Lapu-Lapu City government, DOST-7 launch STARBOOKS

CEBU, Philippines - The Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosk System (STARBOOKS) was launched by the Lapu-Lapu City government and the Department of Science and Technology-7 then turned this over to seven schools and two government facilities.

The launching event was held at the Hoopsdome in Barangay Gun-ob last Wednesday, and that the STARBOOKS are given for free.

The STARBOOKS contains more than 12,000 “digitized science and technology resources” in various texts, video and audio formats that can be used even in the absence of internet connection.

Edilberto Paradela, DOST-7 director, said it was first developed by their agency’s information institute and is the first digital science library in the Philippines.

“STARBOOKS is one of the DOST’s strategies in making S & T information accessible and available to our citizens. It is geared towards the needs of students, researchers and entrepreneurs, especially those from the countryside,” Paradela said.

The Caubian High School, Pangan-an High School, Sta. Rosa High School and Tingo National High School in Olango Island were the recipients of the stand-alone information kiosks.

In the city, the recipients were the Lapu-Lapu City College-Basak and Gun-ob Campuses as well as the Marigondon National High School.

Robelyn Cruz, administrative coordinator of STARBOOKS of the DOST-Science and Information Institute, said students can use the system through their schools IDs or according to the given username of their respective schools.

“Actually it’s very easy. It’s similar to the Facebook’s log-in process. Once you’re registered, you can eventually use it already, as long as the student is enrolled in schools that have STARBOOKS,” Cruz said.

The City Library and the mini-City Hall at Barangay Talima in Olango Island will be installed with the same information kiosks, said Paradela.

STARBOOKS helps in creating interest in the field of science and technology that can help increase the number of Filipinos enrolling in science and technology-related courses, said Paradela.

The STARBOOKS Project is one of the five projects selected to receive the 2015 American Library Association Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Porjects.

“We are very grateful that our mayor and the city government of Lapu-Lapu City has appreciated the efforts of DOST in bringing STARBOOKS to this Historic Resort City,” Paradela said.

Mayor Paz Radaza, for her part, said she wanted the students in her city to embrace innovation and to be “digitally literate.”

She added: “With STARBOOKS, I know our students will now have easy access to learn and get more interested with science and other relevant topics. This will also encourage curious minds to develop new ideas, inventions and innovation.”

Radaza further encouraged the youth to use social media in raising their concerns. “Social media is an important communication tool in the digital age. You might be surprised that the people who are good at social media are the young ones, aged 14 to 19. They grew up using the technology and is so adept at it,” she added. (FREEMAN)