The extent of compliance of the barangays in District IV, Quezon City, with Republic Act no. 7743

• Main Author: Narvaez, Laurence Anthony G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Subjects: Community centers—Philippines—Quezon City; Reading promotion—Philippines—Quezon City; Literacy programs—Philippines—Quezon City; Literacy—Government policy—Philippines—Quezon City; Education Policy; Information Literacy
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/8224
• Institution: De La Salle University

The importance of public libraries is invaluable because they allow free and unlimited access to information by the general public regardless of race, gender, economic status, education and age. Specifically, Barangay Reading Centers (BRC) play an important role in providing the information needs of the people of the community they serve. This study aimed to find out the extent of compliance of the Barangays in District IV of Quezon City to the provisions of Rep. Act No. 7743 and come up with information that can serve as a reference for the barangays with or without existing BRCs to fully comply with the law and further improve their existing collections, services, and personnel. Based on the survey conducted, out of the 38 barangays in District IV, only 11 were able to establish BRC. One of the main reasons for not establishing BRCs in the barangays is the low awareness of the Jaw by the Barangay officials. It is followed by zero-fund allocation for the BRC from the annual barangay budget and lastly, the local government's belief that there is no need to establish such a facility because other centers, such as the Quezon City Public Library, are already existing to answer the information needs of the people residing in the barangay. Out of the 11 barangays with BRC, none of them have fully complied to the law due to lack of budget for the effective and efficient operation of the BRC. Since low awareness of the law is the primary reason for not establishing BRCs, it is highly recommended that the mandated government agencies devise a plan for continuous information-education campaign about the law, which will be held every after election. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), through the City Mayor, must also ensure that the barangays include in their annual budget appropriation the proper funding for the establishment, maintenance, and development of the BRCs. They should also ensure that "Friends of the Library" and "Local Library Board" have been organized prior to the approval of the annual budget Mutual agreements on facility sharing among adjacent barangays can also be done by the concerned Barangay Councils. Lastly, a National Public Library Standards Body should also be created to help continuously monitor the compliance of the barangays and barangay reading centers with the provision of the Rep. Act no. 7743.