DOST extends STARBOOKS program in Negros Oriental

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has extended the STARBOOKS program, the first Philippine Science digital library, to cater to students and tourists in environmentally protected areas in Negros Oriental. 

At a public briefing on Tuesday, Negros Oriental Provincial Science and Technology Office Director  Gilbert Arbon said the STARBOOKS or Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosks contain thousands of science and technology resources. 

"'Yung STARBOOKS nga ay library in a box, 'yung content niya includes thousands of digitized science and technology resources in various formats: text, audio, video. At ito po ay inilagay sa stand-alone information kiosks," he said. 

Its content revolves around science and technology, livelihood videos, and K-12 topics. 

Arbon said that STARBOOKS is not dependent on the Internet. While STARBOOKS Nature is the customized version that focuses on environmental concerns. 

The DOST-7 and DOST-STII are working together on building a digital library that is focused on the environmentally-protected areas in Negros Oriental. 

"Ang mga areas na ito ay Apo Island Protected Landscape and Seascape or AIPLS. Second 'yung Balinsasayaw Twin Lakes Natural Park and the third is Tañon Strait Protected Seascape which is actually shared with Cebu and Negros Occidental," he said. 

He highlighted the importance of protecting these areas, which house hundreds of rare species. 

"For example, 'yung Apo Island protected area, meron siyang 600 species of fish, at sobra sa 400 species of corals, and to think that the Philippines, the entire Philippines, has around 421 species of corals. So, Masabi natin na one of the most biodiverse habitats ang Apo Island, so that's why ito as a protected area by law," Arbon said. 

Meanwhile, the Balinsasayaw Twin Lakes is a sanctuary of rare and endangered wildlife, such as bleeding hard pigeons and bareback fruit bats. 

The Tañon Strait, meanwhile, has dolphins and whales that are migrating. 

"We want to focus on the importance of these areas because they provide, ah parang, treasure naman natin in terms of environmental concerns," he said. 

The DOST-7 will extend the project to two public schools and two units with interactive kiosks for the tourist information centers in Apo Island and Balinsasayaw. 

Arbon further noted that they have 90 computer units with STARBOOKS deployed throughout the province. 

"We will be expanding not only here in the province, but hopefully, with the support of the regional office of DOST, we might expand to other provinces in the region, like in Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor," he added. —LDF, GMA Integrated News