Asian American Librarians and Library Services - by Janet Hyunju Clarke & Raymond Pun & Monnee Tong (Paperback)

About the Book

Library professionals and scholars share reflections, best practices, and strategies for building collections about and supporting the information needs of Asian American communities. It conveys the need for diversity in the LIS field, library programming, and resources to bet...

Book Synopsis

Library professionals and scholars share reflections, best practices, and strategies for building collections about and supporting the information needs of Asian American communities. It conveys the need for diversity in the LIS field, library programming, and resources to better reflect the experiences and needs of Asian Americans.

Review Quotes

In a time of growing recognition of the need to honor cultural differences, traditions, and values, Asian American Librarians and Library Services offers a well-selected collection of essays and interviews covering resources, outreach, programming, and leadership.... The articles and interviews are authoritative, interesting, and scholarly, enhanced by occasional black-and-white photographs. Suitable--indeed necessary--for MLS programs, this is also a sound purchase for libraries with significant outreach to Asian American populations.

Each chapter and interview in this volume is interesting and engaging and brings to light the important contributions of Asian American librarianship. This volume is likely to prove it-self an important contribution to the systemic integration of diversity and inclusion in the field, just as the editors intended.

Essential reading for library and information professionals, educators, administrators, and students.

The experiences of information professionals of Asian descent is essential in the continuing dialogue of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our profession. This edited volume brings together the voices of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander librarians, archivists, and LIS educators. In addition to chapters written by well respected and emerging professionals in the field, the interviews woven throughout the book are a unique and valuable contribution. I appreciate its ambitious coverage of topics reflective of current library trends and professional practice including leadership in the profession, development and access to collections in all formats and languages, and the challenges and opportunities associated with outreach and services to Asian and Asian American populations.

This is a book by and about Asian American librarians that come from the depth and breadth of heritage and experience. By way of library services, they tell stories of exclusion, inclusion, expression, and preservation. The identity of our profession, work, and activism is now more complete. This must be in the hands of both Asian American Studies and Librarian/Information Services faculty! It must be in the hands of librarians and community activists! Thank you writers!

This substantial collection offers the first comprehensive survey of the current state of Asian Pacific American (APA) librarianship and library services. By including everything from interviews with APA librarians of note to explorations of specialized archives, librarians Clarke (Stony Brook Univ.), Pun (Fresno State), and Tong (San Diego's Central Library) take readers on a deep dive into this multifaceted area of librarianship. They divide the 43 brief essays into three parts: "Collections, Exhibits, and Resources," "Services, Outreach, and Programming," and "Leadership Experiences and Perspectives." Though both public and academic libraries are discussed, the latter receive more attention. Select highlights include Michelle Lee's profile of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, Gerardo Colmenar's exploration of his role as an APA academic librarian dedicated to critical librarianship and activism for social justice, and Clarke's interview with Cynthia del Rosario about recruiting APA library science students for the University of Washington Information School. In a profession that remains overwhelmingly white (87 percent white, according to a 2017 ALA demographic study), even as US demographics continue to shift, this book is a welcome and invaluable celebration of diversity in librarianship and library services.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals.

This volume is the outcome of an extraordinary effort to provide discussions of topics, issues, and activities directly relevant to contemporary Asian American librarianship, through the voices of leaders among Asian American librarians.

About the Author

Janet Hyunju Clarke is Associate Dean for Research & User Engagement at Stony Brook University Libraries. She is a past-president of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (2015-2016).

Raymond Pun is the first year student success librarian at Fresno State. He is an ALA Emerging Leader (2014), the Library Journal's Mover and Shaker (2012), SLA's Rising Star (2016), and a recipient of SLA's Achievement in Academic Business Librarianship (2015).

Monnee Tong is the Manager of the Pauline Foster Teen Center and IDEA Lab at the San Diego Central Library. Her work with the IDEA Lab Tech Team Internship was recognized by YALSA as an example of how libraries are re-envisioning teen services, and she was named an ALA Emerging Leader in 2014.