To all of our members:
We apologize to all APALA members, particularly those who identify as Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiian, for the lack of Pasifika representation and acknowledgment in our Literature Awards. Earlier this year, five library workers who identify as Pasifika wrote a letter to the APALA Executive Board, expressing their deep concern and disappointment with the lack of representation in the most recent Asian Pacific American Literature Awards winners. We believe it is important to publicly acknowledge the erasure and harm that our organization has contributed to, as well as be transparent in our processes so that our membership can better understand what steps we are taking to make repair.
We acknowledge that the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) has routinely failed these communities in our work, particularly in our Literature Awards. Of the 191 awards issued by APALA over the last 23 years, only three have potential connections to Pacific Islanders and Pacific Island cultures. Since these awards were established in 2001, there has not been a single winner or honoree who identifies as an Indigenous Pacific Islander.
We apologize and take full responsibility for the pain and harm this has caused our member communities. We understand that this oversight sends the message that Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders do not produce worthwhile art or literature, which is soundly not the case. Furthermore, this oversight flattens the diversity of our communities by invisibilizing Pasifika peoples.
Over the last four months, we have communicated with the letter writers about how APALA can actively improve its inclusion and representation of Pasifika members. A timeline of events follows:
We received their initial letter on January 29, 2024, shortly after the announcement of the 2024 Asian Pacific American Literature Awards at LibLearnX in Baltimore, MD.
President Jaena Rae Cabrera wrote back the same day, acknowledging the letter and the labor of the letter writers and sharing that the letter would be discussed with the entire Executive Board at the next board meeting on February 12, 2024.
On April 12, 2024, the Executive Council, consisting of the president, vice president, executive director, and immediate past-president, as well as the Literature Awards Administrative Committee, met with the letter writers to present our proposal based on their initial letter. The group engaged in discussion, and we invited the letter writers to provide their feedback on the proposal.
We received their feedback on our proposal and suggested awards criteria on April 26, 2024. We called a final Executive Board meeting on May 3, 2024, to finalize the next steps.
This letter and acknowledgment of the harm done is part of those next steps.
APALA will be making substantial changes to the Literature Awards for the 2026 cycle, whose winners will be announced in January 2026. Currently, APALA has five categories which include: Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Young Adult, Children’s, and Picture Book, with each category awarding one winner and one honor title. Future changes include:
- The addition of a Poetry category to APALA Literature Awards.
- Implementation of new awards criteria, beginning in Fall 2024: APALA Lit Awards Suggested Guidelines for Pasifika
- Starting with the Fall 2024 juries, all six categories will now include separate awards: one winner and up to two honor titles for Asian American authors and illustrators and one winner and up to two honor titles for Pasifika authors and illustrators.
- Committee juries and Literature Award Admin will simultaneously identify and reach out to new Pasifika publishers, requesting submissions while reviewing titles from existing publishers.
- At the end of each awards cycle, we will publish the long list of titles considered for awards for transparency.
- Establishing a task force to create award criteria and best practices for a Lifetime Achievement Award.
- The award will consider oral storytelling, authors, illustrators
- The estimated financial implications will be voted on by the Executive Board during the June 10, 2024 board meeting. We estimate the cost of our changes to be approximately $9,000 to support an increase in the number of plaques as well as complimentary Literature Award banquet tickets for awardees.
- Financial implications have not yet been evaluated regarding the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Task Force exploring the creation of this award category will provide a projected cost analysis to the Executive Board at the completion of their research.
The Executive Board thanks the letter writers for their advocacy and labor, and for holding APALA accountable for our missteps over the years:
- Nicola Andrews – Ngāti Paoa Māori, Tongan, Pākehā (Open Education Librarian, University of San Francisco)
- Keahi Ka’iwalani Adolpho – Kanaka Maoli (Processing Archivist, Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries)
- Neil Poʻokela Ordinario – Kanaka Maoli (Library Technology Coordinator, San Jose State University)
- Leialani Wihongi-Santos – Chamoru, Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai (Stacks Assistant, University of California Irvine)
- Stephen Shaw – Ngāti Ruapani and Tūhoe Māori (Children’s Librarian, Oakland Public Library)
We would also like to acknowledge and thank our Pasifika APALA members who were not part of this specific letter campaign but who have also worked tirelessly over the years to advocate for Pasifika creators and library workers. APALA is a volunteer-run organization, and we appreciate the labor of those who have contributed and collaborated over the years to make our organization successful and to hold us accountable.
We encourage our members and Literature Awards jurors to explore Pacific Islanders in Publishing and Little Pasifika Readers, which seek to amplify and support the cultures and peoples across Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia in publishing. We also encourage members to submit Pasifika titles for award consideration via APALA’s Literature Award Submission Form.
Please reach out to the APALA Executive Board (apala-executiveboard@apalaweb.org) or President Jaena Rae Cabrera (president@apalaweb.org) with any questions and feedback regarding our process and future changes to the Literature Awards.