by Tedric Garduce
Under the theme “Enhancing Experiences on Accessing Online Resources”, a webinar for the Qatar National Library (QNL) was held to assist senior high school students in utilizing the given platform for their research studies.
This event was led by Roma Manaois on September 19. The Microsoft Teams application helped gather vice principals, teachers, and students for this meeting. To start the web seminar, SHS Vice Principal Noemi Formaran gave her opening remarks. Afterward, Mrs. Maidie Acosta, who is in charge of the library on the campus, introduced the key guest for the day. Hosting the webinar is Mr. Virgilio Medina Jr., a librarian of the Qatar National Library.
In his session, he explained Research 101, which seeks to evaluate information associated with research studies. Medina also defined research as the careful and detailed study into a specific problem, concern, or issue using the scientific method.
Moreover, different sources available for free in the QNL were discussed by Medina. These included books, encyclopedias, and the likes. He then classified these sources into both Primary and Secondary for easier identification. With regards to these resources, Medina states, “it is important to know who the author is to know the relevance and reliability of a study”.
In order to assess the information available, Mr. Medina introduced the CRAAP acronym which denotes Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. This is to further assure the relevance of the chosen citations. Lastly, he made sure to remind the students to grab this opportunity of becoming a QNL member and showcased the library’s website.
The program ended with the presentation of the certification of recognition led by emcee Manaois, and the closing prayer by Dashly Marquez.
Through this event, SHS students were guided on the overwhelming collection of the QNL website, and how they can use this to safely access free academic resources in the comfort of their homes.