Effects of Library Services on the Achievement of Students

THE EFFECT OF USING THE LIBRARY SERVICES ON
THE ACHIEVEMENT OF GENERAL ENGINEERING STUDENTS

A Research Paper Presented To
The Faculty of English Department

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in English 254 - Technical Writing
In General Engineering Department

By
Gutierrez, Jerome G.
Laqui, Niño B.
Hernandez Peter, John L.
Fajardo, Marc Quinn M.
Malaluan, Geric

March 2013
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SHEET

We would like to acknowledge and extend our heartfelt gratitude to the following persons who have made the completion of this research work a reality: * To our Instructress Mrs .Helen dela Guardia, subject adviser for her kindness, generosity, support and guidance to the researchers throughout the making of this study. * To Mr. Marc Balandra for lending us his room as our research venue. * To Mr. Greg Terrones Mueco an English teacher of Bayorbor National High School for the help he had given to the researchers especially for the information that were needed in the study. * Our loving parents, for their moral and financial support, for the love and inspiration they have given us to pursue our study. * Our friends, for the support and assistance they shared with us during the course of our study. And lastly, to our Almighty God who has given us the strength, faith, guidance, knowledge and for making us strong in times of difficulties.

THE EFFECT OF USING THE LIBRARY SERVICES
ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF GENERAL ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Abstract
The school library has long been considered a very essential tool in improving the academic capabilities of students. Many researchers have already proven this point. However, with the advent of modern technology particularly the Internet, the researchers would still like to prove if the library is still as beneficial to students as it was before. This research study seeks to determine the effects of using the library services on the achievement of General Engineering students of Batangas State University (BSU) – Main I. It aims to find whether the frequency of students use of the school library will have a bearing on their academic performance Furthermore, this study also aims to determine the kind of library materials being used by the General Engineering students of BSU. This research uses the Experimental and Control groups design to determine if there is a significant difference on the mean achievement of those students who use the library services and those who do not. The respondents of the study are the 30 General Engineering students of BSU-Main Campus I who were divided into two groups with 15 members each for the experimental and control. The results of the study showed that the mean grade of students who use the library services are significantly higher than those who do not use the library. It was also found out that most GE students use books, encyclopedia and periodicals in the library. It is therefore concluded that the use of the school library has a positive effect on the achievement of General Engineering students and that library services are still very beneficial to students.
Chapter 1:
Introduction
A library is an organized collection of information resources made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material, and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both. A library 's collection can include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, microform, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-books, audio books, databases, and other formats. Libraries range in size from a few shelves of books to several million items.
A library is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, a corporation, or a private individual. Public and institutional collections and services may be intended for use by people who choose not to — or cannot afford to — purchase an extensive collection themselves, who need material no individual can reasonably be expected to have, or who require professional assistance with their research. In addition to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are experts at finding and organizing information and at interpreting information needs. Libraries often provide quiet areas for studying, and they also often offer common areas to facilitate group study and collaboration. Libraries often provide public facilities for access to their electronic resources and the Internet. Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources. They are extending services beyond the physical walls of a building, by providing material accessible by electronic means, and by providing the assistance of librarians in navigating and analyzing very large amounts of information with a variety of digital tools Background of the Study Numerous studies have demonstrated a link between student achievement and the use of library services (www.accesola.com) Studies have also shown that reading and researching are significant factors in improving student performance not only in literacy, but also in science and mathematics as well.
At the Batangas State University – General Engineering Department, majority of students come from low-income families. This causes difficulty among students in acquiring books and reference materials which they need to perform better in their academic subjects. Thus, many students are at risk of getting low marks or worse, failing grades because of lack of study materials. Meanwhile, the continuous and rapid information explosion and development in science and technology have required Engineering students to use information sources such as volumes of periodicals, electronic resources and reference books. These library materials contain latest information that can help GE students be updated and in the subject field and the developments taking place in different subject especially the major ones. While computer shops outside the BSU campus provide online services that can connect students to various websites related to their field of studies, library services, aside from being cost-free, still offer the opportunities to develop love for reading and instill focus on studying.
It is with this premise that the researchers became interested in looking into the effects of using the library services to the academic achievement of General Engineering students of BSU-Main Campus. General engineering students are fond of using library facilities as their major source of information for their assignments, projects, research paper, feasibility study and other information related works. Batangas State University Main Campus I library serves as a place for students like General engineering students to do independent works, use computer equipments and research materials: host special events like tutoring and testing. Conceptual Framework

Statement of the Problem
This research study seeks to determine the effects of using the library services on the academic achievement of General Engineering students of BSU- Main Campus I. Specifically it aims to answer the following questions :
1. What are the available library services that can be used by General Engineering students?
2. Does the library have enough books and references for General Engineering students?
3. Are the library services commensurate with the library fee collected from General Engineering students?
4. How often do General Engineering students use the school library?
5. What is the mean achievement of General Engineering students in their major subjects?

Hypothesis In view of the aforementioned problems, the hypothesis that the use of school library has significant effect on the achievement of BSU-GE students will be tested.

Significance of the Study The results of this study would benefit the following groups of people: 1. The students – They will realize the importance of using the school library in their studies. Furthermore, students will also save money because library services is part of the school fees that they paid upon enrolment. They are also assured of authentic data written in books compared to some Internet sites that provide false information. 2. The teachers – They will find fulfilment and pride in the sense that their students spend time in researching for the topics / lessons that they teach. 3. The parents – For economic reason, expenses of their children will be minimized as students will choose to use library services rather than the Internet. Moreover they are assured that their children are safe from the possibility of using non-educational Internet sites. 4. The school – Better academic achievement will mean higher possibility of developing future board passers thereby creating excellent image. Scope and Delimitations |
This study is focused on the frequency of using the library by 2nd year General Engineering Students of Batangas State University Main Campus I and its effects on their achievement based in the results of their examinations in major subjects only.
Furthermore it will dwell on the library services frequently used by the General Engineering Students such as the Reference and Filipiniana sections.
Definition of Terms
The following words are defined as they are used in the study
Library services – are the different services offered by the BSU Main Library to its students
Manuscript – a printed copy or document submitted for publication
Microform – a process for reproducing printed matter in a much reduced size
Electronic – implemented on or by means of computer
Internet – an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world
Achievement – the academic performance of students as a result of their works in school
Dissemination – to disperse throughout
Curriculum – a set of courses constituting an area of specialization

Chapter 2:
Review of Related Literature

Foreign Literature
Library is regarded as the brain of any institute; many institutes understand the importance of the library to the growth of the institute and their esteem users (students). LMS support the general requirement of the library like acquisition, cataloguing, circulation.
The modern school library media center has a professionally trained school library media specialist who manages a central collection of diverse learning resources to support a school 's curriculum, meet individual students ' needs and interests, and ensure that young people develop information literacy skills within the school 's curriculum. This concept of a learning resource center is both a social development of the twentieth century and an evolution of information exchange.
The ancient library in Alexandra, founded in the fourth century B.C.E., was a treasure trove of written manuscripts. Medieval libraries comprised collections of hand-copied, illuminated manuscripts that were typically created and maintained by monks and used by privileged classes; manuscripts were often as valuable as farms or houses. An early print format put into the hands of children and used for reading instruction from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century was the hornbook, typically a small wooden paddle with printed paper pasted on top and covered with translucent horn. By the seventeenth century the concept of books created specifically for young people was established with such works as the first picture book, Orbis Sensualium Pictus by Johann Amos Comenius in 1657. The invention of the printing press in 1455 promised young people greater access to printed materials, and philosophers like John Locke (1632–1704) and publishers like John Newbery (1713–1767) promoted materials that were both pleasurable and informative to young people. Yet, well into the twentieth century, books and other learning materials remained expensive and rare for most young people in the United States.
Although Benjamin Franklin envisioned a library in his academy (founded in 1740), widespread public recognition and support for school libraries did not develop until the nineteenth century when state legislatures (beginning in 1835 with New York) acknowledged the value of school library resources and began promoting their funding. By 1876, nineteen states appropriated funding for school libraries. Two factors, however, limited the overall success of these early efforts to support school libraries: the lack of library facilities for maintaining the developing collections within the schools and the lack of trained personnel for selecting, organizing, and circulating the collections. The resources were often overseen in small classroom collections by individual teachers, who could not ensure students had access to materials throughout a school; who were not coordinated with other teachers to track library inventories; and who often took materials from one building to another as they changed teaching positions. Meanwhile, the public library movement was developing in the United States, and trained public librarians reached out to address public school needs. Their outreach efforts coincided with the founding in 1876 of the American Library Association (ALA), and at the close of the nineteenth century, the professional voice for school library services to young people often had a public library perspective.
The twentieth century was a tumultuous one in which school librarians continued to address the challenges of the nineteenth century and developed the vision for school library media programs in the twenty-first century. Setting the stage for changes to come was the dialogue in the early 1900s on such educational principles as the importance of intrinsic motivation, the creation of genuine learning experiences in a field setting or a learning laboratory, and the teacher as a guide not a taskmaster. Even in 1900, these were not new ideas, but the educator and philosopher John Dewey, with the 1899 publication of School and Society, envisioned a single concept of Progressive education, comprising these elements, in opposition to rote learning, inflexibility, conformity, and competition.
Goals and Purposes
Although school library media specialists collaboratively establish library media program goals relevant to the needs of individual schools, they are guided by a mission such as that articulated by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) "to ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information" (1998, p. 6). The authors identify seven library media program goals through which the library media specialists support the mission by providing the following: * Learning activities that foster in students the abilities to select, retrieve, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, create, and communicate "information in all formats and in all content areas of the curriculum" * "Physical access to information" * Learning experiences in "communications media and technology" * Consultation with teachers in designing instruction * Learning resources and activities that accommodate "differences in teaching and learning styles, methods, interests, and capacities" * Access to a "full range of information beyond the school building" * Learning resources "that represent diversity of experiences, opinions, and social and cultural perspectives and to support responsible citizenship in a democracy" (American Association of School Librarians and Association for Educational Communications and Technology 1998, pp. 6–7).
Materials and Equipment
The materials and equipment in a library media program provide information that supports active, authentic learning, and thus ensures that young people develop the information literacy skills crucial to their success as students and as lifelong learners. Historically the primary source of information for an entire school was an on-site collection of diverse materials and equipment. However, technological changes have altered this traditional view by increasing the quantity of information, accentuating the need for strong literacy and technology skills, creating new formats and packages of information, and interconnecting worldwide information. Such developments have changed the nature of the local collection, now defined in terms of access to and delivery of information and learning resources within and beyond the school. The early-twenty-first century library media collection includes printed materials, realia (the "real thing," i.e., living, synthesized, or preserved animal, vegetable, or mineral objects in their natural state), hardware and software, online databases, production equipment, and adaptive resources for students and others with special needs.
Access to and delivery of information and learning resources has two dimensions: physical and intellectual. Physical access to library media resources is ensured when resources are usable from a central location that oversees circulation, distribution, organization, and classification for effective and efficient use, and managed according to policies that ensure flexible scheduling that supports focused and productive use of learning resources. Intellectual access to information and learning resources requires that they are matched to individual needs and interests; that students and others can find, evaluate, and use them; and that they are supported by comprehensive reference services, including bibliographies and resource lists.
Physical and intellectual access is guided by principles of intellectual freedom, legal standards, and professional ethics. Intellectual freedom is essential for students to become critical thinkers and lifelong learners who can contribute productively and responsibly in a democratic society. Access guided by legal standards and professional ethics ensures confidentiality in the use of information, respect for intellectual property rights, and equity for all students, regardless of ability or cultural considerations.

Personnel
Qualified school library media personnel are fundamental to successful programs that contribute to student learning, and a program 's level of professional and support staffing is based upon a school 's instructional program, services, facilities, and the quantity of students and teachers. Basic, building-level staffing for an effective program necessitates at least one certified or licensed school library media specialist per building. The library media specialist should hold a master 's degree in librarianship from a program accredited by the American Librarian Association or a master 's degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational institution accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. In addition to the minimum of one school library media specialist, each school program requires qualified clerical and technical support staff. The paraprofessional support staff is key to the library media specialist 's ability to fulfill the position 's professional roles. There is a distinction between a technician, who works with hardware and systems software, and a technologist, who integrates people, learning, and the tools of technology.
Local Literature
The history of libraries in the Philippines is intertwined with the country’s political history. From early collections during the Spanish colonial period to the foundations of modern librarianship during the United States occupation to the current government mandated licensing process, the library profession in the Philippines has responded to and been shaped by the country’s political climate.
Library education began at the University of the Philippines in 1914. The classes taught there did not lead to a degree; instead they were designed only to train library staff members in basic library skills. Students who desired more advanced training to become library leaders in the Philippines traveled abroad to complete degree coursework. One early exchange program was with the library school at the University of Wisconsin. The Institute of Library Science at the University of the Philippines was established in 1961, becoming the first master’s degree program in the country. Today, it is the country’s top LIS program, the only one equipped with a dedicated computer lab and publishing the Journal of Philippine Librarianship. It offers a Bachelor of Library and Information Science, a Diploma in Librarianship, and a Master of Library and Information Science. The curriculum covers “all areas of research and information science, such as information theory, information storage and retrieval, information management and analysis, information dissemination, electronic publishing, and intellectual property rights” (ILIS).
Librarians in the Philippines are licensed professionals who must pass a certification exam upon graduation from an LIS program in order to find employment. The licenses and exams are regulated by the Board for Librarians, which is a department within the government-run Professional Regulation Commission. Since 1990, librarianship has been one of only 43 professions that are formally recognized and regulated by the state. This was achieved by the passage of Republic Act 9246 or “The Philippine Librarianship Act of 1990,” which has recently been revised and is now called “The Philippine Librarianship Act of 2003” (Congress of the Philippines). This status is the culmination of efforts by the Philippine Librarians Association whose members wanted the professional prestige that comes with the licensing process. Inclusion in the Roster of Registered Librarians indicates that the librarian has “gained the entry-level knowledge, technical skills and competence he needs to practice his profession [and] also implies that the professional possesses good moral character and the commitment to serve others” (Santos, 4). As of 2002, there were 3,806 registered librarians in the Philippines.
The licensing exam is quite rigorous, with the average passing percentage about 50%. Candidates are tested on organization and management of libraries and information centers; reference, bibliography and user services; selection and acquisition of materials; cataloging and classification; indexing and abstracting; information technology; and laws and practices related to librarianship. The Board for Librarians, as the regulating body, works in conjunction with the Philippine Librarians Association to ensure that licensed librarians adhere to the profession’s rules and ethics. They reserve the right to suspend or revoke a librarian’s license to practice if he or she violates these professional standards.
There are three main issues that the Philippine Librarians Association and the National Library are focused on: automation, accessibility and digital initiatives.
The Philippines is a developing country, and while computer access and library automation is available in Manila and other big cities, small towns in the outlying provinces do not have ready access to these technologies. Rural libraries struggle to make do without the technological tools that better-equipped libraries take for granted. As one provincial librarian writes:
Instead of searching the Web to answer reference questions, I rely on several aging sets of encyclopedias. Instead of accessing patron records, I flip through the borrowers ' cards fastened with paper clips and filed in a wooden box (Doyle, 50).
Librarians in the Philippines are also concerned about accessibility. As of 2002, there were only 507 municipal libraries serving 1,509 municipalities. These municipal libraries often receive little funding from the local government. One mandate of the National Library of the Philippines is to support and upgrade local libraries’ facilities and collections and so each year it supplies local libraries with reference books and other reading material. The National Library also runs a Bookmobile program, with 13 bookmobiles that travel to remote regions of the country. However, the fleet is often stranded by the cost of repairs and gasoline, as well as by the volatile political situation in some provinces.
The National Library is currently working on two digital initiatives: the Public Libraries Information Network (PUBLIN) and the Philippine eLibrary Project. PUBLIN was initiated in 1999 and aims to link local public libraries with each other and with the National Library through an intranet. The goal is to have staff computers in all local libraries to facilitate information and resource sharing so that interlibrary loans and patron requests become more automated. Currently about 100 libraries are connected through this network. The Philippine eLib was launched in 2005 as a collaborative project of the National Library, the University of the Philippines, and several other educational organizations. It is an electronic resources portal that is accessible via the National Library’s website. Here, users can access the online catalogs of the participating libraries; digitized Filipiniana materials; and full-text articles found in subscription electronic databases.

Chapter 3:
Methodology
The study is aimed at investigating the effect of using the library services on
Academic achievement of Second Year General Engineering students of Batangas State University (BSU-Main I). It is anexperimental study and the purpose is to explore the effectiveness of using the library services on student’s achievement.
3.1 METHOD OF RESEARCH This study used the Experimental and Control group design where the achievement of the two groups were compared based on the Midterm Grades they obtained in all their subjects during the Second Semester of S.Y. 2012-2013.
3.2 POPULATION
Second Year General Engineering students of BSU-Main 1 during S.Y. 2012-2013 constituted the target population of the study.
3.3 SAMPLE
The sample consisted of 30 regular General Engineering students of BSU-Main I during the second semester of S.Y 2012-2013. They were assigned to experimental and control group by matching them on the basis of their General Weighted Average during the First Semester of S.Y. 2012-2013. Each group is comprised of 15 male students.
The GE students of were chosen with the cooperation of the head and on the basis of their being regular students of the GE Curriculum. The experimental and the control group are said to have same qualification as they all belong to regular classes aside from the fact that the mean of their GWA during the First Semester are almost equal at ______.
3.4 RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
In order to measure the equality of achievement of sample students before he study, a questionnaire was developed to gather their grades in all subjects during the First Semester of the School Year. The GWA of each student was computed and the Mean GWA of both control and experimental groups were also calculated. The results showed that the two groups of respondents have no significant difference in terms of academic achievement.
The control group consisted of 15 students who never used or who used the library services only once during the semester while the experimental group consisted of 15 students who used the library at least thrice a month. These data were collected using the Questionnaire (see Appendix) developed by the researchers. Aside from these data, the following were also derived from the questionnaire: 1. The number of times a GE student uses the library in a month 2. The library services and facilities frequently used by the GE students 3. The General Weighted Average (GWA) of GE students during the
First Semester of SY 2012-2013 and Midterm of SY 2012-2013
To maintain the reliability of the results, each group was informed that they are being subjected to a study. The control group, as based on their responses, said that all of them never go to the library or the least number of time they ever visited the library is once. On the other hand, the researchers also made sure that the experimental group is composed of 15 students who go to the library at least thrice a month to the least and 10 at most. 4.5 DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE
The following procedure was adopted to conduct the experiment: 1. The permission of the Associate Dean, Dr. Gil Barte and the Director for Research and Development of BSU-Main Campus I to conduct interview and gather data from GE students were obtained, 2. The researchers met with the two groups separately to inform them that they will be the respondents to a research study. 3. Questionnaires were given to the respondents on two (2) different occasions to gather the data needed. 4. Data were consolidated by the researchers.

4.6 STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF DATA
The mean of the General Weighted Average of the control group and the experimental group during the First Semester of SY 2012-2013 were obtained. Using the t-test, the two mean grades showed that there is no significant difference between the academic capacity of the two groups thereby making them on the same footing prior to the treatment. The treatment applied to the experimental group was the visit of each respondent to the library during the entire first half of the Second Semester. Afterwards the midterm grades of the control group and the experimental group were obtained. The mean grades were computed and were compared using the t-test. At the level of significance of 0.5, it was found out that the mean grade of the experimental group or the group who used the school library at least 3 times a month is significantly higher than those who belong to the control group. It can be said therefore that based on the mean grades of the two groups, the use of library services has significant effect on the achievement of GE students of BSU-Main Campus I.

Chapter 4
Results and Discussions A. RESULTS
The results of the study showed that the mean grade of the control group during Midterm of Second Semester of SY 201-2013 is 2.87 while the mean grade of GE students under the experimental group is 2.42. Using the t-test at .05 level, it can be said that the difference between the two mean grades is significant. The table below shows the grades of the 15 students under the control group and the grades of 15 students under the experimental group.
CONTROL GROUP MIDTERM GRADE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP MIDTERM GRADE FOR THE SECOND SEMESTER FOR THE SECOND SEMESTER (S.Y. 2012-2013) (S.Y. 2012-2013) Student No. | Grade | 1 | 2.25 | 2 | 2.15 | 3 | 2.25 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2.4 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 2.25 | 8 | 1.98 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 2.25 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 2.1 | 13 | 1.97 | 14 | 2.5 | 15 | 2 | MEAN GRADE | 2.14 |

Student No. | Grade | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2.5 | 3 | 2.97 | 4 | 2.75 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 2.75 | 8 | 2.9 | 9 | 2.75 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 2.87 | 12 | 2.68 | 13 | 2.75 | 14 | 2.75 | 15 | 2.75 | MEAN GRADE | 2.83 |

Using the test of significance (t-test) in Microsoft Excel, it was found out that the mean of the control group and the experimental group are significantly different. B. DISCUSSION
The results of the test is an indication that the continuous use of library services by the General Engineering students will improve the academic performance significantly. While the Internet provides endless information, the books that the library provides are still more reliable. Moreover, the personal touch given by the library staff as well as their assistance to the student –researchers contribute much to the students’ quality use of library services.

Chapter 5
Conclusion and Recommendation

CONCLUSION The researchers hereby conclude that the use of the library services has a significant effect on the academic achievement of General Engineering students of the Batangas State University – Main Campus I. It is also concluded that the kinds of materials that the library offers to the students include: books, encyclopedia and periodicals and that these materials contribute much to the academic performance of students.

RECOMMENDATION In consideration of the findings of this study, the researchers make the following recommendations : 1. That the university library develops a more improved and upgraded library services particularly for General Engineering students 2. That General Engineering students utilize the library services as more reliable sources of information. 3. That another study is conducted to determine if the same results will be obtained if the subjects or respondents come from other departments.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
© Department for Education & Skills and
Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives & Libraries,
16 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AA http://www.oelma.org/ studentlearning.htm

<http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/literacy/panel/index.html>.

<http://www.bctf.bc.ca/psas/BCTLA/Documents/WL2005.pdf>.

<http://www.learningresources.ab.ca/pdf/role.pdf>.

Bibliography: © Department for Education &amp; Skills and Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives &amp; Libraries, 16 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AA http://www.oelma.org/ studentlearning.htm &lt;http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/literacy/panel/index.html&gt;. &lt;http://www.bctf.bc.ca/psas/BCTLA/Documents/WL2005.pdf&gt;. &lt;http://www.learningresources.ab.ca/pdf/role.pdf&gt;.