Message From the Director: The Livingston Library Celebrated AAPI Heritage Month

Livingston Library Community,

In May of 2021, the Library was generously gifted different titles in honor of AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islander) Heritage Month from the Livingston Multicultural Parents Association (LMPA), a parents group co-founded by Xiaoshan He and Lynn Lin. The book donation was initiated by Livingston AAPI Youth Alliance (LAYA), a high school students support group, at a town hall meeting organized by Livingston Committee for Diversity & Inclusion on March 25 this year. Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill spoke at the meeting about the surge of attacks on AAPI community members. Mayor Klein and BOE members were also present at the said meeting. LAYA’s co-founders Russell Fan, Rachel Horn and Eric Dalangin, all three LHS juniors, approached Livingston Social Justice Committee and LMPA for collaboration.

Below are links to 10 book review videos produced by current LPS students as well as LHS alumni from the Livingston AAPI Youth Alliance. They all highlight titles that were donated to the Library and span Juvenile to Adult materials. Multicultural representation in literature is important and powerful. Reading about people similar to you helps readers feel seen and understood, while reading about people that are different from ourselves helps build empathy and common understanding.

Although AAPI Heritage Month is over, The Livingston Multicultural Parents Association and the Livingston Library’s work of promoting cultural and historical awareness continues. We hope you will enjoy hearing about the importance of these books and we encourage you to take the time to read one of the recommendations and celebrate the depth and diversity of AAPI literature.

Crystal Song | Class of 2014

Racial Melancholia, Racial Dissociation Traffic in Asian Women

Michelle Bao |Class of 2014

Sour Heart

Grace An | Class of 2014

Driven Out

Helen Chen | Class of 2014

Driven Out

Renee Hong | 10th Grader

Ambitious and Anxious

Eric Chen | 6th Grader

When My Name Was Keoko