In "'Science Culture' Needed in Philippine Science Education" by Rexcel John Sorza, Dr. Josette Biyo—probably the only Filipina after whom a planet has been named—says that, "The Philippines does not have a research culture... Thus, it does not have a scientific culture." Dr. Jurgenne Primavera, a world-renowned marine scientist, adds that,
we can have a scientific culture, but we need support systems such as libraries and supply houses. Libraries must be user-friendly retrieval systems for published information so researchers do not re-invent the wheel, so to speak. Unfortunately, most Philippine libraries are like museums—you can see but you cannot touch. (emphasis mine)I'm not really supposed to be posting now, but this was too good to save for later. What do you think? Do you agree with Biyo and Primavera? How many libraries in the Philippines have you visited? Are our libraries, in fact, more like museums? I suppose Primavera was referring to the libraries that are open, but that's another issue altogether...
Category: Libraries
