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.
Events
Recommended Reads
Staff Picks
SJPL Recommends: One Book, One Coast
SJPL Picks: Filipino Voices in YA
SJPL Picks: Filipino American Voices
SJPL Recommends: One Book, One Coast
SJPL Picks: Filipino Voices in YA
SJPL Picks: Filipino American Voices
Online Resources
The Great Courses: Foundations of Eastern Civilization
Smithsonian Global Sound
The Great Courses: Foundations of Eastern Civilization
Gale in Context: US History
Local History
Learn about downtown San José's historic Pinoytown and early Filipino Americans in Santa Clara Valley.
Explore Pinoytown
Pinoytown Virtual Tour
Filipina Americans blog