University Library

The University Library aims to be a dynamic learning and physical space that supports the University’s instructional and research objectives. It serves as a common ground for exploration, discovery, and experience. It strives to become a learning organization that develops skills in creating, collecting, consolidating, and delivering information and services to the Mindanao State University community and other target clients.

Goals

1. To be creative and dynamic in the provision of resources for the research, instruction, extension, and other academic pursuits of the University in its quest to be a premier and globally competitive national peace University.
2. To facilitate a stronger and expanding level of scholarship by providing tools that are responsive, accessible, and easily adaptable to the library user’s needs corresponding with the increasing technological advancement.
3. To become a MINSUPALA information and resources hub and initiate, host, and promote interlibrary collaboration, networking, inter-library loan, and mobile libraries.

Objectives

The Objectives of the University Library will focus on the following themes:

1. Strengthen the collection of resource materials in various formats that support the curricular offerings of the University, research interests of the library users, and to keep abreast of the trends and development in education and technology.
2. Protect and preserve the University Library’s resources by developing and promoting archiving and digitization programs.
3. Create, organize, and collaborate with stakeholders to respond to globalization trends in education and librarianship through regional, national, and international conferences, seminars, webinars, training, and other innovative programs.
4. Develop and enhance library instruction programs to improve literacy and research skills of the students, faculty, and other library users for the effective and efficient retrieval of information.
5. Promote a learning commons space that respond to the different cultural backgrounds and kinds of working and learning styles of students and other library users and introduce and integrate the familiar and the new in library spaces to encourage new ways of learning and understanding libraries.
6. Empower library staff through diversified and sustained learning and development trainings locally, nationally, and internationally for them to be effective and competent information provider and facilitator of learning.

Originally, the University Library was housed in one of the classrooms in the Academic Building. Later, it was relocated to the Library-Museum Building, which was completed in the early 1962-1963 academic year. The library was well-stocked with general education books and basic reference materials. The University purchased a large number of books, which were supplemented by donations from Stanford University, the Asia Foundation, the University of the Philippines, Caltex, UNICEF, AID, and individuals.

Benifredo Sta. Maria, the first University Librarian, distributed textbooks to students in all years of all seven colleges of the University at the start of each term and collected them at the end. The College of Liberal Arts had the highest number of courses with 7,704 textbook volumes for 140 courses, followed by the College of Engineering with 83 courses, the College of Agriculture with 29 courses, the College of Business Administration with 28 courses, the College of Education with 31 courses, the College of Fisheries with 19 courses, and the College of Community Development and Public Administration with 18 courses. In total, there were approximately 350 courses with textbooks. Textbooks were used in approximately 82% of all courses across all colleges, with the College of Liberal Arts having the highest percentage of usage (94%).

Late in the year, the University appointed Mrs. Leticia E. Aquino, a former National Library librarian, as the new head of the University Library. She took over the position following the departure of the previous University Librarian, Mr. Benifredo Sta. Maria, who left to pursue his graduate studies in library science at the University of Hawaii with a grant from the East-West Center.

“University Library On the Spotlight: Unlocking Im/possibilities, Pushing the Limits”