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Home⇛PAARL Research Journal⇛vol. 10 no. 1 (2024)

The Library Initiatives of South-Manila Educational Consortium (SMEC) Academic Libraries in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

Christine Joy C. Cortez | Frances Wayne B. Abad | Jaypee Michael S. Barba | Carlo Zebedee R. Gualvez | Evangeline O. Lebrilla | Valerie A. Vergara

Discipline: library and information science

 

Abstract:

Purpose/Objectives of the Paper This study aimed to investigate the perceived awareness of library personnel with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and library initiatives of South-Manila Educational Consortium (SMEC) academic libraries in achieving the SDGs. This study sheds light on the new roles the libraries can serve while guiding the development of sustainable initiatives for academic libraries in the Philippines. It also aimed to know whether there is statistical difference between the perceived implementation and perceived awareness of librarians in the said consortium. Significance of the Study and Originality of the Paper With the development of the SDGs in 2012 by the UN General Assembly, 193 countries, including the Philippines had agreed to contribute towards the 17 universally recognized objectives, the paper aimed to contribute to the available data and local literature regarding the implementation of the said goals in the Philippines, specifically in the field of librarianship. The study provided a glimpse on how the librarians of SMEC academic libraries are aware of and committed to achieving the SDGs. Design, Methodology, Approach The study used a quantitative research design emphasizing descriptive and comparative analysis of their awareness and initiatives. The researchers used Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line, and Rockstrom & Sukhdev’s Wedding Cake Structure of SDGs to create a researcher-made instrument and purposively selected SMEC academic librarians as respondents. The research used a 4-point Likert scale, and collected data was analyzed through Kruskal-Wallis H-Test to determine whether there were significant differences between the level of awareness and implementation of each participating library. Results and Discussions In measuring the implementation of library initiatives according to SDGs, findings revealed that SMEC academic libraries enforce biosphere-, society-, and economy-centric initiatives. The respondents assert that their libraries actively enact measures on establishing green education and sustainable practices; on promoting information access, lifelong learning and education, and community development initiatives; and lastly on providing meaningful research services, as well as offering ICT devices for education and learning necessary in career development. The consortium’s resource-sharing policies serve as a biosphere-centric initiative that supports the attainment of the SDGs. A greater reduction of carbon emissions for the library can be more swiftly achieved should libraries engage in collaborative initiatives with other similar institutions. Secondly, the consortium allows member libraries, and by extension its users, to partake in collaborative spaces, share in educational resources, and engage in library programs beyond the scope of their respective institutions, thereby attaining society-centric SDGs. This emphasizes the requirement for increased relationships and collaborations between libraries and academic institutions, not just within SMEC but also across various regions. Furthermore, more than a reduction in carbon emissions, a “green library” should include the library’s role in disseminating green education. While libraries are inherently sustainable, however, they must adopt new roles and strategies to support the achievement of the SDGs. The study’s findings suggest the need to emphasize the importance of building smart libraries alongside green libraries to enable libraries to leverage emerging technologies to support the goals. As reported, no significant differences were found between levels of awareness of SMEC libraries, indicating a unified trajectory for library personnel regarding awareness of the SDGs. Similarly, no significant differences were found between the reported implementation levels between them. Overall, findings suggest that SMEC member institutions should serve as examples for further implementation of sustainable initiatives in other Philippine libraries. Despite the positive results, there remains a need for further local research. Research Limitations and Implications This study didn’t cover SDGs 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, and 15 as they aren’t included in IFLA’s SDG Targets and Improved Library-Friendly Indicators, which the instrument was anchored on. The IFLA’s SDG target as indicated on their briefing that their focus is only on the provision of information services as stipulated by UN Committee on Statistics with the guidance of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group. Results of the study don’t represent all academic libraries in Manila and shouldn’t reflect on other academic libraries and other consortia as this research only aims to provide the base line data on the perceived awareness and level of implementation, specifically in Manila as there is an absence of local literature about the topic. This study aimed to collect data from all SMEC libraries and library personnel. However, this was impossible due to the volunteer nature of the study. Only nine (9) out of the 12 SMEC academic libraries (75%) participated. Originally, the researchers aimed to gather responses from all library personnel, however, cases varied in each institution. This study only gauged the awareness of library personnel and didn’t measure their actual knowledge of the goals or the realities of their library’s initiatives. Thus, the researchers didn’t focus on quantifying whether their knowledge and implementation have significant relationships. The study only focused on implementing SDG-centric initiatives of the SMEC libraries from the perception of its respective librarian-representatives, limiting the perspective that doesn’t involve users, staff, academic management, and other library stakeholders.



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