Free Posters for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

The Smithsonian and Teaching Tolerance want to help you celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a set of eight visually compelling educational posters: I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story. Rich with complex, often surprising stories, these posters take a sweeping look at Asian Pacific American history—from the very first Asian immigrants to the influx of highly skilled workers many decades later.

The Asian Pacific American journey has many points of origin but a shared destination—the United States, a nation founded and built by immigrants and enriched by the vibrant diversity of their heritages and traditions. Asian immigrants are an integral part of every chapter in this country’s great chronicle, from toppling barriers to forming communities and ultimately pointing the way to its future.

The I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story posters will engage and inspire students, regardless of heritage and family history. Additional online education resources include activities and lessons in social studies, creative writing, art and communications as well as an exhibitor handbook with instructions for mounting, installing and promoting the posters. Printable PDF versions of the posters are also available should you or your colleagues want additional sets.
 
The number of posters is limited, so order your set today. I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story begin to ship in early May.

Developing Events

I’ve tried to avoid the news from Boston this week. I just can’t listen to horrific news any more, I’m not trying to be naive, it just aches me in ways that are discomforting. Today, it couldn’t be avoided looking at a city that is shut down, trying to capture one violent criminal.

 

I think about people all over the world who live in violent areas where it isn’t safe to go anywhere and in some cases not even safe to be at home! Not just places in Mali or Congo, but in Chicago, ATL and Indy as well.

The day the bombing happening I was speaking with a student here from Bangladesh and he was so excited to be going home during the summer. It will be his first Ramadan with his family in years. His one hesitancy in going home would be his return to the US and  going through customs because of his name. Although neither he nor his identical twin brother have ever faced any difficulties, he knows people who have, because of their color. Later that evening when I mentioned the bombing to him, he stated that coming back will be even worse if the bombers are Muslim.

I think of these students when the press tries not to say these  terrorists are Muslim. They are struggling right now not to draw conclusion.  Buried in the conversation on NPR was in interview with a women who knew the two suspects for years via the schools they’ve attended in the US. They’re not new to this country!

I worried somewhat about the safety of Arab and Muslim students here as events unfold, but then I remember how little too many college students know of current events. Gen Y doesn’t watch TV, I wonder how they do get their news? What news sources are in their FB or Twitter feeds? Do they stop to visit Yahoo news when they go online? Do they look for trusted sources for local, national and global news? How do they grow their awareness of the world around them? Do they, like me sometimes choose to bury their heads in the sand?

 

I don’t want to send money or books to Boston. I want to do something to keep my corner of the world safe and free from cruelty, harm or danger.

Diversity in Security. Or, is it Insecurity?

OK, which of these scares you more. A or B?

A.

Just like I do every time I stay at a hotel, I left my key in my hotel room last week. I went to the desk to ask them to help me get back in. The desk clerk asked me my name and gave me another key. That was it, no other verification required.

Typically, when I forget me key, I’m asked to describe what the inside of the room looks like, numbers on my credit card and always to show and ID.

B.

My UPS person refuses to just leave packages at my door, although I meet the requirements UPS has in place for them to do so. I contacted the company online and was told that I could register for their free service called My Choice. Using My Choice, I could make arrangements for packages to be left without me signing, schedule deliveries, get delivery notices via email or text and a few other services.

Sounds good, don’t you think?

So, I began registering by giving them my name, phone number, email and postal addies and creating a password. Then, it got interesting.

In order to verify who I was, I was given multiple choice questions in which I had to verify the street my daughter lives on and a city where I used to live. I entered the correct answers, was told I was wrong (!) and had to then verify a street on which I used to live and the address of property I own. Remember, the only information I had given them was my name, phone number and email and postal addies.

Again I ask, which concerns you more?

WEBINAR: “Detained and Forgotten: Informational Needs of Youth in Detention”

WEBINAR: “Detained and Forgotten: Informational Needs of Youth in Detention”
Wednesday, April 17, 4:00-5:00pm Central time
Hosted by ASCLA–the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies

REGISTER NOW: http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=olweb&Template=/Conference/ConferenceList.cfm&ConferenceTypeCode=X
     Registration closes at noon central time on Tuesday, April 16.
     Can’t attend the live event? Register to receive a link to the session recording following the session.

This webinar will cover:

=The informational needs of the incarcerated and recently released youth.

=How the library can support these needs inside and outside of the detention center.

=The responsibility of the library to develop relationships with outside organizations and libraries that will continue to provide support to the youth upon his or her release from the detention center.

Who Should Attend: Those employed at academic libraries, prison libraries; state libraries; and public libraries; libraries serving incarcerated youth and/or adults, and libraries serving people with disabilities

Presenters: Glenn Scott and Dena Gould. Glenn recently presented “”Am I My Brother’s Keeper: The Library’s Responsibility to Imprisoned Youth” at the Library 2.0 2012 online conference. Dena spent considerable time volunteering at the Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall in Summer 2012 and is a MLIS candidate at San Jose State University. Glenn and Dena’s research and personal involvement in the academic and social well-being of imprisoned adults and youth has given us special insight into the informational and literary needs of this special population.

REGISTER NOW: http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=olweb&Template=/Conference/ConferenceList.cfm&ConferenceTypeCode=X

Individual registration rates start at $40 for ASCLA members.
Sign up as a group–it’s a great way to start the conversation about serving this growing population of library users. Register for a single login group for $99. Multiple login groups of two or more participants get 15% off the individual registration rates. Get more information about group registrations at the ASCLA Online Learning page: http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaevents/onlinelearning/onlinelearning