HISTORY
The College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT) traces its roots to the former Department of Agricultural Engineering created in 1912 as one of the departments of the UP College of Agriculture. In 1976, the Department of Agricultural Engineering was elevated to the Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (INSAET).
It was in 1979 when Dr. Reynaldo M. Lantin, College Dean, initiated the establishment of library to be the depository of books, serials and other reading materials wherein most of the collections were gifts and donation by the faculty and staff from other departments of the College. Ms. Sophie L. Merin, an administrative staff was then the library in-charge and some volunteered faculty of the College. The library had an initial seating capacity of 30 students. It is located at the CEAT Building A, UPLB.
Reading rooms were also established at the 1) Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering and Technology (LAWREAT), 2) The Agricultural Mechanization Development Program (AMDP) of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, 3) Agrometeorology (AGMET) and 4) Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation Center (AMTEC). The collections include manuscripts and theses of the department and some reference materials provided by the faculty. These reading rooms were managed by their respective administrative staff and some faculty volunteers.
In 1998, the first computerization of the library was implemented through the Library Management System named, “Catalyst” using MS ACCESS, which was developed by Engr. Jasper Tallada. Using Catalyst, the library resources were systematically organized and easily accessible by the users. With the library management system, the acquisition, cataloguing, charging and discharging of library resources are systematically done and provide excellent service as well as time saving. Library holdings are all computerized and bar coded, classified and catalogued according to the Library of Congress Classification Scheme. (jcelauria)
In 2003, the CEAT Library was able to provide 8 computer workstations with Internet access. The use was free of charge for research purposes and for a maximum of one hour per day per students.
It was in September 2005 that the Library settled in its permanent quarters at CEAT Electrical Engineering Building along Pili Drive. It has a floor area of 685 sq.m. The library is fully air-conditioned to add comfort and conducive to learning.
The acquisitions of collection were steadily increased with the creation of the different sections of the library. At present, the Library collections is continuously processed and encoded to iLib (University of the Philippines Integrated Library System); an in-house developed library system for UP. iLib is customized based on the needs of the library users and is being deployed in all Constituent Units (CUs) throughout the UP System.
Acknowledging the management of the professional librarians and staff of the library, the CEAT administrators decided that all books, manuscript, theses and other library materials from the reading rooms shall be evaluated and transferred to the CEAT Library.
To uphold the CEATs’ vision to be an excellent in Engineering Education, the Library provides the best information in support to its instruction, research and extension. It carries materials suited to the courses offered namely: BS Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, BS Chemical Engineering, BS Civil Engineering, BS Electrical Engineering and BS Industrial Engineering. Graduate programs offered by the college include: MS in Agricultural Engineering, MS in Agrometeorology, MS in Chemical Engineering and PhD in Agricultural Engineering. Currently, CEAT is enjoying being in the top-performing schools in the Agricultural, Electrical, Civil, and Chemical Engineering board examinations conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission.
The BS Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering program has completed the ASEAN University Network – Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) assessment at the program level in 2015. Last December 2020, the BS Chemical Engineering has also passed the AUN-QA accreditation. Moreover, both programs also earned distinctions as the CHED Center of Excellence and Center of Development, respectively.
In all of which, undeniably, the library plays a big role in these achievements of the college.
The Library’s collection consists of books, newspapers, serials, theses, manuscript and online materials such as e-books and e-journals that support the curricular offering of the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology.
More than just a depository for the instructional materials of the faculty, the CEAT library has now evolved into a place of learning where students, faculty, and other stakeholders can visit and request for a highly relevant materials for their research needs. To date, there are more than 13000 titles of printed books, manuscripts from students and faculty, journals, ejournals, eBooks, and databases acquired either through purchase, subscriptions, share access and donations.