Policies, Standards and Guidelines for the Academic Law Libraries of Law Schools

March 15, 2018

LEB MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 16, S. 2018

 

In accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 7662, entitled the "Legal Education Reform Act of 1993," and pursuant to LEB Resolution No. 2018-207, adopted during the 80th En Banc meeting of the Legal Education Board on February 13, 2018, the following policies, standards and guidelines for the academic law libraries of law schools are hereby adopted:

SECTION 1. Policies. — The academic law library is an integral and indispensable part of law schools. It serves the vital function of directly supporting the instruction, research, and extension components of the law program(s). To maintain its accreditation, a law school shall be provisioned with an academic law library sufficient to meet the needs of students, law faculty members, and researchers.

SECTION 2. Location. — As far as practicable, the academic law library of a law school shall be maintained separately from the main or other libraries of the higher education institution, and situated within or adjacent to the school building used by the law school. When the academic law library is incorporated into the main or other libraries of the higher education institution, an enclosed area shall be designated for the law collection with its own reading area for the principal use of law students and members of the law school faculty.

SECTION 3. Size and Seating Capacity. — The academic law library shall be of such size and dimension as to adequately contain the entire law collection and seat comfortably fifteen percent (15%) of the entire student population of the law school at any given time.

SECTION 4. Physical Facilities. — The academic law library shall be furnished with appropriate and functional furniture, such as carrels, chairs, desks, book shelves, and transaction counter.

SECTION 5. Law Faculty Section. — A section of the academic law library shall be specially designated for the exclusive reading area of faculty members.

SECTION 6. Operating Hours. — The daily operating hours of the academic law library of a law school shall not be less than 6 hours during regular class days. If the law student population exceeds 200 students, the daily operating hours of the academic law library shall be at least 8 hours per day. It shall open at least two (2) hours before the start of the first class in the day, unless the library opens before 8 o'clock in the morning.

SECTION 7. Library Staff and Personnel. — There shall be at least one (1) full-time licensed librarian designated as law librarian to attend to the academic law library during its operating hours. If the law librarian is also the librarian for the main or other libraries of the higher education institution, a full-time library support staff with appropriate academic training shall be employed to attend to the academic law library during its operating hours.

SECTION 8. Staff Training and Development. — Unless the law librarian possesses a basic law degree, he/she shall be required to possess training in legal bibliography, legal research, and law library management conducted by a professional association of law librarians. The law librarian shall also keep abreast with the developments and trends in the management of law libraries by maintaining membership in at least one professional association of law librarians, and regularly attend relevant trainings.

SECTION 9. Library Collection. — All academic law libraries shall maintain the following titles of books and law materials as part of their basic collection:

a) General law reference books — 1 title each of a —

a.1) Law dictionary

a.2) Law thesaurus

a.3) Legal encyclopedia

a.4) Legal forms

a.5) Legal maxims

a.6) Manual of legal citations

b) Sources of statutes and administrative regulations

b.1) Primary sources — (i) Statutes and administrative regulations as published in the Official Gazette and/or National Administrative Register, and (ii) publication of regulations and/or rulings by government agencies (such as, but not limited to, the Supreme Court, Securities and Exchange Commission, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Commission on Elections, and the Civil Service Commission)

b.2) Secondary sources — 2 titles/sets within 5 years from copyright dates of all published codal books and compilation of related laws, like the Family Code, Labor Code, National Internal Revenue Code, New Civil Code, Revised Penal Code, Rules of Court, Commercial Laws, and Land Laws.

c) Court/case reporter — 1 complete set of case/court reporter for decisions of the Philippine Supreme Court from 1901 to the present.

d) Textbooks — 2 titles of books within 5 years from copyright dates for every subject in the law curriculum.

e) Review books — 2 titles of bar review books/materials within 5 years from copyright dates for every subject area covered in the bar examinations.

f) Law Journals — Current subscriptions or exchange agreements to at least 2 locally-published law journals of law schools, bar and professional organizations, and commercial publishers.

SECTION 10. Required Copies. — Except for the books and other law materials covered in Sub-sections 9.a, 9.c, and 9.f above for which one copy or set shall be required, academic law libraries shall maintain in its collection at least 2 copies for every title of the required printed books and law materials. The law materials listed in Sub-section 9.b.1 may be supplied in either printed or electronic format, or via online and digital resources.

SECTION 11. Additional Titles and Copies. — Law schools with a student population exceeding 200 students shall be required to add:

a) 1 copy per required title of books and law materials covered by Sub-sections 9.a, 9.d, and 9.e for every ONE HUNDRED (100) additional students or fraction thereof; and

b) 1 title within 5 years from the copyright date of law books and materials for every TWO HUNDRED (200) additional students or fraction thereof.

SECTION 12. Online and Digital Resources. — The academic law libraries of law schools with student population exceeding 200 in a semester shall be furnished with the following online/digital resources:

11.1) Subscription to an online or digital case reporter, and sources of statutes at the ratio of 1 for every 50 students; and

11.2) Subscription to online foreign-published law journals at the ratio of 1 title for every 100 students. A printed copy of the international journal may be substituted for an online subscription.

SECTION 13. Internet Access. — The academic law libraries shall be provisioned with reliable internet connection with a downloading speed of at least one (1) mbps and at least 2 internet workstations. Where wireless internet connection is not available to students, the required number of internet workstations shall be increased to such number equivalent to the ratio of 1 for every 50 students.

SECTION 14. Cataloguing and Indexing. — The books and resources in the academic law library shall be classified using an accepted standard in the classification of books, such as the Library of Congress, or the Dewey Decimal Classification System, or the Los Angeles Classification System. An Online-Public-Access (OPAC) system shall be provided for use in research. Journals, periodicals, and other documents shall also be indexed for better access to law materials.

SECTION 15. Intellectual Property. — Academic law libraries shall adopt and implement appropriate regulations and measures to effectively enforce the observance of intellectual property rights of authors, publishers, and other individuals in published articles, books and other legal materials. Towards this end, the law librarian shall coordinate with the dean of the law school in formulating the disciplinary regulations against infringement of intellectual property rights by students and faculty members alike.

SECTION 16. Transitory Provision. — Non-compliant law schools shall be given three (3) months within which to meet the requirements of this memorandum order. Law Schools needing more time to comply may be given by the LEB extension of up to six (6) months, provided the law school submits a gradual compliance plan acceptable to the LEB before the expiration of the initial 3-months period. In highly meritorious cases only, an additional extension up to another 6 months may be allowed by the LEB.

SECTION 17. Non-compliance. — Failure to comply with any provision of this Memorandum Order shall constitute non-compliance with the prescribed minimum standards for the law program, which shall be subject to the appropriate administrative sanctions pursuant to LEBMO Nos. 1 and 2.

SECTION 18. Separability Clause. — If any portion of this Memorandum Order is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall remain valid and effective.

SECTION 19. Effectivity. — This Memorandum Order shall become effective fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation and deposit of a copy in the National Administrative Register of the University of the Philippines Law Center.

Issued under the seal of the Legal Education Board this March 15, 2018 in Quezon City, Philippines.

(SGD.) EMERSON B. AQUENDEChairman