STARBOOKS launched

Knowledge at your fingertips.

The Department of Science and Technology’s Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) introduced its project STARBOOKS during the SyenSaya 2013 at the Copeland Gymnasium of the University of the Philippines Los Baños on July 31-August 2.

The Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosk Stations (STARBOOKS) is a digital integrated library that can permanently store and regularly update information. It is DOST’s strategy in making Science and Technology information accessible to the public. It is a stand-alone kiosk that operates offline and provides free access to information mainly for public libraries in the country.

According to Annie Lynn Bacani, administrative coordinator of the project, it has offline database that holds 500,000 titles of digitalized journal, reference materials, annual reports, serial publications, technical and group reports, theses and dissertations, and directories of DOST-STII’s library materials. It also contains almost 170 videos of other DOST projects.

Using STARBOOKS, students can now get Science and Technology (S&T) information, save it on their USB flash drives or even print them out.

The first recipients of the STARBOOKS project are the towns from Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Masbate, Romblon, and Negros Oriental. These regions are included in the top 20 poorest provinces in the country based on the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB).

Installation of STARBOOKS is free. Interested local government units, non-government agencies, companies and educational institutions just need to provide their own computer units and request installation at their regional DOST office.

The project STARBOOKS is one of DOST’s initiatives in promoting Science and Technology to the general public and for the students to be interested in taking courses related to S&T. It aims to aid students in their research and increase their interest and chances of getting scholarships in Science and Technology schools. (Noli A. Magsambol III)

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