Filipiniana.net and WikiPilipinas Make You Proud to be Pinoy

At the Manila International Book Fair which ran from August 29 to September 2, I discovered two fascinating web portals – Filipiniana.net and Wikipilipinas.org.

I went to the World Trade Center early on the first day of the fair to meet a friend, and it was difficult not to miss the booth. At first, I was rather intimidated by the sheer whiteness of it all – a giant screen and about a dozen of the latest iMAC units over white tables and white chairs. Even the people hovering in and around the booth were wearing white.

But the fact that there weren’t any books visible anywhere was what got me really curious. After all, it was a book fair, right? So I decided to watch from the sidelines and from what I gathered from the videos and presentations, both were newly-launched websites purportedly offering comprehensive information about the Philippines.

When I got home that night, I checked out the two websites. I will confine this entry on my take on Filipiniana.net.

True to its claim, Filipiniana.net is the premiere digital library and research portal on Philippine studies. I’ve never seen such a diverse collection of books and materials on the Philippines. Just check out their homepage and you will see the extensive line of books and materials they offer FOR FREE on this site – from centuries-old books, early Tagalog novels, Philippine revolutionary records and documents, all the Philippine laws and constitutions from the first to the current one, and even Pinoy komiks. The materials are in Tagalog, English and Spanish. Now, how cool is that?

But I, for one, believe that Filipiniana.net is set apart from other digital libraries because of the added features. I am completely fascinated with Skool Tools, a unique web application embedded on the site which allows researchers to actually write their report or paper without ever having to leave the site. The best part of it is that it allows instant citation in the format prescribed by the Chicago Manual of Style. GREAT! Filipiniana.net actually revolutionizes the way people do research and write reports.

Kudos to the publisher, Gaspar Vibal, for this monumental project. Kakaiba talaga!

About WikiPilipinas.org on my next entry.