DOST deploys mobile multimedia research kiosks

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is looking to deploy some of its on-site research kiosks to ten provincial libraries in the country, in a bid to bring relevant resource materials to people who need them the most. In a statement, DOST said that three units of computers with touch screen monitors will also be installed under the S&T Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosks Stations project, or STARBOOKS for short. STARBOOKS is a standalone, on-site research kiosk that will provide science and technology information for academic and livelihood use, the agency said. But unlike other information resource kiosks, DOST's STARBOOKS doesn't need Internet connection to retrieve information, as scientific data are already stored on a server that comes with the kiosk. Information accessed through it can also be printed or saved using a USB flash disk, the agency added. “STARBOOKS offers access to hundreds of thousands of book titles from the STII library alone," explained DOST's Science and Technology Information Institute Director Raymund Liboro. DOST-STII's library currently houses about 500,000 titles of journals, reference materials, theses and dissertations and project reports, among others. Aside from text content, STARBOOKS will also feature various videos on DOST-developed technologies for potential science-based businesses. At least 171 technology videos are already available for viewing on STARBOOKS kiosks, DOST said. "The videos range from food processing to laundry soap making and other livelihood materials," it added. “We hope that every barangay in the country will adopt a STARBOOKS kiosk to make S&T information accessible to every Filipino. We expect that this project will spur a wave of S&T enthusiasts and entrepreneurs," Liboro said, adding that they are committed to continuously build on the content offered through the S&T kiosks. — TJD, GMA News