The students under the Master of Library and Information Science (MALIS)
program together with faculty members from the UST Graduate School conducted its first library benchmarking visit of state-ofthe-art libraries in Taipei, Taiwan from April 28 to May 1, 2018.
The participants were: Dr. Nora J. Claravall, Dr. Susan O. Pador, Symon Lagao, Cathryn Ann A. Dimapilis, Catalina S. Barte, Jaya Brabha A. Mahendran, Catherine D. Fernando, Loreen Daphne P. Bundang, and
Doreen A. Bonafe.
The objectives of the benchmarking trip were to: establish linkages with
counterpart Taiwan libraries; discover and learn new trends and meaningful concepts of quality library services; observe the latest technological progress and infrastructures in selected Taiwan libraries; identify and share knowledge of best practices; and promote professional and cultural exchange between Filipino and Taiwanese librarians.
A total of 121 faculty members were recognized in the areas of Arts and
Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Health and Allied Sciences,
Science and Technology, and Sacred Sciences by the Office of the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation during the Recognition Program held on March 16, 2018 at the Paredes Building, UST. They were granted the Gold Series Award and the Silver Series Award for AY 2014 to 2016 and the International Publications Award for AY 2014-2017. UST Secretary-General Rev. Fr. Jesús M. Miranda, Jr., O.P., and ViceRector for Research and Innovation Prof.
Maribel G. Nonato, Ph.D., assisted by the directors of the respective research centers gave the awards.
The Gold and Silver Series awards are granted to faculty members in recognition of their research productivity and leadership in their respective fields of specialization within the period covered by the award.
These awards are based on research publications (author by-line should indicate the University of Santo Tomas as address The four-day itinerary included visits to the libraries of Academia Sinica, National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, and the Taipei Public Library Beitou Branch.
During the visit to the Joint Library of the Humanities and Social Sciences, the UST faculty and students were met by its head librarian, Tsui Yuen-hui, who discussed the library and archive collection of Academia Sinica. In this library tour, the participants had the chance to see the library’s automatic light sensor.
At the National Taiwan University (NTU) Library, the participants were met by WeiChung Cheng, university librarian. A tour at the Taipei Public Library Beitou Branch, a community and an eco-friendly library located at Taipei’s Beitou District, followed.
The last itinerary was the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) Library where the participants witnessed an artificial intelligence
(AI) interactive display showcasing the history of the university and its services.
