-all K-12 program implementation.