Group 3's Prospect #1 : Lopez Museum and Library

“Hitting two birds with one stone” this was our group’s agenda when the whole class visited the Lopez Museum and Library. The topic assigned to us was the evaluation of a digital library or a digitization project. We thought that it would be a good idea to use the Lopez Library as the subject of our group work, it’s because the purpose of the class visit and the group work is the same – evaluation. It would also minimize the time and effort that would be expected from the group members. But we were unfortunate to go on with our plan, Ma’am Sharon told us that it was already evaluated by her other class, therefore we need to choose another library. So, there goes our first option.

Anyway, the visit was scheduled on the afternoon of a Tuesday. I need to leave work early. Sacrifices need to be made for the sake of my study. Nevertheless, there were no regrets on my part. As a librarian who is committed in delivering excellent service to her clients, any visit in another library is a worthwhile and learning experience. The Lopez library headed by Ms. Merci is into digitizing its collection. Due to limited and technological resources, they opted to outsource the digitization. We were able to witness the process being done which includes scanning of the material, conversion of microfiche collection, and the storage of digital files. We were also given the chance to try searching on the IRS that they were using. Being exposed to other IRS, I can say that it has limited features. Searching requires effort from the user. And because advanced search is not possible, the recall is high and the precision is low. The interface I think also needs improvement. But it’s also nice to know however that they are already in the process of migrating data in another system in order to have a better ISRS.

Part of the library’s services is the preservation and conservation of rare materials. Ms. Merci showed us some precious collections that have recently undergone preservation treatment. The result for me was impressive. We were asked not to touch the collection with our bare hands because precaution and proper handling is necessary with these kinds of materials.

I appreciate Ms. Merci and her staff’s warm welcome and accommodation as well as their unselfish sharing of knowledge. I also admire her enthusiasm as a service-oriented librarian after having able to witness how she provided the need of one researcher, not wanting him to leave without getting satisfied. I saw the happiness of that man while staring at the monitor upon knowing that the library has his desired information. That is really one purpose of the digitization, to aid in providing information need of users. With regard to the digitization effort, I can say that with the support from the Lopez’s, the determination of the librarian, guided by its main purpose, the attempt of having a full blast digitization is very much possible.

The experience is very much rewarding. Aside from the fact that we were able to learn something from the library, we were also able to bond with each other. I won’t forget the laughter we shared while partaking on free pizzas, courtesy of our cool professor, Ma’am Sharon. Not to mention also the love team formed which served as the group’s entertainment. So little time spent together, but the experience is worthwhile.