History

The Library’s Historical Background

On June 10, 1983 the agricultural school, Baybay National College of Agriculture and Technology (BNCAT), became the Laguna State Polytechnic College with the passage of Batas Blg. 482. Siniloan was the sole campus of LSPC until 1999, when the Laguna College of Arts and Trade in Sta. Cruz and the Los Baños College of Fisheries were absorbed into LSPC. San Pablo City National School of Arts and Trade was integrated into the college in 2000.

The libraries in all four campuses all started as school media libraries, mainly catering to high school students of their respective parent institutions. As they transitioned into higher learning institutions, so did the libraries adjust into acquiring material on advanced topics. The library in Siniloan was filled with books on crop science, soil management, botany, animal science and other relevant agricultural subjects. Likewise, Los Baños focused on fisheries; Sta. Cruz and San Pablo on industrial technologies.

By the time LSPC was established in Siniloan, other non-agricultural academic programs were offered. Because of its mandate to support all offered programs, the library began the acquisition of professional books (titles intended for reference of major college subjects).

By 2010, the librarians of LSPU were: Dr. Maria Victoria A. Cabigan in Sta. Cruz; Ms. Evangeline R. Cruz in Siniloan; Ms. Victoria Welgas in Los Baños; and Ms. Levyusa M. Ortiz in San Pablo. Human resources and library staff development saw little to no change from the former school libraries of the national high schools to the colleges of agriculture or arts and trade, up to the LSPC and LSPU era. Sta. Cruz, San Pablo and Los Baños have been operating with one school librarian each to manage the service. Job-order personnel were contracted to augment manpower in the libraries. The only substantial development was when LSPC Siniloan was able to secure two licensed librarians for its campus. Until now, there are only five plantilla items for the university’s library services: two for Siniloan and one each for the other three campuses.

Gradual Growth

Library space was, for those early years, confined into converted classrooms. The reading space would be adequate enough until the 1990’s because of the small population of users, but as the number of enrollees ballooned, so did the need for expansion. Until mid 2010, the Siniloan campus library was roughly just a 75 square meter building; the high-school library would later be manned by a second librarian and converted into the technical research library for thesis and periodicals. The structural situation was relatively the same in all campuses until the developmental projects of the newly appointed University President Prof. Nestor M. De Vera began to push through in 2012.

Construction in Sta. Cruz and San Pablo City began and by the summer of 2013, material from the old locations were transferred to the new buildings.Siniloan would soon follow, Los Baños being the last to be granted.

The Library Rebirth

Today, services have grown to include multimedia and non-print services. Automated library systems have been utilized. New competencies are being brought in by the new library science professionals. The Library Director, Hoseal B. Gayman is assisted by contemporary librarians attuned to the post-information age. These are: Mr. Alvin V. Domasig and Mrs. Margarita R. Villanueva at the Sta. Cruz Campus; Mrs. Ma. Nina C. Pastorfide at the San Pablo City Campus; Mrs. Aileen R. Gayman at the Siniloan Campus; and Mr. Joseph Villimore D. Geronimo at the Los Baños Campus.

These librarians are active members of the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. and have made it possible for interconnectivity and sharing of resources with other libraries in the country.

With the growing support of the university, and its third University President, Dr. Mario R. Briones, the library now enters the new age of development. New leadership and national standards have brought in higher levels of delivering academic excellence. Recently, the first phase of the Revised Organization and Staffing Standards (ROSS) have been issued. The third phase of the ROSS is when the academic librarians would finally be augmented by providing adequate professional manpower for LSPU’s libraries.

The University Library has ever been a beacon of potential for LSPU’s performance. Its collection of manuscripts represents the best scholarly output in the province, with visitors from other universities and schools accessing these papers. As we turn over a new page with the University’s 70th founding anniversary, the University Library stands tall with LSPU students and faculty who have claimed it as their cerebral home.

Hoseal Gayman, RL

Library Director 2022