On July 19, 2017, a total of six (6) schools in region 9 had received the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) STARBOOKS digital library through a collaborative effort between the agency’s regional office, and Coastal and Marine Resources Management in the Coral Triangle – Southeast Asia (CTI SEA).

Through the Asian Development Bank (ADB), CTI SEA had donated one (1) high-end computer unit installed with STARBOOKS to each of the following schools: Kabatan National High School, Kumalarang National High School, Lapuyan National High School, andToribio Minor National High Schoolin Zamboanga del Sur; Buug National High School, and Malangas National High Schoolin Zamboanga Sibugay.

The Bay of Schools

The deployment of the STARBOOKS technology in the area is part of CTI SEA’s implementation of RETA 7813, a project which aims to assist Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines in implementing actions under the respective nations’ Coral Triangle Initiative and National Plans of Action.

CTI SEA’s focus is on five (5) sites: Dumanquillas Bay in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Tañon Strait in Central Visayas, the municipalities of Taytay and Balabac in Palawan, and Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary in Tawi-Tawi.

The abovementioned schools in region 9 fall under the Dumanquillas Bayarea - CTI SEA’s site for Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management, which pursues the sustainable management of targeted fisheries resources by balancing ecological and human well-being through good governance.

The RETA, with support for the LGU and the local communities assisted in identifying suitable enterprises that could assist the organization’s efforts in fisheries management.

STARBOOKS

Developed by DOST-STII (Science and Technology Information Institute), the STARBOOKS digital library software is available for FREE at the Department of Science and Technology IX Science and Technology Information Center (DOST-STIC)

At present, STARBOOKS allows users access to over 500,000 local and foreign S&T resources in text, video, and audio formats, which include digitized journals, serial publications, reference materials, and other sci-tech resources found in the DOST-STII's libraries.

Local government units, non-government organizations, and educational institutions may avail of the free technology. Guidelines for interest parties are stated below:

• Make a formal request (Letter addressed to the DOST IX Regional Director)
• Ensure Compliance to requirements (IT and manpower components)
• Purchase equipment (specifications listed below)
• MoU signing

Minimum Hardware Requirements:

• 1 Terabyte of Hard Drive
• 2 Gigabytes of RAM
• Intel Core i3
• Motherboard (Compatible with Processor, RAM, and Hard Drive)
• Optical Drive (DVD-RW)
• Monitor
• USB Keyboard/ Mouse
• Headset/Speaker
• Operating System (Windows 7 or higher)
• Space Measuring 3mX4m (with specifications for physical set up of the kiosk)
• Mandatory 1-2 days training
• Focal Person (Preferably your organization's IT personnel, librarians or both)
• Provide training for clients’ designated focal person (IT, librarian or both)

The INSTALLATION of STARBOOKS software is FREE.

For more information on STARBOOKS, please call (062) 955-3654 or text 0917 705 4686 and look for Ian Avenido or Bon Padayhag. Email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DOSTRegion9