A morning visit to (International Rice Research Institute) IRRI library is a worthwhile away from work. Learnings and insights were gained from the tours and talks, with Ms. Mila Ramos (Chief Librarian), Ms. Ems Lansangan (Librarian, Catalog), and Ms. Lea Delos Reyos (Librarian, Electronic Resources and Serials) as keynoters who introduces the library and its services. At the same, fun and happy memories were left to me by my LIS 260 class (1st sem, S.Y. 2009-2010) as we all traveled together and had our lunch at the Palaisdaan.
Through the lectures and orientation given to us by the librarians at the IRRI library, I have learned that IRRI library has the world's largest collection of rice literature and serves a worldwide clientele from the six continents. It offers various services (locally and internationally) and gives utmost service to their clienteles.
Its services are almost the same with other traditional libraries but what is noticeably good in this library is they maximize the use of available resources and make this as a gateway to better serve their clienteles. It is also very visible that the librarians are equipped in the Web 2.0 applications and they uses this to promote the library and its services as well as to inform their clienteles. Such as the blog of Ms. Ramos that talks about what's new in their library is an active blogging of events that informs their clientele via Web. The IRRI website, managed by a librarian, is similar to the saying "one stop shop" wherein everything is integrated in their website. Links are very well working, blog is present, different databases are there, online public access catalog is integrated, open access journals are used, compilation of web resources is there, and others. Their website can be considered a virtual library.
The IRRI library uses the Millenium Intregrated Library System for cataloging, circulation, and serials but unfortunately the acquisition module was dropped due to financial constraints. I learned that Millenium is a good software and uses Z39.50 gateway. Based from their experiences it is easy to use and requires not an IT person just to be able to use it. They did not encounter any problems with the Millenium except for the sustainability and maintenance that makes it disadvantage to them.
The different services were presented to us and I was happy to know that they are doing Document Delivery System (DDS) Service wherein they deliver research articles to their clienteles via direct access from the library, electronic mail, or snail mail. Ms. Ramos shown us the statistics of the countries they have served and it clearly shows that they are actively doing the service well.
Above mentioned are some of the services they offer. They also have electronic references available on their website, the current awareness or e-alerting service, interlibrary loans, computerized literature searches, bindery, etc... They also uses Skype as a means for reference chatting.
There are many things that we can learn from the services they do and their library. It is true that in the field of librarianship, the work never stops and it continues to evolve just like Ranganathan said in the 5 laws of librarianship that the "library is a living organism". It is true that our work is growing and continuously moving and we need to adapt and be capable.
As we study and see other libraries, realization and understanding in the field of librarianship can be imbibe and learnings will be applied to a better service and work. This field trip is such a wonderful experience to me.
The travel, experiences, interaction, bonding, and last but not the least, the foods that we have shared and eaten--these are some of the things that I will never forget in my trip to IRRI '09 as well as with the said class.
Through the lectures and orientation given to us by the librarians at the IRRI library, I have learned that IRRI library has the world's largest collection of rice literature and serves a worldwide clientele from the six continents. It offers various services (locally and internationally) and gives utmost service to their clienteles.
Its services are almost the same with other traditional libraries but what is noticeably good in this library is they maximize the use of available resources and make this as a gateway to better serve their clienteles. It is also very visible that the librarians are equipped in the Web 2.0 applications and they uses this to promote the library and its services as well as to inform their clienteles. Such as the blog of Ms. Ramos that talks about what's new in their library is an active blogging of events that informs their clientele via Web. The IRRI website, managed by a librarian, is similar to the saying "one stop shop" wherein everything is integrated in their website. Links are very well working, blog is present, different databases are there, online public access catalog is integrated, open access journals are used, compilation of web resources is there, and others. Their website can be considered a virtual library.
The IRRI library uses the Millenium Intregrated Library System for cataloging, circulation, and serials but unfortunately the acquisition module was dropped due to financial constraints. I learned that Millenium is a good software and uses Z39.50 gateway. Based from their experiences it is easy to use and requires not an IT person just to be able to use it. They did not encounter any problems with the Millenium except for the sustainability and maintenance that makes it disadvantage to them.
The different services were presented to us and I was happy to know that they are doing Document Delivery System (DDS) Service wherein they deliver research articles to their clienteles via direct access from the library, electronic mail, or snail mail. Ms. Ramos shown us the statistics of the countries they have served and it clearly shows that they are actively doing the service well.
Above mentioned are some of the services they offer. They also have electronic references available on their website, the current awareness or e-alerting service, interlibrary loans, computerized literature searches, bindery, etc... They also uses Skype as a means for reference chatting.
There are many things that we can learn from the services they do and their library. It is true that in the field of librarianship, the work never stops and it continues to evolve just like Ranganathan said in the 5 laws of librarianship that the "library is a living organism". It is true that our work is growing and continuously moving and we need to adapt and be capable.
As we study and see other libraries, realization and understanding in the field of librarianship can be imbibe and learnings will be applied to a better service and work. This field trip is such a wonderful experience to me.
The travel, experiences, interaction, bonding, and last but not the least, the foods that we have shared and eaten--these are some of the things that I will never forget in my trip to IRRI '09 as well as with the said class.
No comments:
Post a Comment