TACLOBAN CITY- The kind of public that may find useful information contained in the technology-driven Starbooks has evolved, from schools to local government units and Negosyo Centers of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Thus remarked Edgardo Esperancilla, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) regional director, during the turn-over ceremony, orientation, and hands-on training of 15 Starbooks units Friday, May 25, at the regional office here.
Starbooks stands for Science and Technology Academic and Research-based Openly Operated Kiosks, and it has been duly acknowledged as the first digital library for science and technology in the Philippines.
It is a project that makes science, technology materials available especially in remote areas that have few information resources, no libraries, and no internet connectivity, according to a literature printed in a stand-up tarp.
Among the contents stored in Starbooks are How To materials left behind from the defunct Technology and Livelihood Research Center (TLRC), as well as other learning tools that users may use for their educational and professional needs, Esperancilla said.
Recipients during the turn-over on Friday were representatives of schools, Negosyo Centers in Southern Leyte and two other provinces in the region, an attached agency of the Visayas State University, and the PIA regional office.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by the respective agencies as part of the handing out of the technical gadgets, like wifi router, TV screen, vertical steel stand, and other minute accessories that compose the details of one Starbooks unit.
DOST purchased a total of 243 Starbooks units last year for a discounted price of P 12 Million using Yolanda funds, and the giving of 15 units last Friday was the last batch that was distributed, Esperancilla reported in his opening message.
In a follow-up interview, Esperancilla said the funds used to acquire the units were part of the P 76 Million livelihood proposal he had submitted. (MARCELO M.PEDALINO, PIA8-Southern Leyte)