By Hana Kim, APALA member
Director, Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library, University of Toronto
The Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library of the University of Toronto has recently published a book entitled “Asian Canadian Voices: Facets of Diversity.” This book brings together an inspiring collection of ten authors’ perspectives from diverse fields of research to share their remarkable stories, reflections, and insights relating to Asian Canadian heritage and experience. The book’s chapters illuminate the facets of the Asian Canadian experience by contemplating themes of diversity, diaspora, migration, identity, ethnic communities, and acculturation through the sharing of authors’ lived experiences and research in Canada and Asia.
The collaborative effort of many gracious contributors, the symbiotic dialogues are from the significant East Asian Library lecture series which were held during 2012-2014, entitled “Tides on Our Pacific Shore: Celebrating Asian Canadian Heritage” and “Asian Canadian Conference: Engaging Asian Canadians.” The lecture series, which focused on strengthening community and facilitation of academic research on the topic of Asian Canadians, sparked the inspiration for this publication.
The list of contributors to the publication includes: King Wong, Adrienne S. Chan, Aminur Rahim, Denise Chong, Janet Lumb, Kuilan Liu, Irene Chu, Arlene Chan, Terry Watada, Josephine Pui-Hing Wong, and Maria Krisel Abulencia.
The book was published with the sincere hope that it can honor and celebrate the past and present contributions of Asian Canadians and will give readers pause to reflect on the current social climate of anti-Asian racism and all types of racial discrimination and violence.
This publication is available in e-book format on the University of Toronto’s online research repository, TSpace: https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/126121. Henry Yu, Associate Professor of the History Department at the University of British Columbia, Principal of St. John’s College, and Director of the Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies noted, “writing against the narrative violence of exclusion has been an important element of the political challenge to racism, and this volume helps recognize the historic work of Asian Canadian writers and community advocates, even as it reckons with the costs they bore in order to challenge a political and cultural order built around white supremacy.”
Equity, diversity, and inclusion are a high priority at the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL). The UTL has developed an EDI Statement, an Anti-Racism Statement, and a Collections Diversity Plan. These statements are supported by a concrete action plan, which the UTL is committed to achieving. In line with the UTL commitment, the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library has striven to ensure the development of various programs and initiatives supporting the Asian Canadian community and beyond by developing a hub for anti-Asian racism-related resources entitled “Guide on Anti-Asian Racism: Asian Canadian History,” by building its Asian Canadian Collections, and by offering various public outreach events relating to East Asian Studies, Asian Canadian Studies, and Asian heritage.