The UPCBA Library : A Historical Sketch

In 1954, the Business Library was expanded because of the increasing demand for its services. It covered a floor area of approximately 1,638.3 square feet, with a shelving space of 1,902 linear feet, holding approximately 8,000 books, pamphlets and other publications. The improvement and expansion in floor space, additional books and publications, and a new set of equipment were made possible the assistance of the MSA (Mutual Security Agency) which became later the Foreign Operations Administration and is now known as the International Cooperation Administration. Grants from the PHILCUSA-FOA (Philippine Council for United States Aid-Foreign Operations Administration) and presently the NEC-ICA (National Economic Council-International Cooperation Administration) continued the gifts from the Mutual Security Agency. Stanford University gave assistance by sending gifts in the form of bound periodicals, books and unbound journals.

The Business Library gradually expanded under the direction, guidance, suggestions and recommendations of Prof. W. Levern Cutler, Business Librarian of the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University. Prof. Gabriel A. Bernardo, the University Librarian, helped ease situational library problems. Donations, gifts and acquisitions continue to come in from the alumni, the faculty (including exchange professors), students, student organizations, private firms, government offices and foreign institutions. The largest acquisitions came through the International Cooperation Administration and the National Economic Council. More and more are being acquired through field trips.

To make the library operate efficiently as a service unit, a staff with a librarian in charge was appointed. All the members of the staff work on full-time schedule. From 1954-76, Ms. Elvira Gregorio became the librarian-in-charge. Since 1964, the library operated on an open-shelf system. 

The Business library continued to occupy a part of the third floor of the Liberal Arts Building till about the middle of September 1959, when the transfer to the new building was made. In the two-story Institute of Economic Development library building, both the collections of the libraries of the Institute and the College of Business Administration were in one floor, each sharing the same reading room, although each maintained separate collections in the stacks. The offices, reading room, and the stack were also on the same floor. More readers and regular users of the library were accommodated now that the floor in the reading room was bigger. In addition, there were carrels which line the ventilated side of the reading and stack rooms.

The regular staff consisted of one professionally trained Librarian and one professionally trained library assistant. The total collection has increased to 8,999 books and pamphlets which were classified and cataloged. Aside from acquisitions by purchase, materials have been also acquired through exchange, gifts, and donations from individuals and institutions. Air-conditioning of the entire building was completed in May 1961.

In 1982, there were approximately 9,580 volumes of books and pamphlets. Private corporations and government institutions continued sending their publications and annual reports. Foreign universities sent catalogues of their business schools. Gifts and donations from various sources continued coming in.

On August 7, 1972 a marker was unveiled naming the Business Library as the "Aklatang Gonzalo Puyat." The Honorable Gil Puyat with U.P. President Salvador P. Lopez unveiled the marker in the presence of other U.P. officials. During the dedication ceremonies, Senate President Puyat promised to help in the construction of an annex to the College Building to help relieve the space problem. Ms. Resurrecion N. Ferrer, Librarian-in-Charge from 1976-1978 was also involved in the planning stage of the library of the new college building.

In June 1978, the library moved to its permanent site and is now enjoying the use of the first and second floor complete with modern pieces of furniture and provision for a centralized air conditioning. The first floor houses the general stack area, i.e. books and publications, a faculty browsing room, the graduate reading room, circulation counter, Librarian's Office, and staff working area. The second floor is the undergraduate reading room and the reserve book collection. The library can accommodate 200 readers and borrowers. At the same year, Mrs. Generosa T. Domingo was assigned as Librarian-In-Charge for the combined BA/STC libraries till June 1981. Then the BA/STC libraries were maintained by ten regular staff members equally drawn from the Main Library and CBA budget.

In 1979, the Business Administration and Statistical Center collections were integrated with 90% of the STC holdings merged with the BA stacks. It was also at this time that the CBA collections in Manila was transferred to the Diliman unit. For quite sometime, the MBA collection was housed together with the Institute of Public Health Library in Padre Faura.

In July 1981, the integrated collection of the CBA and STC libraries was separated. This enabled the BA library to concentrate more on its regular users composed of BA students, faculty members and staff; researchers from other units of the university and from other private and government institutions.

In 1982, the library has a total collection of 18,430 volumes of books and pamphlets. The new Librarian-In-Charge is Ms. Zenaida M. Galang. She took over Mrs. Generosa T. Domingo who retired in June 1981. Ms. Galang supervised ten staff composed of six full-time members and four part-time. Five of the staff members were under the college budget and six from the university library budget.

In August 1989, Ms. Rosita C. Matro became the librarian of the College after Ms. Zenaida M. Galang transferred to the Main Library. During this period, the library undertook the restructuring and streamlining of functions and processes, and of determining the priorities and programs to tackle. Related library activities and tasks were defined and identified. Working teams or units consisting of the technical services and user services groups were created. Each group was assigned a team leader with the librarian-in-charge as over-all coordinator.

The BA Library is an active participant in the Library Cooperative Program with Ateneo, AIM, and De La Salle University. The library is involved in several projects such as compiling of bibliographies requested by any member of the group, cooperative indexing of selected journal/newspaper and current awareness program. 

In 2013, the UP Board of Regents officially renamed the college as the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business in honor of Dr. Cesar E.A. Virata who served as the dean of the college from 1960 - 1967. The library's name has been changed to VSB Library in lieu of the college's name.