Information system of the Franciscan Custody of St. Anthony of Padua in Southern Philippines / Salvador Diaz Cerbito, OFM.

Computer print-out

Thesis ( Master of Science in Library and Information Science) -- USC, April 2016.

Includes bibliographical references.

This study sought to assess the existing practices of the Franciscan Information Centers in the Custody of St. Anthony of Padua, Southern Philippines in relation to collection, organization, accession, preservation and conservation of pertinent records and information sources in order to identify strengths and weaknesses.
The descriptive research was used with survey questionnaires distributed to 50 respondents in 14 Friary Information Centers in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Less than 50% of the respondents were involved in the management of information sources, particularly archives. The financial record was the document well-kept while land titles and deeds of donations were the least. Respondents write and create information for the information centers. Most information centers had computers and Internet; respondents were computer literate. Submission of records to Custodial Archives for collecting purposes was occasionally observed; books were acquired mainly through donations and periodicals through purchase. Organization was mostly by topics and size; DDCS was least used. In accessing information, most respondents go directly to the shelves first and check the Internet, second. Newsletters and magazines were frequently used while Filipiniana and almanacs were least consulted. In preservation and conservation, photocopying was the major practice.
Digitization and automation can be the solution to the weaknesses of the friary information centers. Thus, an Information System design for the Custody of St. Anthony of Padua was proposed.