About

The Philippine eLib project is one of the first eleven government funded projects through the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC) now Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT).

Conceptualized in the middle part of 2003 through the efforts of the Undersecretary of DOST, Hon. Fortunato T. dela Pena.

In December 2003, the Project Proposal gained the approval of the Council.

Total budget for the implementation of the Project was PhP166,770,000.00 for the period of one year.

The Project was officially launched when the heads of the participating agencies convened and signed the MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) on February 4, 2004.

Five government agencies which were represented during the initial meetings are:

• National Library of the Philippines;
• University of the Philippines;
• Commission on Higher Education;
• Department of Science and Technology; and
• Department of Agriculture.

Each agency is represented in the Steering Committee. Steering Committee sets the policies and decisions for the Project.

Project has six components which are interrelated. A team leader is appointed to each component.

Each participating agency is represented in the six components. The National Library of the Philippines is the Project Management Office (PMO) with the Director as the Manager.

Policies and guidelines were laid down by the Project Management Committee composed of Team leaders with the Project Manager as Chair after which the same were submitted to the Steering Committee for its approval.

• To provide access to information to citizens for life-long learning;
• To enrich local content in digital format for community and global access;
• To build local capabilities and expertise in the creation and generation of digital information sources;
• To provide library and information services network to academic and government institutions for optimum use of resources;
• To promote and accelerate the exchange of knowledge resources among various sectors of society, including regional and international users; and
• To establish a mechanism of income generation and other means to sustain the eLibrary.

• Creation and integration of "critical mass" for the eLibrary infrastructure and services;
• Project is based on current Systems and existing network of participants;
• Emphasis on Philippine materials for content build-up in all formats;
• Cooperative acquisition and shared access to e-databases;
• Provision of local nodes with access to existing local facilities for better public access;
• Provision of training and skills development to the network staff; and
• Income generation for sustainability.