ABOUT PLAI
ABOUT PLAI
The Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. (formerly known as the Philippine Library Association) is the only nationally accredited professional organization of librarians in the Philippines to date. At present, it serves as the umbrella organization for all library groups in the country.
HISTORY
The association was founded on October 22, 1923 by a group of six professional librarians who had studied library science in the United States under government scholarships. Its first set of officers were: vaunted scholar Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera as President; his assistant, Mr. Jose Zurbito, as Vice-President; Mr. Cirilo B. Perez, an assistant librarian of the Bureau of Science, as secretary; and Mrs. Rosa Abriol, librarian of the American Circulating Library of the Philippine Library Museum, as treasurer.
On October 8, 1925, the association was officially registered as a non-stock, nonprofit corporation. On May 5, 1989, it was renamed Philippine Librarians Association, Inc., for purposes of accreditation with the Professional Regulation Commission. Then in 1990, RA 6966, the law professionalizing librarianship in the country, was passed. With that, PLAI became the only accredited organization of professional librarians in the Philippines. In December 2008, after its corporate life expired in late November, the association was re-incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under new Articles of Incorporation and ByLaws.
VALUES & OBJECTIVES
CORE VALUES
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The Association, in cognizance of the significant role librarians play in Philippine society, commits to serve God, country and countrymen. It commits to uphold the dignity, honor and prestige of the profession and the highest degree of professionalism among its members.
OBJECTIVES
02/
As provided for in its original Constitution, “the objectives of the Philippine Library Association shall be to promote library service and librarianship.” Among its stated objectives are:
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To uphold the dignity and ethics of the library profession;
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To maintain library service at high professional levels;
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To enable librarians and their associations to discharge their public responsibility more effectively;
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To encourage the creation of libraries throughout the country;
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To foster and maintain among its members high ideals of integrity, learning, professional competence, public service and conduct;
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To safeguard the professional interest of its members;
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To cultivate among its members a spirit of cordiality and fellowship;
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To provide a forum for the discussion of librarianship, library reform, and the relation of librarians to other professions and to the public, and to publish information relating thereto;
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To encourage and foster a continuing program of library education and research and make reports and recommendations thereon; and
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To encourage and cultivate library cooperation and establish professional contact with librarians and their association in other countries.