• Index of this issue

No. 60, November 2007

The National Library of the Philippines (NLP) is at present undertaking full time digitization activity of its rare books and other materials that pertain to the cultural and historical heritage of the country. NLP’s effort to digitize Filipiniana materials is aimed at increasing access. Additionally, it will also contribute to the preservation of heritage materials by decreasing physical handling of the fragile original resources

Access to the digitized content is subject to current policies of the Institution. In the collaborative project on which NLP is a partner, the Philippine eLibrary, individual subscription or purchase of prepaid cards are the available options. Additionally institutions or libraries can purchase the content at a cost.  At the moment, cost will be assessed per order.

It started as a component of the Philippine eLibrary Project, a collaborative endeavor of five institutions that includes aside from this Institution, the University of the Philippines, Department of Science and Technology, Commission on Higher Education (State Colleges and Universities included) and Department of Agriculture. In Phase 1, around 25 million pages were digitized. This will include 35,000 materials (or around 10 million images) from NLP.

Now, in Phase 2, additional materials are being digitized that include the rare maps, rare photographs, Presidential papers and speeches, newly submitted theses and dissertations.

Priorities for digitization include all Filipiniana that are considered public domain and portions of other materials as allowed by acceptable use policy of libraries. Books, pictures, maps, manuscripts (Philippine Presidents, and Philippine insurgent Records included), national newspapers, regional newspapers, theses and dissertations, microfilmed materials, moving pictures, photographic negatives, and other serials.

Bibliographic records of these materials are available or will be made available for free through the Philippine eLibrary Portal at www.elib.gov.ph and the NLP’s web OPAC at webopac.nlp.gov.ph

Copyright (C)2007 National Library of the Philippines