Contemporary Reading Shelves--In Motion: The Great Black Migration

Chabot Library Celebrates Black History Month

STOP by the library and check-out our current book display, “In Motion: The Great Black Migration,” in celebration of Black History Month. Learn about the African-American migration experience through the voices of extraordinary men and women who endured a culture of slavery and oppression in this country. While researching this month’s display, I came across powerful texts and authors, like the work of Dr. Carole Marks, who along with eleven other scholars contributed to In Motion: the African-American Migration Experience (http://www.inmotionaame.org/home.cfm), an excellent online resource on this subject.

Her essay, “The Great Migration: African-Americans Searching for the Promised Land, 1916-1930,” is available in its entirety at this web site. In her essay she writes, “the Great Migration was about migrants starting over and making sacrifices for future generations whom they would probably never see. As W.E.B. DuBois concluded, the journey North represented not the end of a struggle but only its beginning.”

The Library Celebrates LGBT History Month

The Library is proud to celebrate LGBT History Month. For the month of October, take a look from the Library's Contemporary Reading Shelves to read about the rich LGBT History and Culture in the United States. Featured topics include same sex marriage, coming out stories, gays and lesbians in the military, civil rights struggles throughout the years, and providing support to LGBT teenagers. Featured figures and authors include Harvey Milk, Audrey Lorde, James Baldwin, Billie Jean King, David Hwang, Alice Walker, and more!

In addition, the Library contains a display case in honor of National Coming Out Day, which will take place on Monday, October 11, 2010. The Library also supports causes such as prevention of teen suicide and anti-gay bullying (such as the Trevor Project) and reminds everyone in honor of six gay men who tragically took their own lives recently to wear purple on Wednesday, October 20, 2010.

However, while this is a month of awareness it is also a month of celebration to our LGBT youth and the historical figures who have and continue to touch our lives, impact our culture, and contribute to society in their service.

To glance at our featured collection, browse our Contemporary Reading Shelves and Display Cases or go to the LGBT History Month Collection Page

The Library Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month

This past summer I came across a very cool book, Lengua Fresca (on order), which opened the door to an eclectic mix of contemporary Latino/a authors. Their writings prompted the idea of creating a book display in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15). The display, located near the library’s periodicals, directly across from the Reference & Circulation Desk, includes titles by Junot Diaz, Ana Menendez, Dagoberto Gilb, Cristina Garcia to name a few. These emerging voices are an attempt to showcase a new aesthetic of Latino/a life in the United States. And yes, it’s okay to check them out!

NEW this year, a suggestion box (on top of one of the display cases) to collect your impressions of the current book display as well as to gather title suggestions and ideas for future exhibits—your participation will be appreciated.

Also NEW this year, in partnership with Angie Magallon’s ENGL 22 (Mex Amer/Latino Lit of U.S.), the library will be displaying some of her students’ work later this month in an effort to bring additional context to this month’s celebration!

Pedro Reynoso, Outreach and Instruction Librarian

The Library Features Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

Check out our Contemporary Reading Shelves for books highlighting the rich history and culture of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States and the world. Included are the following great works of Literature:

Collections

Aiiieeee!: An Anthology of Asian American Writers

Bamboo Shoots in the Rain: Contemporary Stories by Women in Taiwan

Because of the Rain: Korean Zen Poems

Echoing Song: Contemporary Korean Women Poets

Going Home to a Landscape: Writings by Filipinas

Night, Again: Contemporary Fiction from Vietnam

Returning to a Borrowed Tongue: Poems by Filipino and Filipino American Writers

12 Philippine Writers

Works by Authors

Cao, Lan. Monkey Bridge

Chai, May-Lee. Hapa Girl

Chin, Justin. Gutted

Chin, Marilyn. Dwarf Bamboo

Dali Lama. A Policy of Kindness

Golden, Arthur. Memoirs of a Geisha

Hagedorn, Jessica. Dogeaters

Hagedorn, Jessica. Dream Jungle

Hayslip, Le Ly. When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman’s Journey from War to Peace

Hongo, Garrett. Volcano: A Memoir of Hawaii

Hwang, David Henry. M. Butterfly

Jen, Gish. Mona in the Promised Land

Jen, Gish. Who’s Irish?: Stories

Jin, Ha. Waiting

Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior and China Men

Lee, Chang-Rae. A Gesture Life

Lee, Gus. China Boy

Lee, Gus. Tiger’s Tail

Lee, Li-Young. The City in Which I Love You

McGunn, Ruthanne Lum. The Moon Pearl

McGunn, Ruthanne Lum. Thousand Pieces of Gold

Min, Anchee. Empress Orchid

Mirikitani, Janice. Love Works

Mirikitani, Janice. We, the Dangerous

Mori, Toshio. Unfinished Message

Murakami, Haruki. After Dark

Murakami, Haruki. Norwegian Wood

Murayama, Milton. All I Asking for is My Body

Oe, Kenzaburo. The Crazy Iris

Okada, John. No-No Boy

Pham, Andrew. Catfish and Mandala

Rodgers, Richard and Oscar Hammerstein. Flower Drum Song

Tan, Amy. The Bonesetter’s Daughter

Tan, Amy. The Hundred Secret Senses

Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club

Tan, Amy. The Kitchen God’s Wife

Tan, Amy. The Opposite of Fate: A Book on Musings

Xinran. Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet

Yee, Chiang. The Silent Traveler in Japan

Yee, Chiang. The Silent Traveler in San Francisco

Yep, Laurence. The Rainbow People

Yep, Laurence. The Star Fisher

Yoshikawa, Eiji. Taiko

The Library Celebrates National LGBT History Month and National Coming Out Day

Starting next week, the Library will be featuring in its Contemporary Reading Shelves, National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) History month, which is celebrated every October in the United States. We feature books that tell the history and biographies of key individuals, including those who have fought for LGBT rights to the present.

Books by prominent authors such as David Leavitt, Adrienne Rich, Alice Walker, and Tony Kushner will be featured, and available for checkout.

Meanwhile, out of spirit of National Coming Out Day, which occurs on October 11, but the college is honoring it today (October 9) , we have a display already featured on one of the new books shelves, next to the reference desk. Please take a look!

The Contemporary Reading Shelves are located behind the main desk of the Library. Walk behind the desk to scope the shelves of books to browse. If you are looking for a key LGBT book in the collection, and are unable to find one, be sure to also look at these shelves, or ask assistance from our friendly librarians.

(Note: Our current Contemporary Reading Shelves collection, which honors National Hispanic Heritage month (which is actually celebrated from September 15 to October 15) will be concluding this Friday).

Banned Books Week: Sep. 27-Oct. 4, 2008

"Intellectual Freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas." -- www.ala.org ( http://www.ala.org/ ) (Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A)

Chabot Library will once again mark Banned Books week with a DISPLAY in the library of books that have been challenged over the years.

Stop by for a copy of the list: "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000"

"The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received a total of 420 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. Public libraries, schools and school libraries report the majority of challenges to OIF.

'The number of challenges reflects only incidents reported,' said Judith F. Krug, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom."

The Library Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month

Right behind the Main Desk of the Library, we always have great books to read from contemporary authors or people's history, and this month, the Library is honoring National Hispanic Heritage Month. Authors featured include Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Esmeralda Santiago, Sandra Cisneros, and Carlos Fuentes. Please take a look at our selection on the contemporary reading shelves, and by all means check out a great book!

In May, The Library Features Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May is the month to honor Asian and Pacific Islander American heritage. Our Contemporary reading shelves feature books by or about such great authors, artists and figures such as Ang Lee, Amy Tan, Joan Chen, David Hwang, Aimee Phan, Jessica Hagedorn, Denise Chong, Isamu Noguchi, Haruki Marukami* and more. Books on history include topics such as Asian Americans in the United States and in California, Angel Island, Japanese Internment in World War II, and Hawaiian sovereignty.


*The Library currently accepts donations of books by prominent Asian and Asian American authors. We will especially welcome books by Haruki Marukami.