LUCENA City—A scholar once said that the library plays a big role in the quality of education or in the development of lifelong learning skills. This was echoed by Quezon-based librarians, who believe that the quality of library contents could have effects on the quality of education. Thus, the Quezon Provincial Library (QPL) and the Librarians, Association of Quezon Province-Lucena Inc. partnered with the Department of Science and Technology, through the Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII), in bringing to the province the country’s first digital library, called the Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosk Station (Starbooks).
Starbooks is an offline digital library lodged in a pod, which contains thousands of digitized science and technology resources in various formats—such as full textbook titles, livelihood videos, research and other information materials.
The Department of Science and Technology recently made the turnover of nine units in seven locations in the province, an initial step in upgrading the province’s library collections in science, technology and mathematics (STM). Ismaelinda Cabana of the QPL said the need to upgrade the book collections of the school libraries in the country could eventually improve the quality of education. She added that students involved in research need more reference books on science, technology and mathematics (STM). In an earlier interview, DOST Assistant Secretary Raymund E. Liboro affirmed the department’s commitment in helping the state universities and colleges boosts their STM library collections, amid costly acquisitions by alternatively tapping Starbooks. “Starbooks could just be the simple solution that we need in raising the level of our aptitude in science and mathematics,” Liboro said.
Last year Encyclopedia Britannica was integrated in every Starbooks pods to broaden its users to include elementary and secondary students. DOST-STII aims to install digital libraries to all libraries and barangays in the country to help students access a wealth of S&T information for free. Barangay folks, too, shall have access to livelihood opportunities, as videos on the subject areas they are interested in are included in the collection. The turnover of Starbooks units between DOST-STII and the QPL was held last week at the Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation, Lucena City.
Joy M. Lazcano/S&T Media Service