Brief History

The Academic Libraries Information Network in Mindanao (ALINet) is a resource sharing program started in March 9, 1988 when a group of five academic librarians met to discuss areas of mutual concern.  Out of this meeting was envisioned the need to pool resources and work together for a common goal.  Then on September 9, 1988, after a series of meetings, the Cagayan de Oro Cooperating Academic Libraries (CCAL) was formally organized and it consisted of five academic libraries from the following institutions:  Cagayan Capitol College (now Capitol University), Cagayan de Oro College, Lourdes College, Mindanao Polytechnic State College, and Xavier University.  The inter-library cooperation involved two basic services:  bibliographic and physical access to each library's holdings and cooperative catalog.   

From the original five in 1988, it became six members in 1993, then eight in the early part of 1988, and on September 9, 1998 during CCAL's tenth-year anniversary, nine more libraries joined in the cooperation giving CCAL a total membership of 17 libraries from the Northern Mindanao region and Iligan City.  The growth in membership of CCAL brought on the need to make the inter-library cooperation a legal entity so that it could achieve more and its activities could be facilitated.  On November 24, 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave its formal approval and CCAL became the Academic Libraries Information Network in Mindanao (ALINet).  

To date, ALINet has 51 members; membership now includes academic libraries from Northern Mindanao, Caraga, South Cotabato, ARMM, and Davao.  Click here for member information.

Activities

ALINet has been involved in several activities geared towards the improvement of the library services of the member-libraries.  Its original concept of bibliographic access and physical access to each library's holdings is still the heart of the inter-library cooperation.  To date, thousands of students from each member schools have benefited from the resources made available to them.  In addition, its cooperative cataloging has benefited a lot of member libraries and has facilitated the processing of materials.  

Aside from these basic services, ALINet has undertaken the following activities:

• Maintenance of a computerized database of thesis and dissertations of member-libraries, as well as the Filipiniana collection.  The Research Libraries Development Fund (ReLiDeF) donated a computer unit to ALINet to be used in the encoding of the bibliographic information.  

• Access to Online Catalog.  Through the online catalog of Xavier University Libraries the encoded collections of the ALINet member libraries can now be accessed through the Internet.  To search for ALINet collections just click Online Catalog.  On the search bar type ALINet, click on the Call # icon:  you get a listing of the ALINet materials.

• Assistance in the computerization of Libraries. A number of member-libraries have computerized their cataloging and circulation operations, as well as provided OPACs for the use of faculty and students.

• Seminars, Training Programs, Workshops, Symposiums, etc.  Topics explored include effective budget management, human resource management, collection evaluation, weeding/deselection of printed materials, classification of Filipiniana materials, digital reference, effective web searching, cataloging of non-book materials.

•  Free consultant services upon request.  Assistance is provided to librarians needing assistance in the improvement of their library services/resources.

• Provision of bibliographic listings for accreditation purposes.

• Distribution of computers.  ReLiDeF donated ten second-hand computers for distribution to small academic libraries to expedite cataloging of library materials.