Philippine Journal of Librarianship and Information Studies

From Practice to Praxis: Transcending Practice-Oriented Librarianship in the Philippines

Kathleen Lourdes Obille — 2026-04-13

The Philippine Librarianship Act of 2003 (RA 9246) lays down the parameters of the practice. This serves as the guiding principle for the education, qualification, and regulation of librarianship. The professionalization of librarianship affirmed the librarians’ roles in schools, higher education institutions, public and special libraries, as well as other institutions and agencies that deal with documents and records. It is commendable that various agencies involved in the education and training of librarians have taken initiatives to move the profession beyond its practical and skill-based orientation. Adding more research courses allows students to develop the necessary skills from conceptualization, theorizing, data gathering, data analysis, and writing, so that they can become more confident in conducting various types of research. The inclusion of philosophy, critical theory, and ethics should develop not only managers of information systems but ethical, critical, and socially conscious professionals who are open to diverse ideas, who can question assumptions, unmask social inequalities, and advocate for marginalized communities. Designing continuing education programs that integrate practical, theoretical, and critical aspects should also be done to foster well-rounded professionals. With
these efforts, the dichotomized image of a librarian in the Philippines will eventually be dismantled.

The Development of the Library Science Program of the University of the Philippines, 1914-1929

Bradley Brazzeal — 2026-04-13

The library science program of the University of the Philippines began in 1914, and the institution soon became one of a small number of colleges under the American flag to offer a bachelor’s degree in library science. Twelve years later, the American Library Association’s Board of Education for Librarianship described the program as having “an extensive curriculum,” and by 1929 the program was completely in the hands of Filipinos. This article examines the development of the program in its formative period.

The Case for Faculty Status

Dridge Paul Reyes — 2026-04-13

This study examines the professional profiles, compensation, and job satisfaction of academic librarians in the Philippines, comparing these to non-librarian faculty (NLFs) within private higher education institutions. Using an exploratory quantitative approach, the research highlights disparities in income, benefits, and research output between librarians and their faculty counterparts. Findings reveal that while librarians demonstrate strong academic credentials and a commitment to professional development, systemic barriers such as limited institutional support and the lack of faculty status hinder their professional growth and job satisfaction.

The study underscores the need for institutional reforms to address these disparities, advocating for the recognition of librarians as faculty members. A focus on equitable compensation, access to research opportunities, and professional development resources is critical to ensuring that librarians can fully contribute to the academic community. These insights inform policy recommendations aimed at enhancing the professional standing and satisfaction of academic librarians in the Philippines.

The Dance of Faith

Anna Espiritu — 2026-04-13

In this ethnographic study, I explored the cultural and religious significance of the Kuraldal festival, a long-standing celebration in Sasmuan, Pampanga. My experience as both an observant and participant allowed me to gain deeper insights into the festival's meaning, traditions, and practices. This study offers a personal account of understanding the Kuraldal within the lived experience of the festival itself. I observed how the festival served as a medium for both individual and collective expressions of faith, fostering connections within the community and strengthening their cultural pride. Through my participation, I also uncovered the historical roots of the festival, which dates back to the Spanish colonial era, and its connection to religious devotion to Apung Lucia, patron saint of the town. My research aimed to contextualize the embodied information practices that were central to the festival, examining how the community conveyed and preserved cultural knowledge through these practices. By reflecting on my own experiences and observations, I was able to make sense of the Kuraldal as a dynamic cultural event that continues to play a vital role in the community's sense of identity, religious devotion, and cultural continuity.

Positionality and Power in the Archives

Maria Ana Gabriela Lising — 2026-04-13

The immediate years following the Second World War in the Philippines were characterized by construction. This construction encompassed not only the reconstruction of physical structures destroyed by the war but also the construction of an identity of the newly independent Filipino nation-state emerging from colonial rule. Among the different efforts of identity-building from the various sectors of society was a newfound consciousness from the local art community to define what constituted a distinctly Filipino approach to art.

Archives are key to building and strengthening the collective memory of a society. Various archives in the country serve as repositories of records that aid the formation of Filipino consciousness. Likewise, archives that are dedicated to art and its key figures also document “the struggle of Philippine art,” - as articulated by Purita Kalaw-Ledesma, a key Filipina art patron in the immediate post-war years.

This paper examines three active archives in the Philippines dedicated to preserving records pertinent to Philippine Art History: the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Library and Archive, the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings, and the Roberto Chabet Archive. Using methods in library, information & archival studies, it explores how women who founded and cultivated these repositories became memory-keepers of Philippine art history. By comparing the vision and practices of these archives, it discusses how these memory keepers' positionality as women influenced approaches to what these archives include and exclude in their collections. Ultimately, this paper attempts to contribute to the emerging discourse on a decolonized approach to Philippine archival studies.

Factors Affecting Wikipedia Notability of Filipino Athletes

Sylvan Dan Moldes — 2026-04-13

As the Philippines celebrates its 100th year of participation in international sporting events, this paper utilized the Wikipedia pages of Filipino athletes and looked into how the presence or absence of quality education and geographic inequalities affect the notability of Filipino sports personalities. The authors hypothesized that certain terms co-occur frequently in the descriptions and infoboxes of notable Filipino athletes, and that terms related to popular sports, urbanized areas, and prestigious educational institutions have higher centrality in the network. Information from the Wikipedia pages were web scraped using Python, while the article title, infobox, and description of the entries were harvested using BeautifulSoup and Wikipedia API. Through the pre-processed, extracted noun phrases, a co-occurrence network was built and imported to Gephi, and was visualized via Force Atlas 2 algorithm. The results suggest that there are three major network clusters from the data obtained: (1) Olympians, regional, and local athletes; (2) mainstream, collegiate, and professional sports, and (3) boxing and combat sports. Through this research, the authors hope to fill the gap in local literature on sports education and geographic inequalities in the country. The researchers also formulated policy recommendations for the Philippine Sports Commission to address factors affecting notability of Filipino athletes.

Cover

PhJLIS — 2026-04-13

Staff Box

PhJLIS — 2026-04-13