DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo saluted the inauguration of the first online science and technology library in the Philippines in ceremonies held in conjunction with the 24th anniversary of the Science and Technology Information Institute at the DOST Complex, Taguig City.

Called STARBOOKS, or the S&T Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosk Stations, this new academic resource for students and researchers shall be equipped with key access portals in strategic areas in the Philippines. Users can have access to the latest data and information contained at DOST (SciNeT), Philippine eLib project sources, freely-available online resources, and subscribed databases.

“[STARBOOKS] shall serve as our humble contribution to the world of education and science. The fact that time and distance have been neutralized as limiting factors for undertaking research is a big benefit especially for our young, intellectually curious minds,” Secretary Montejo noted.
He added, “We at the Department of Science and Technology shall always support initiatives that encourage our people to develop new ideas because of this kind of knowledge explosion, and even inspire one’s capacity for entrepreneurship and research for socio-economic development.”

Since his assumption of the top S&T portfolio in government, Secretary Montejo has aligned the priority thrusts and mandated tasks and responsibilities of the Department of Science and Technology toward providing science- and engineering-based solutions to national problems.

As a result, this outward-oriented approach has won for DOST broad cross-sectoral support for Secretary Montejo’s programs to address issues such as the recent rash of freshwater fishkills in Luzon, the unmitigated spread of water hyacinths in large waterways, flooding, malnutrition, and the availability of potable water for marginal communities throughout the country. (Alan Taule)