Question & AnswerQ&A (LEB MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 16, S. 2018)
The academic law library is an integral and indispensable part of law schools, serving the vital function of directly supporting the instruction, research, and extension components of the law programs.
The academic law library shall be maintained separately from the main or other libraries of the higher education institution and situated within or adjacent to the law school building. If incorporated into the main library, it must have an enclosed area designated for the law collection with its own reading area for law students and faculty.
The library must be able to seat comfortably fifteen percent (15%) of the entire student population of the law school at any given time.
The library must operate at least 6 hours a day during regular class days. For law schools with more than 200 students, the hours increase to at least 8 hours per day, opening at least two (2) hours before the first class unless it opens before 8 a.m.
There must be at least one (1) full-time licensed librarian designated as law librarian. If the law librarian is not a law degree holder, they must have training in legal bibliography, research, and law library management. The librarian should maintain membership in at least one professional association and attend relevant trainings.
Collections must include general law reference books (e.g., law dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, legal maxims), sources of statutes and administrative regulations, court/case reporters for Philippine Supreme Court decisions since 1901, textbooks for every subject in the curriculum, bar review books, and subscriptions to at least two locally-published law journals.
At least two copies of every required printed book and law material are required, except for general reference books, court reporters, and law journals where only one copy is required.
They must add one copy per required title of certain law books for every 100 additional students and one new title for every 200 additional students. Also, they must subscribe to online or digital case reporters and statute sources at the ratio of one for every 50 students, and foreign-published law journals at one title for every 100 students.
Libraries must have reliable internet with a downloading speed of at least one (1) Mbps and at least two internet workstations. If no wireless access is available, the number of workstations must be increased to one per every 50 students.
Failure to comply with any provision constitutes non-compliance with the prescribed minimum standards for law programs and is subject to appropriate administrative sanctions pursuant to LEB Memorandum Orders Nos. 1 and 2.