President’s Message
Happy Lunar New Year, APALA!
I hope you are all enjoying the season, sharing food, culture, and community with friends and family. It’s become a special time for me. At my library, our annual celebration honors the rich cultural traditions of both the African American and Asian American communities, through music and dance. We had a dancers’ procession from outside the library, to our Koret Auditorium downstairs.
Announcements & News
- The APALA Town Hall will take place on Zoom Friday, February 21, 2025 at 10AM PST/12PM CST/1PM EST. Link to register here. Submit topics or questions to discuss anonymously on this form.
- Talk Story grant is now open for applications! Deadline is March 15, 2025.
- Save the date! APALA’s 2025 Literature Award Banquet will be held during the 2025 ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA on the evening of Saturday, June 28, 2025. More details to follow.
- Yen Tran co-edited a monograph with ACRL titled, Creating an Inclusive Library: Approaches for Increasing Engagement and Use with Students of Color. Fellow APALA members are represented as contributors to the book.
- Joshlyn Thomas was recently appointed as a secretary for the Archivists of the Houston Area (AHA!) and an editor for the new Zine Committee. She will continue her duties as a member of the Communications Committee as well.
- Stephanie E. Mahar co-edited a chapter in the book Using Literature to Support Children’s Mental Health, edited by Kim Becnel and Robin A. Moeller. She co-authored the second chapter, titled “Visualizing Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Using Graphic Novels to Support Middle Grade Readers.” Read the full press release here.
2025 Asian Pacific American Awards for Literature Winners
2024 Talk Story Grant Recipients’ Reports
A New Era at the SF Public Library’s FilAm Center