Public Libraries Need Fil-Am Love
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The Echo Park branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (Source; The Sunday Jump | Instagram)
This led me to question to what extent Filipino communities throughout the country take advantage of the free resources offered by public libraries, especially libraries with dedicated Filipiniana collections or events. As Eric Soriano, a Filipino American manager of one branch of the Jacksonville, Florida public library system, laments, “There’s room for growth” in Filipino usage of libraries.
Filipino Americans should know what’s freely available for them in their communities’ libraries. I urge them to support Filipiniana works and events at those venues. I also encourage Fil-Am authors to promote their works by donating their books to as many libraries as possible. One of my guiding principles is, “You don’t ask, you don’t get.” In this context, “asking” signifies interest and need, and “getting” encompasses the acquisition and maintenance of collections and programs that recognize and celebrate Philippine culture and its people.
Libraries tend to respond positively to their communities’ needs, but in turn, community members must support the libraries’ efforts. Funding for library general acquisitions is limited to begin with, so the percentage allotted for special collections is miniscule. Unless there’s a demand for and interest in certain works, funds won’t be allocated for such specialized collections.
According to an article in 2022 in Voice of San Diego entitled, Filipino Americans Bring Drastic Changes to National City’s Political Structure, National City (a suburb of San Diego) “had one of the highest concentrations of Filipino Americans in the country for many years — approximately 20 percent. In one section of the city, the Filipino American population is 35 percent.” Yet, the library there dismantled its Filipiniana collection in 2019 because of minimal usage. The collection was integrated into the library’s general collection and the shelves repurposed.
Similarly, the downtown branch of the Jacksonville, Florida library has long had a small collection of books written in Tagalog. However, Soriano said the collection has not grown because it is the “least circulated collection.” Consequently, there have been no recommendations to update or expand the collection.
Jacksonville Public Library in Jacksonville, Florida (Source: Wikipedia)
Likewise, the Five Corners branch of Jersey City, New Jersey has a Filipiniana collection of over 140 books. The librarian reports they “are just sitting there” with no circulation.
Five Corners branch of Jersey City Public Library (Source: jclibrary.org)
Library usage is not limited to book circulation. Libraries also promote their community members’ cultural events. One significant aspect of Filipino culture is parol (lantern)-making during the Christmas season. Venessa Manzano, founder of The Filipino School of NY and NJ, once held a parol-making workshop at the library in Fairfield, New Jersey. Although it was well-attended, not a single person of Philippine ancestry came.
Without interest in collections or cultural programs, public libraries may cease their maintenance. Thankfully, there are some libraries who have expressed their continuing sponsorship of Filipiniana collections and programs.
For example, Victoria Sikora, the Senior Librarian of the Echo Park Branch, said they have no intention of dismantling the Philippine Heritage Collection even though their data showed very little usage of the works within the collection. To generate more interest, they recently modernized the collection, spearheaded by Francie Schwartz, the Public Service Librarian. It’s now curated as a “popular appeal collection” designed to attract everyone – not just Filipinos. Accordingly, the works are written either in English alone or English and Tagalog together to be accessible to everyone. Children's books are shelved in the Children's collection, separately from the adult collection. Also, the library relies heavily upon donations of books. To that end, the library is working on putting together a “wish list” of books for people to donate. It also encourages Filipino and Fil-Am authors to donate their works for the collection. The library’s commitment is due in large part to its proximity to Historic Filipinotown where the community is very active in its efforts to preserve Philippine culture.
Another example is the extensive Filipiniana collection of the Filipino American Center of the San Francisco Public Library, which encompasses an entire reference material room (a non-circulating collection of difficult-to-get and out-of-print materials, some of which are written in different Filipino dialects) and a separate circulating section that includes various genres and subjects. The library also regularly presents events like author readings, book talks, and Filipino cultural programs. Every two years, it sponsors the Filipino American International Book Festival. Because the budget for book acquisition for the collection is less than 10 percent of the overall budget, the library works closely with community leaders and organizations (e.g., Filipino American National Historical Society, Philippine Artists and Writers Association in SF) to get recommendations of titles appropriate for inclusion within the collection. Filipina American Jaena Rae Cabrera is the Program Manager of the Filipino American Center.
Filipino American Center of the San Francisco Public Library (Source: Tripadvisor)
Daly City, California – with 35 percent of its population being Filipino American according to Wikipedia – also has a robust Filipiniana collection of cookbooks, fiction, non-fiction, music, arts, and children’s books. The library system encompasses Daly City, Serramonte, Bayshore, and Westlake. Still, Kristine Macalalad, the Fil-Am librarian responsible for the acquisition and curation of the collection, said it’s sometimes difficult to acquire books for the collection not only because of a “small budget,” but also a lack of information about the publications.
The Daly City Public Library
In Chicago, the Newberry – an independent research non-circulating library – has an extensive collection of rare and unique manuscripts and books relating to the Philippines dating back to the 1500s. According to its website, the collection is “particularly strong” in the following categories: late Spanish period, Filipino nationalism and revolution (including the “José Rizal papers”), Philippine-American War and US government, ethnographic photographs, Philippine linguistics, and travel literature and maps of the islands. The Newberry is free and open to the public.
The Newberry in Chicago (Source: Tripadvisor)
An interesting and innovative confluence of Filipiniana books and culture is Kwentuhang Pilipino, the brainchild of Manzano. Started in 2017 as a volunteer-led program in collaboration with the Bergenfield, New Jersey library, the program allows Filipinos and Fil-Am children’s book authors to share their books virtually through videotaped readings. It pivoted to a virtual platform during the pandemic and has remained in that format because of the success of its viewership. The videos are free to watch and are posted on the library’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BergenfieldLibrary/videos), reaching a global audience. My own video reading of my book Hope and Fortune has garnered over 1,400 views. (https://www.facebook.com/BergenfieldLibrary/videos/2232277110314690) Thus far, Manzano has expanded the use of Kwentuhang Pilipino to the libraries in Fairfield, NJ and Woodside, Queens (NYC), with an eye to partnering with other libraries throughout the country.
Without interest in collections or cultural programs, public libraries may cease their maintenance.
Book bannings and cancelations of culturally diverse programs are realities we cannot ignore. According to the American Library Association, over 4,200 books were targeted for censorship in 2023 – a 65 percent increase over 2022. As of 2024, many libraries without dedicated Filipiniana collections but are located within communities with large Filipino and Fil-Am populations (e.g., Hawaii and San Diego) held special exhibits relating to Philippine culture. But if Black History month can be canceled, can the Filipino Heritage Month be that far behind?
In 2022, I advertised my appearance at the Flushing, Queens, NYC library on the Flushing Facebook public page as a reading of a children’s book featuring multiracial fairies, including a Filipina fairy. Someone posted: “Why isn’t there a Caucasian fairy?” When I pointed out there were three identifiably white fairies in the book and posted one of them (the Fortune Fairy of Love and Friendship loosely based on Botticelli’s Birth of Venus), her response remained combative: “[T]hat doesn’t look like a white fairy.” I was afraid her post would create a chilling effect on attendance at the reading or worse, that she and others would show up to disrupt the event, making the library less inclined to host such culturally diverse programs.
Flushing, Queens branch of the New York City Library
Only with community support for the expression of diverse ideas disseminated through works such as those in Filipiniana library collections could we and others be educated about our culture and heritage. With such education comes less fear and, hopefully, less prejudice. The Los Angeles Library’s mission statement applies to all public libraries: To provide “free and easy access to information, ideas, books and technology that enrich, educate and empower every individual in our city's diverse communities.”
So, I urge Filipinos to support and take advantage of dedicated Filipiniana library collections. Also, many libraries carry thousands of Filipiniana works integrated within their general collections and searchable on their online and on-site catalogues with search terms like “Filipino”, “Philippines”, or the specific name of the author. Finally, if you’re an author, donate your work to any library that’ll take it. You don’t ask, you don’t get.
The following is only representative, not exhaustive. I contacted and researched only libraries located in areas with large populations of Filipino ancestry. I’m listing only those that responded to my inquiry or that I was able to research online.
Libraries with Dedicated
Filipiniana Collections and/or Programs
California:
Daly City
John Daly Library
134 Hillside Blvd.
Daly City, CA 94014
(650) 991-8073
Bayshore Library
460 Martin Street
Daly City, CA 94014
(650) 991-8074
Serramonte Library
40 Wembley Drive
Daly City, CA 94015
(650) 991-8023
Westlake Library
275 Southgate Avenue
Daly City, CA 94015
(650) 991-8071
Echo Park Library (branch of the Los Angeles Public Library System)
1410 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 250-7808
San Francisco
San Francisco Main Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 554-4400
Excelsior branch
4400 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94112
(415) 355-2868
Florida:
Jacksonville Main Library
303 N Laura Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202
(904) 255-2665
Illinois:
The Newberry Library
60 West Walton Street
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 943-9090
New York:
Woodside branch of the Queens Public Library
54-22 Skillman Avenue
Woodside, NY 11377
(718) 429-4700
New Jersey:
Bergenfield Public Library
50 West Clinton Avenue
Bergenfield, New Jersey 07621
(201) 387-4040
Fairfield Public Library
261 Hollywood Avenue
Fairfield, NJ 07004
(973) 227-3575
*No dedicated Filipiniana book collection but has select Kwentuhang Pilipino videos accessible through its Facebook page
Jersey City Public Library
Five Corners Branch
678 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306
(201) 547-4543
Examples of Libraries Without
Dedicated Filipiniana Collections But Have
Identifiable Works In Their General Collections
California:
Hawaii:
https://hawaii.sdp.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results/?search=on&ln=en_US&q=Filipino&rw=0
Illinois:
Texas:
https://halan.sdp.sirsi.net/client/en_US/hou/search/results?qu=Philippines&te=
Washington:
Marissa Bañez is a lawyer and an award-winning children’s book author of Hope and Fortune and Hues and Harmony (How the Rainbow Butterfly Got Her Colors), both of which are available through Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
