260 RA: IRRI Library

Fun-filled educational trip to the IRRI Library

Another class field trip for LIS 260 class was scheduled on 4 October 2011 in Los Banos, Laguna. This time, the class' destination was the IRRI Library headed by Ms. Mercedes (Edes) B. Vijandre.  The library has 12 staff members, including Ms. Edes, performing and operating all the library activities as assigned to each of them.

The IRRI Library is based within the IRRI compound in Los Banos, Laguna. The library aims to help address information needs of researchers and scientists by providing a variety of services, collections, and technology focusing primarily on rice literature in any format and language. Its main purpose is to serve the IRRI community, their priority clients, as the center of information and to by providing unlimited access in an environment where traditional and emerging information services converge.

Upon arrival, the class got so excited because of a welcome tarpaulin which was placed outside the entrance door of the lirary that warmly greeted us.  Ms. Edes took charge of the class' orientation and tour. Ms. Natalia (Lea) V. Delos Reyes demonstrated their library system which is operating within the Millenium platform.  The class was able to have a grasp of the system for evaluation.  For observation of the system during our trip, we were not able to fully explore it because their server that time was bugging down limiting our use to the online catalog. According to Ms. Lea, they have just got a new server because the old one can not hold their collections anymore, but the "new" one is sometimes down too.

Unlike with the Lopez Library, the class was not able to witness the actual digitization process of the library.  Ms. Edes apprised the class that most of their clients request materials online. Their clients will describe what article/resource/title they need through the internet then the IRRI librarians, upon conversion of the materials to e-format, will send the same via the internet.  Ms. Edes also added that because majority of their clients preferred online transactions, the library would be lucky to have at least 5 visiting researchers a day. 

I had a chance to access the IRRI Library webpage.  Almost all the library services are offered online, services like Ask a librarian, Renew your books, Interlibrary loan Request, Suggest a book, Add/update data in the rice workers' directory, and some informational links like on Photocopying and printing, Off campus access and Library tour. Library Quick Links, Research Tools and General Information are also available at their webpage.

As for the Millennium Library System which is being used by the library, I can say that it is user friendly.  The home page of the system is not clogged up by so many other links giving the clients a sense of focus.  But the design is too basic.  I guess the design of the page should be re-conceptualized into something that would reflect the advancement of the library.  The system offers an advance search for the clients to be able to trim down searches for better management of recall and precision.  Exploring the Millennium system, I would say that it is much better than Alchemy and Docu 1 of the Lopez Library.  Millennium can produce hits ranging from high-mid recall and high-mid precision. Time lag is barely unnoticeable. I would conclude that the difference between the performance of Millennium and Alchemy/Docu 1 can be attributed to the bucks that the library can pay for the system developers :) 

Before going back to Manila, the class have a feastful lunch with Ms. Edes. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the IRRI Library who did bear with our craziness and loudness all throughout our tour.

The trip was truly an enjoyable and memorable one because of my crazy classmates :) and of course, because of our zestful professor, Ma'am Sharon Esposo-Betan :)