from 1901 up to the present (e.g. trophies, plaques of recognition, portraits of past presidents, etc.), and an archive of past publications and documents. The university library is likewise home to two notable centers: the American Studies Resource Center (ASRC) and a World Bank Knowledge for Development Center (WB-KDC). The American Studies Resource Center is a result of a memorandum of agreement between the United States Embassy in Manila and Silliman University. It is the only ASRC in Region VII hosted by an academic institution. The ASRC provides a variety of materials: books, periodicals, CD-ROMS, DVDs, VCDs, VHS tapes, electronic materials for those interested in studies and issues related to the United States. The World Bank Knowledge for Development Center is a result of a partnership between the university and the World Bank. It contains an extensive collection of development publications and World Bank project documents to people involved in the academe, researchers, NGOs, media, government agencies and the business sector. The section is open to the public. To date, the Silliman Library remains as one of the biggest libraries in the Philippines. In 2008, the Silliman University Library System was given the "Outstanding Library Award" by the Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians (PAARL) for its growing collection and ongoing computerization program. Medical Center The Silliman University Medical Center is a university-owned hospital that is currently being operated and managed by the Silliman University Medical Center Foundation Inc. (SUMCFI), a separate and distinct foundation with its own Board of Directors. The hospital supports the academic institution by serving as the university's base facility for the internship programs of the College of Nursing, School of Medicine, the Institutes of Clinical Laboratory and Rehabilitative Sciences, the Divinity School (for its chaplaincy program), and the Nutrition and Dietetics Department. It is a 140-bed hospital located on campus with comprehensive medical services available to both the university and the community in general. The SU Medical Center started as an infirmary in 1901 and later became a hospital in 1923. In 1974, the cornerstone for a New Medical Center was laid down by the Netherlands Ambassador to the Philippines to commence the building of a four-storey structure with passenger elevators (the first in Negros Oriental). Inaugurated in 1976, it is considered as one of the most modern hospitals outside Metro Manila and Cebu. In 1979, the Medical Center made history when its Van