National Book Development Board

The National Book Development Board (NBDB) is an attached agency of the Department of Education that develops and promotes the Philippine book publishing industry. The agency was established in 1994 with the enactment of Republic Act No. 8047, also known as the “Book Publishing Industry Development Act.” As the book authority of the Philippines, the NBDB leads the formulation and implementation of policies that support the growth of the book publishing industry in the Philippines.

Among its operational plans include capacity-building initiatives, investment and trade promotion activities, grants and incentives, readership development campaigns, and industry research and data gathering.

History

The NBDB was established following over a decade of legislative efforts to strengthen the book publishing industry by promoting equitable access to educational materials and eliminating tariffs and taxes. The initiative began with public hearings on July 25, 1994, and culminated in the enactment of Republic Act No. 8047, signed by President Fidel V. Ramos on June 7, 1995. This legislation, consolidating Senate Bill No. 252, authored by Senator Edgardo J. Angara, and House Bill No. 12614, aimed to position the book publishing industry as a key element in education and national development. The Act repealed Executive Order 492 of 1991, which had established the Instructional Materials Development Center under the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS).

Mandate and functions

The NBDB is mandated to:

# Promote the growth and development of the Philippine book publishing industry;
# Formulate and implement a National Book Policy and a corresponding National Book Development Plan;
# Encourage the publication and distribution of books, most especially the Filipino-authored ones, with emphasis on writing focused on science and technology, education, arts, culture, and literature;
# Ensure the availability of affordable, quality books for all sectors of society;
# Support authorship and readership initiatives through grants, subsidies, training programs, and awards.

Organizational structure

The NBDB is governed by a Governing Board composed of representatives from the government, the private sector, and the book industry. The agency is led by its Chairperson, assisted by a Secretariat through an Executive Director, who is designated by the NBDB Governing Board.

Programs and initiatives

The NBDB implements various programs aimed at developing both the supply and demand sides of the book ecosystem. These include:

# Readership programs, such as: The Book Nook Project, Philippine Book Festival, National Alliance of Reading Advocates (NARA), ''Read Pinoy'' Tele-Radio Program, ''Booklatan sa Bayan'', Children's Book Summit, and Philippine International Literary Festival, among others;
# Authorship and publishing grants to support writers, independent publishers, and translators, such as: Creative Nation Grant, National Book Development Trust Fund, Publication Grant, NBDB Translation Subsidy Program, The Book Shelf, Great Trade Book Offset, Tax and Duty Free Importation of Raw Materials, and EO 226: Omnibus Investment Code of 1987 (Tax Holiday);
# Accreditation and support for publishers to uphold industry standards, such as: National Book Awards, National Children's Book Awards, and Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards;
# Research and policy development to guide strategic interventions in the industry.

References

External links

Republic Act No. 9521 (National Book Development Trust Fund Act)Executive Order No. 119 (National Book Policy)Executive Order No. 226 (Omnibus Investments Code of 1987)Executive Order No. 528 (Prescribing uniform fees for copies of official records and documents or for certificates furnished private persons and entities)Executive Order No. 885 (Modifying the nomenclature and the rates of duty on imported Educational, Technical, Scientific and Historical or Cultural books under Section 104 of the Tariff and Customs code of 1978 (Presidential Decree No. 1464), as amendedRepublic Act No. 8293 (Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines)Executive Order No. 189 (Transferring the National Book Development Board from the Office of the President to the Department of Education)Proclamation No. 120 (Declaring the Month of June 1999 and every year thereafter as Philippine Book Development Month)Proclamation No. 1436 (amending Proclamation No. 120 series of 199, by resetting the celebration of the Philippine Book Development Month from June to November of every year starting 2008)

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{{Department of Education of the Philippines

Department of Education (Philippines)