As the UST Miguel de Benavides Library gears up for the opening of the Senior High School (SHS) Library in its own building across the UST campus and the improvement of the Library’s reference services, programs, and facilities, and further enhancement of the operations of the entire library department, seven librarians went to Singapore to benchmark with school libraries.
They visited the Singapore American School – Middle School Library, Singapore American School (SAS) High School Library – the Khoo Teck Puat Library, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Lee Wee Nam Library, and the National University of Singapore (NUS) High School of Mathematics and Science Library.
Currently, the SHS library is located at the 9th floor of the Paredes building. The visit of the UST librarians composed of Chief Librarian Ms. Ma. Cecilia Lobo, Assistant Chief Librarian Ms. Diana Padilla, four high school librarians, namely, Ms. Kaori Fuchigami, Ms. Leonila Manuel, Ms. Lourdes Fatima Ramos, and Ms. Marjorie Irish Suarez, and one reference librarian, Raquel Lontoc, took place on June 11 and June 12, 2018.
The library staff works collaboratively with the administrators, faculty members, and stakeholders to support the curriculum and to encourage a lifelong love for reading. Also, it offers a diverse range of print and electronic resources and provides innovative library facilities.
A group of high school librarians visited the Singapore American School (SAS) High School Library – the Khoo Teck Puat Library, which offers a wide variety of resources tailored to support the SAS curriculum and student interests. It has subscription of online databases; 30,000 printed books; magazines and collections on the rich history of SAS. A tour of the facility was conducted by Mr. Jess Loo, librarian, and Ms. Simonette Torreon, library staff. Another group went to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Lee Wee Nam Library.
At the NTU, the librarians saw a wide range of materials on engineering and science. The library provides a variety of learning spaces and facilities for different needs such as dual screen monitors, mini-cinema, learning pods, recording room, learning commons, and research commons. Information literacy programs are also offered to its clientele. The Library follows the ‘e-copy first’ policy in terms of the acquisitions of library materials. Mrs. Hazel Loh, deputy director, and Ms. Nurashikin Binte Mohamed Jasni, assistant librarian in-charge of Communication & Outreach, received the group.
The visit to the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science Library took place on June 12. Mr. Eric Francis Valles, English language and literature teacher, and Ms. Sheela Peranandam, assistant library executive, met the librarians.
The library is a first-of-its-kind high school in Singapore developed and managed by a University, which aims to provide a stimulating environment for students with special aptitude in mathematics and science. The other librarians explored the NUS Central Library where they received by Ms. Hashimah Johari, deputy university librarian who also facilitated the library tour. The group saw the spacious reading areas, modern facilities, and vast collections of library materials. The tour was followed by a discussion on the library programs and technological concerns of the library.
This visit, organized by the Library Committee on Professional Training and Development headed by Jonas Sahagun, was also conducted to establish linkage with other libraries for future collaborative undertakings.
