Asian Pacific American Library Leaders: Past, Present, and Future
Dear APALA members,
In celebration of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association’s 35th anniversary, APALA wishes to honor a diverse array of APA librarians who are helping to shape our profession. The roster compiles the names of retired, current, and future APA librarian leaders who have made and are still making a significant impact in librarianship since 1980, the year that APALA was founded, and will continue to make such contributions in the future. Several librarians listed in the roster have served as Presidents of both APALA and CALA, the Chinese American Librarians Association.
The roster is divided into two sections: APA Library Leaders – Current & Retired and APA Library Leaders – Future Voices. The first section highlights some of the incredible APA librarian leaders who have attained distinguished positions and roles as deans/directors of academic (university and community college) and public libraries, as well as state librarians and library school deans; American Library Association (ALA) Executive Board members, Division Presidents and Office Directors; and achieved other noteworthy professional accomplishments.
The second section honors aspiring APA library leaders who may not have yet attained distinguished positions; however, their leadership skills have been essential in guiding and leading current policy and important conversations that are helping to shape the future of our library profession. They make our field more flexible in, and embracing of, the changes that are necessary to keep it thriving and sustainable, and especially attractive to future APA librarians. The categories include: ALA Councilors, ALA Emerging Leaders, ALA Leadership Institute Selected Participants, ARL Leadership Fellows, Library Journal Movers & Shakers and PLA Leadership Academy Fellows.
The roster of APA Library Leaders is not intended to be comprehensive or final. It is our hope that this list becomes a living document that will continue to evolve and change as more APA library professionals provide input and feedback as to names to include and more information to add or revise. This list will serve as a resource for library leaders, library administrators, library and information professionals, library educators, and library students to enhance and promote a more diverse workforce and to inspire future APA librarians to empower the library communities they serve. These are the best and brightest voices of today that are shaping the profession of tomorrow.
Dr. Ken Yamashita
APALA President, 1996-1997
Eileen K. Bosch
APALA President, 2014-2015
Note – This roster is a continuation and expansion of the list of Asian American library directors/deans compiled by Ben Wakashige in 2007 and inspired by Dr. Jian-Zhong “JZ” Zhou’s research on Asian American library leadership on 5/2012.
To view the list, please download the roster: APA Library Leaders Roster.pdf