May 2024: Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

In celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM), we selected featured resources that spotlight the diverse cultures and experiences of Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian communities.

Museum of Science Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Image credit: Museum of Science.

The AAPI Heritage Month 2024 page in Asian Studies guide provides open sources and searchable library resources using library OneSearch’s “QC + CUNY Libraries” and “SUNY Libraries” options.

Facts for AAPIHM

Since 1992, when Congress passed Public Law 102-450 designating May as the annual Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (AAPIHM), AAPIHM has become a month-long celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islanders’ contributions to the United States.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2022, the estimated number of Asian alone-or-in-combination residents in the United States was 24.7 million, and the estimated population of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders was 1.8 million.

Below is a snapshot of AAPI in the national business based on the 2022 Annual Business Survey, data year 2021.

Image credit: U.S. Census Bureau.

Featured Books

Memory piece
New York: Riverhead Books, 2024

“Three Asian American teenagers meet in the New York suburbs in the 1980s. Drawn together by their shared sense of alienation from their conventionally domestic immigrant families, each wants to live a meaningful life.”

The best we could do: an illustrated memoir
New York: Abrams ComicArts, an imprint of ABRAMS, 2017

“Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.”

Narrating nationalisms: ideology and form in Asian American literature
New York; Oxford University Press, 2023

“Ling’s book rereads five works by John Okada, Louis Chu, Frank Chin, and Maxine Hong Kingston in order to reconceptualize the relationship between the past and present of post-World War II Asian-American literary history.”

Asian American is not a color: conversations on race, affirmative action, and family
Boston: Beacon Press, 2024

“A mother and race scholar seeks to answer her daughter’s many questions about race and racism with an earnest exploration into race relations and affirmative action from the perspectives of Asian Americans.”

Every drop is a man’s nightmare: stories
New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023

“Megan Kamalei Kakimoto’s wrenching and sensational debut story collection follows a cast of mixed native Hawaiian and Japanese women through a contemporary landscape thick with inherited wisdom and the ghosts of colonization.”

Wei skates on
New York: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2023

“Olympic gold medalist and three-time World Champion Nathan Chen delivers an inspirational picture book about facing your fears and finding the joy in sports, no matter the outcome.”

Digital Archives and Websites

Asian Pacific American History: “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders can trace their histories to a region that spans more than half the globe. They have played key roles in shaping America’s past, leaving an enduring impact in areas such as work, politics, culture, and law. They have done so as immigrants, sojourners, settlers, refugees, citizens, non-citizens, residents, U.S. nationals, and members of overthrown sovereign kingdoms. ”

Annexation of Hawaii: Topics in Chronicling America: “The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898 at the urging of President William McKinley. This guide provides access to material related to the ‘Annexation of Hawaii’ in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.”

Chinese Exclusion Act: Topics in Chronicling America: “During the late 1800s, the Chinese Exclusion Act prevented Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S. This guide provides access to materials related to the ‘Chinese Exclusion Act’ in the Chronicling America digital collection of historical newspapers.”

Cherry Blossom Trees: Topics in Chronicling America:“ An early 20th-century gift of cherry trees from Japan to the United States became a symbol of friendship. This guide provides access to materials related to the ‘Cherry Blossom Trees’ in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.”

Streaming Media and Films

Asian Americans. Episode one, Breaking Ground: “This series traces the story of Asian Americans, spanning 150 years of immigration, racial politics, and cultural innovation. It is a timely look at the role that Asian Americans have played in defining who we are as a nation. In an era of U.S. expansion, new immigrants arrive from China, India, Japan, the Philippines, and beyond. Eventually barred by anti-Asian laws, they become America’s first ‘undocumented immigrants.'”

The Donut King: “The rags to riches story of Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee arriving in America in 1975 and building a multi-million-dollar empire baking America’s favorite pastry, the donut. His story is one of love, hard knocks, survival, and redemption. Ted sponsored hundreds of visas for incoming refugees and helped them get on their feet teaching them the ways of the donut business.”

Raya and the Last Dragon: “Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned, and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the last dragon in order to finally stop the Druun for good. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than dragon magic to save the world; it’s going to take trust as well.”

The Making of Asian America: A History: “In the past fifty years, Asian Americans have helped change the face of America and are now the fastest growing group in the United States. But as award-winning historian Erika Lee reminds us, Asian Americans also have deep roots in the country. The Making of Asian America tells the little-known history of Asian Americans and their role in American life, from the arrival of the first Asians in the Americas to the present day.”


Share Post:

ICPSR News: Scholarship, Researcher Passport, and Love Data Week

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is an international consortium of more than 750 academic institutions and research organizations, including Queens College. In this new year 2024, again, ICPSR brings data users new resources.

New Scholarship

For students: NEW Data Communication Scholarship

The NEW Data Communication Scholarship is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Promoting a research study from the ICPSR catalog by creating a compelling short video, students are able to compete for scholarships up to $1000. Apply by Feb. 23.

ICPSR Data Communication Scholarship

2024 ICPSR Summer Program: improving data skills with scholarships

The scholarships for 2024 ICPSR Summer Program cover one of the General Sessions, which are available online, asynchronously or live, or in person. All materials for the Sessions are available through December 31, 2024. Courses in these Sessions aim to assist data users in quickly advancing and strengthening skills in data analysis, quantitative methods, and statistics.

View the full list of scholarships. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is Monday, February 26.

New Changes

Besides the new home page, ICPSR has updated its data user authentication process to assist data users in transiting from MyData to Researcher Passport.

ICPSR’s Researcher Passport helps data users take advantage of the new Research Data Ecosystem, a National Science Foundation-supported project, in support of the research lifecycle. Using Researcher Passport, Data users are able to securely and safely connect, access, store, and manipulate data.

Love Data Week: Feb. 12-16

Join Love Data Week to participate in new activities and draw on resources suitable for all levels:

  • Scavenger Hunt – 9 questions with hints and answers
  • Crossword Puzzles – 2 puzzles with 8 questions each
  • Search and Find activity
  • Material for K-6 with instructions

Celebrating Diversity: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May 2023)

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. We selected featured resources to celebrate the diverse and vibrant traditions and cultures of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in honor of their achievements and contributions to society.

The AAPI Heritage Month 2023 guide provides open and licensed QCL resources highlighting the AAPI people’s experiences and voices. You can find more information of interest in the Asian Studies guide. Below are a few featured resources, including facts, books, digital archives, and streaming media.

Facts about AAPI Heritage Month and Population

Image credit: We Are Here, illustration by Illi Ferandez. https://smithsonianapa.org/we-are-here/

AAPI Heritage Month coincides with “two key milestones: the arrival of the nation’s first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and Chinese workers’ pivotal role in building the transcontinental railroad (completed May 10, 1869)” (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023).

In the United States, the estimated population of Asians alone or combined in 2021 was 24 million, and the estimated population of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders was 1.7 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023).

The visualized total population of Asian Alone (left) and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone (right) by State. Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau; 2017-2021 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates. Social Explorer prepared the visualization

Featured Books

Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now

Boston: Mariner Books, 2022

RISE is a love letter to and for Asian Americans – a vivid scrapbook of voices, emotions, and memories from an era in which our culture was forged and transformed, and a way to preserve both the headlines and the intimate conversations that have shaped our community into who we are today.”

Our Missing Hearts

New York: Penguin Press, 2022

“From the number one bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere,” Our Missing Hearts is “a deeply suspenseful and heartrending novel about the unbreakable love between a mother and child in a society consumed by fear.”

You Bring the Distant Near

New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017

“Five girls. Three generations. One great American love story. You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture – for better or worse.”

Tastes Like War : a Memoir

New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2021

“Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, TASTES LIKE WAR is a hybrid text about a daughter’s search through intimate and global history to understand herself and the cultural roots of her mother’s condition.”

Like Water

New York: New York University Press, 2022

“Bruce Lee embodies the intermixture of cultures that results from transnational flows of people, ideas, and capital.” This book highlights “Bruce Lee’s influence beyond martial arts and film” as an “Asian and Asian American icon of unimaginable stature and influence.”

Visit us to find more featured books in “Cultural Awareness Month Displays” at Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, 3rd floor Commons.

Digital Archives and Websites

Asian American Arts Spotlight: “American artists of Asian heritage bring a combined legacy to their work, and varieties of Asian thought and spiritual practice have had a profound and lasting influence on a remarkable number of Western artists. Influence has been a two-way street between contemporary American art practice and Asian cultures, past and present.”

Tagging and Transcription for Chinese Heritage Records: “The records are a major resource for the study of Chinese immigration and Chinese American travel, trade, and social history from the late-19th to the mid-20th century. Because many documents relate to individual immigrants, they are invaluable for the study of Chinese and Chinese American family history.”

National Park Service Celebrates Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month: “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a rich heritage thousands of years old and have both shaped the history of the United States and had their lives dramatically influenced by moments in its history. Every May during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and throughout the year, the National Park Service and its partners share those histories and the continuing culture thriving in parks and communities today.”

Streaming Media and Broadcasting

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Collection: “The AAPI Collection features more than 230 public radio and television programs in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting from 1965 to 2019 that highlight Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures in the United States. The collection includes interviews with Asian American artists and writers.”

The Center for Asian American Media: “The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Collection contains 63 films that speak to the Asian experience through the lens of history.” The collection contains “a diverse array of subjects from a variety of geographic locations” and “biographies that show a glimpse into the life of young Asian Americans who struggle with identity, adversity, and overcoming complex obstacles in order to achieve their goals, and even the smallest wins in life.”

Queens College Library video collections on AAPI: Using QCL online catalog OneSearch and streaming video databases to find more video collections of interest.


Share Post:

ICPSR: Reimagining Data in 2023

Queens College is a member of ICPSR – Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. At the beginning of 2023, it was our library data services’ pleasure to introduce ICPSR’s recent data events and resources to our community.

New data experiences and resources

ICPSR has recently launched some exciting new data experiences, like ResearchDataGov and the Millennium Challenge Corporation Evidence Platform. New, eagerly awaited resources like the Social Media Archive are just around the corner. ICPSR supports the next generation of data users with more housing and scholarship opportunities through its Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research (aka “stats nerd camp”). And the ICPSR Biennial Meeting will be held this October.

Love Data Week 2023 ICPSR
The theme of Love Data Week 2023 is “Data: Agent of Change”

Fill up your calendar for the upcoming events


Share Post:

Celebrating Diversity: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. The QC Library celebrates AAPI Heritage Month with featured resources in honor of Asian American history, culture, and contributions to social diversity. 

The AAPI Heritage Month guide features open and licensed resources, including current facts, print books, and electronic resources (eBooks, streaming media, digital archives, etc.). Below are a few of the featured resources. More information of interest may be found in the Asian Studies guide. 

AAPI Population by State 

“Per a 1997 U.S. Office of Management and Budget directive, the Asian or Pacific Islander racial category was separated into two categories: one being Asian and the other Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.” (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022). In 2020, the estimated number of Asian alone or in combination in the United States was 24 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022). 

Asian Population Visualization
The visualized total population of Asian Alone (left) and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone (right) by State. Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau; 2016-2020 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates. The visualization was prepared with Social Explorer. 

Featured Books

Minor Feelings Book Cover

Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
New York, New York: One World, 2020

“Part memoir and part cultural criticism, this collection is vulnerable, humorous, and provocative–and its relentless and riveting pursuit of vital questions around family and friendship, art and politics, identity and individuality will change the way you think about our world.”

Amina's Song Book Cover

Amina’s Song by Hena Khan
New York: Salaam Reads, 2021

Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature. “In the companion novel to the beloved and award-winning Amina’s Voice, Amina once again uses her voice to bridge the places, people, and communities she loves across continents.”

Permutations of a Self Book Cover

Permutations of a Self by Thomas V. Nguyen
College Station: Texas Review Press, 2020

“Much of the poetry comes from Nguyen’s imperfect memory of himself and others as it changes over time.” “The poetry in this manuscript is about accepting that and reconciling what it means to be part of his family.”

Asians and Pacific Islanders in American Football Book Cover

Asians and Pacific Islanders in American Football by Joel S. Franks
Lanham, Maryland: Lexington, 2018.

“This book sheds light on experiences relatively underrepresented in academic and non-academic sports history. It examines how Asian and Pacific Islander peoples used American football to maintain a sense of community while encountering racial exclusion, labor exploitation, and colonialism.”

Digital Archives

  • PBS.org: “Celebrate the month with a collection of PBS video stories that explore the history, traditions, and culture of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.”
  • DiversityInc.com: “A new study reports that 8 in 10 Asian Americans believe they are regularly discriminated against in the United States.”
  • Stop AAPI Hate.org: Launched in March 2020, the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center “tracks and responds to hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.”

Streaming Media

  • Hmong musicians in America: “This 58-minute video tells the story of two senior musicians from Laos who play instruments and sing for various American audiences, adapting their presentations for Hmong and non-Hmong listeners of all ages.”
  • Language of a Nation: How Hawaii Became Part of the U.S., Parts 1-4: “Native Hawaiian filmmaker Conrad Lihilihi presents a four-part historical Docu-series examining the 1896 Hawaiian Language Ban from public education. This series approaches the subject by culminating in a rich and diverse panel of academics in language, history, and politics.”
  • Chinese American History: Origins of an Organic Farmer: “Hiu Newcomb, a third-generation Chinese American, is the co-owner and operator of Potomac Vegetable Farms in Vienna, Virginia. In this interview, she discusses her family’s origins in the United States and her start as an organic farmer in Virginia.”
  • FORKLIFE: Children of Sticky Rice: “FORKLIFE traces the journeys of immigrant food traditions taking root in the United States, narrated by the D.C. chefs and cooks who carried them here.”