| Summary: | The history of books and libraries in the Philippines starts after the arrival of the Spaniards in 1521. During the Spanish era, most of the libraries were established through the religious orders to support their own religious mission. The Americans came in the beginning of the 20th century and have had a decisive influence on the education system and the development of libraries in the Philippines. For the analysis, I have used the models of Michael H. Harris and Magnus Torstensson in their studies of library development. In Harris' view, social, economic and political conditions are critical for library development in a country. Torstensson analyses public library development in Sweden compared to the United States. The conclusion of this thesis is that there is no equivalent of the Swedish emancipatory ideology in the library history of the Philippines, but rather an American liberal and philanthropic tradition. The National Library of the Philippines performs a dual function, that of a national library and of a public library. The laws regulating the public libraries are good, but the implementation is very poor. A lot of enthusiastic public librarians have little means to carry out their mission. In Manila some of the private and special libraries are very good and equipped with the latest IT-technology. The social divide is very wide, as always in the Philippines. === Uppsatsnivå: D
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