Only 5% of National Library collections online

Only 5% of the collections of the Philippines' National Library are online, its chief said Friday.

National Library Director Cesar Gilbert Adriano made the statement  when asked by Senator Sonny Angara during budget deliberations.

"I believe we need to work on that," Angara said.

"Five percent is too low, and for people in Tawi-Tawi to appreciate what is here in the physical premises of the National Library, it's crucial that we have a bigger online presence," the senator said.

The budget department submitted to Congress a proposed budget of over P158 million for the National Library for 2021, lower than its previous budget of more than P212 million, Adriano said.

Some P50 million of the National Library's 2020 budget was realigned towards the government's COVID-19 response under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, he said.

The National Library appealed to lawmakers to allocate to their agency around P47.7 million more, an amount they said would be used to fund newly-affiliated public libraries, a security and surveillance system, and a climate control system to help preserve their collections.

The National Library is the repository of the printed and recorded cultural heritage of the country, as well as other intellectual, literary and information sources.

In 2019, the National Library's Filipiniana Division served 47,886 library users. Public libraries across the country, on the other hand, served more than 3.8 million people.

In particular, its information technology division served over 100,000 customers and digitized more than 800,000 pages.—AOL, GMA News