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2006 Baguio Seminar-Workshop Highlights

The Seminar-Workshop on Retooling Librarians and Information Managers on Digital Resources, Database Creation, and Management held at the Benguet State University, ICT Hall on February 23-24, 2006 had 68 participants coming from all over the Philippines.  The principal objective was to create an awareness of freely available electronic resources on the WWW and to introduce vital database management tools designed by the FAO among librarians and information managers and to develop their skills in applying them to local situations and in contributing local agricultural research results to the AGRIS and PhilAgriNet databases. Dr. Rogelio Colting, President of the Benguet State University (BSU), welcomed the participants.  He expressed pleasure in hosting a seminar for ALAP and PhilAgriNet for the second time.  Dr. Colting emphasized the value of librarians to an institution, calling them the heart of an institution, without which, no institution will thrive.  This is the third time that BSU hosted the ALAP-PhilAgriNet workshops.  The BSU Library staff, especially Ms. Ma. Teresa Marquez, made the arrangements for the venue, food, and lodging on behalf of the organizers. The keynote speaker was Dr. Nicomedes Eleazar, Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) and Honorary Chair of PhilAgriNet.  Dr. Eleazar was unable to attend due to a previous commitment.  He was ably represented by Miss Julia Lapitan, Information Specialist of DA-BAR .  Like Dr. Colting, the address highlighted the importance of libraries to research and the current role of librarians in the light of ICT advances.  Also, the commitment of DA-BAR to support PhilAgriNet was renewed.  A comparison of past and present roles of librarians was also done. Read More

Background Information

PhilAgriNet stands for Philippine Agricultural Libraries and Information Services Network. Created in 2003, it is the product of collaborative efforts among information management professionals in the field of agriculture. PhilAgriNet’s major thrust is to create and maintain a central electronic database of Philippine technical agricultural literature and to link this with agricultural scientists worldwide. Membership is open to agricultural institutions, who are interested in participating. It is designed to complement existing local research networks such as the Philippine Library Network (Philippine E-Lib) and the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture.

AGRIS is the international information system for the agricultural sciences and technology. It was created by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1974, to facilitate information exchange and to bring together world literature dealing with all aspects of agriculture.

AGRIS is a cooperative system in which participating countries input references to the literature produced within their boundaries and, in return, draw on the information provided by the other participants. To date, 240 national, international, and intergovernmental centers participate from all over the world.

What it is and What it Hopes to Accomplish

Being an agricultural country, the Philippines has a wealth of agricultural literature which is not linked efficiently or not linkedat all to potential end-users. While library catalogs or commercial information providersor databases have captured a portion of Philippine agricultural reasearch results, a vasta amount still awaits exploration.

In the past, there used to be a bi-monthly publication, the Philippine Agricultural Bibliogaphy, produced by the AGRIS National Center at the UPLB Main Library. As far as my knowledge goes, this title ceased publication in 1991. A knowledge void is waiting to be filled. With current advances in information and communication technology (ICT), and the ever changing needs of agricultural researchers, there exists an urgent need to bringtogether local agricultural knowledge and to make it electronically accessible for purposes of promoting agricultural research and eventually pushing economic recovery.