Asian Pacific American Heritage Month | San Jose Public Library

Events
Suggested Reads
Online Resources
Local History

Honoring Asian & Pacific Cultures

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with us this May. This is a time to recognize the cultures, histories, and contributions of people with roots in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

AAPI Heritage Month began as a week-long observance in the late 1970s. In 1992, it became a month-long celebration. May was chosen to mark key moments in history, including the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, built in large part by Chinese immigrant workers.

Explore events, book recommendations, and online resources that highlight AAPI voices and stories.

Join The Largest Book Club on the West Coast

Led by the Los Angeles Public Library, this year's selection is They Called Us Enemy — George Takei's graphic memoir about his childhood incarceration in American concentration camps during World War II. Through themes of family, identity, patriotism, and belonging, the book invites us to reflect on what it means to be American, then and now.

Join the Conversation

Events

Suggested Reads

Staff Picks

SJPL Recommends: One Book, One Coast

SJPL is partnering with LA County Library for One Book, One Coast, a shared community reads program celebrating literacy and learning

SJPL_Recommends

SJPL Picks: Filipino Voices in YA

From thrilling adventures to heartfelt tales, these selections are perfect for celebrating Filipino American Heritage Month.

sjpl_teenhq

SJPL Picks: Filipino American Voices

This list features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and a graphic novel by authors identifying as part of the Filipino American community.

SJPL_AdultPicks

SJPL Recommends: One Book, One Coast

SJPL is partnering with LA County Library for One Book, One Coast, a shared community reads program celebrating literacy and learning

SJPL_Recommends

SJPL Picks: Filipino Voices in YA

From thrilling adventures to heartfelt tales, these selections are perfect for celebrating Filipino American Heritage Month.

sjpl_teenhq

SJPL Picks: Filipino American Voices

This list features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and a graphic novel by authors identifying as part of the Filipino American community.

SJPL_AdultPicks

Staff Blogs

Online Resources

Phone, headphones, and a compass on a map.

Online Resource

Smithsonian Global Sound

Explore this virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions, including over 300 albums from Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Online Resource

The Great Courses: Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Uncover the origins of East Asian civilization in this course that explores the history of China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.

Phone, headphones, and a compass on a map.

Online Resource

Smithsonian Global Sound

Explore this virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions, including over 300 albums from Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Silhouettes of people against a sunset.

Online Resource

Gale in Context: US History

Read about the Asian American Civil Rights Movement, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in politics.

Local History

Learn about downtown San José's historic Pinoytown and early Filipino Americans in Santa Clara Valley.

Dorothy Quibelan and Fred Bacosa outside the Universal Café in San Jose's Pinoytown.

Pinoytown Virtual Tour

Step back in time with this immersive story map showing where Filipino families and businesses thrived in San José from the 1930s to 1950s.

Filipino workers planting in Stockton in the 1930s.

Looking Back: Filipino Americans in Santa Clara Valley

Ralph explores the history of local Filipino Americans.

Ralph Pearce