About Tuklas

Tuklas is a resource discovery tool based on the open-source software VuFind, customized to cater to the research needs and information-seeking behavior of the UP community and the general public, by no less than Mr. Chito N. Angeles, former University Librarian of UP Diliman. Its ultimate goal is to enable users to search across millions of print and electronic resources available in the different libraries of the University of the Philippines system. Currently, it is integrated with existing local databases of UP Diliman, e.g., IPP, IPN, iLib, thus reflecting the real-time status of circulation books. It can also be configured to harvest metadata resources from other OAI-PMH compliant databases and open-access repositories.

Prior to this development, users have to go through numerous online databases to access library resources in different formats. Now, users can have access to various information resources including books, academic journals, theses and dissertations, archival documents, and articles from local newspapers, magazines, and journals, using a single search platform.

The name of the platform itself, Tuklas, pertains to the very experience of discovery; encompassing the rigors and discipline of finding answers to questions, solutions to problems, or posing yet another question; and of discovering something latent, including the emotions involved as we search, discover, and create new sets of ideas, information, and knowledge.

Its logo, the Oblation within a magnifying glass, encapsulates the research endeavor of each Isko and Iska. The magnifying glass symbolizes the beginning of research: the act of putting things under scrutiny; and the Oblation, as the ultimate goal of research: and that is service to the nation.

The banner depicts the image of the Oblation and Quezon Hall from the perspective of the University Avenue in Diliman, alluding to the idea of entering a powerhouse of knowledge in the same manner as one enters the University. There is also an interplay of Maroon, Green, and Yellow attributed to the colors of UP, while the word Tuklas, in Baybayin, is inscribed in the handle of the magnifying glass. All these elements were integrated to convey the propensity of being UP.

In a nutshell, Tuklas, as a next-generation searching tool, celebrates the very concept of research and discovery, and is a gateway for all of the University’s information resources.

Acknowledgment: Logo and banner images courtesy of John Christopherson LT Fredeluces.