The Philippine e-Library Project and e-Learning

The Philippine eLibrary Project  One of the eleven government funded projects through the Information Technology and E- Commerce Council (ITECC) now Committee on Information and Communication Technology (CICT).  Conceptualized in the middle part of 2003 through the efforts of the present Undersecretary of DOST, Hon. Fortunato T. dela Pena.

The Philippine eLibrary Project  In December, 2003 the Project Proposal gained the approval of the Council. Total budget for the implementation of the Project is 166,770,000 million and is expected to be operational in the last quarter  The Project was officially off-the-grounds when the heads of the participating agencies convened and signed the MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) on February 4, 2004.

Organizational Structure  Five government agencies which were represented during the initial meetings are: –National Library – University of the Philippines – Commission on Higher Education – Department of Science and Technology and – Department of Agriculture

Organizational Structure  Each agency is represented in the Steering Committee. Steering Committee sets the policies and decisions for the Project.  Project has five components which are interrelated. A team leader is appointed to each component. Each participating agency is represented in the five components.

Organizational Structure  The National Library is the Project Management Office (PMO) with the Director as the Manager.  Policies and guidelines were laid down by the Project Management Committee composed of Team leaders with the Project Manager as Chair after which the same were submitted to the Steering Committee for its approval.  Meetings and consultations have been conducted by each team as well as implementing its respective as identified.

Objectives of the Project  To provide access to information to citizens for life-long learning;  To enrich local content in digital format for community and global access;  To build local capabilities and expertise in the creation and generation of digital information sources;

Objectives of the Project  To provide library and information services network to academic and government institutions for optimum use of resources;  To promote and accelerate the exchange of knowledge resources among various sectors of society, including regional and international users; and,  To establish a mechanism of income generation and other means to sustain the eLibrary.

Salient Features of the Project  Creation and integration of “critical mass” for the eLibrary infrastructure and services;  Project is based on current Systems and existing network of participants;  Emphasis on Philippine materials for content build-up in all formats;  Cooperative acquisition and shared access to e-databases;

Salient Features of the Project  Provision of local nodes with access to existing local facilities for better public access;  Provision of training and skills development to the network staff; and  Income generation for sustainability.

Benefits from the Project  Access to combined library resources/holdings of the participating libraries,  Access to expensive electronic databases by the SUCs at a lower cost,  Preservation of the cultural heritage through digitization of NLP materials, photos, maps, etc.

Benefits from the Project  Opportunity to network Philippine materials, research, and other cultural materials into a single portal, and  Access by the citizenry because the project leverages the existing network of each participating agency.

NLPs Role in the e-Library  NLP houses the Data Center  Content build-up through consolidating and updating of shared databases  Digitization of NLP resources is a major undertaking

e-Library Vis a vis e-Learning  With e-Learning we become productive, resourceful and reliant  With e-Library we gain quality education through sourcing from resources of five institutions  e-Library provide more advance and updated in any discipline  e-Learning from e-Library makes on empowered  E-Learning provides feedback mechanism that is essential for egovernance

Conclusion  E-Library is the magic portal to e-learning through which we expand our horizon, enhance our knowledge, enable and empower ourselves

Maayong adlaw sa inyong tanan ug daghang salamat Good day to you all and thank you