The AANHPI iSchool Student Group invites you to a special event featuring guest speakers Nicola Andrews (Gleeson Library at University of San Francisco), Neil Ordinario (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library at San José State University), and Stephen Shaw (Oakland Public Library), who will give an encore presentation of their 2024 ALA Conference session, Paddling the Canoe Together: Serving Pasifika in Diaspora.

Over the last decade, librarians and publishers have prioritized diverse literature and programming; with concrete examples including the PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship, We Need Diverse Books, and the Lee and Low Diversity Baseline Survey. However, Indigenous Pacific Islanders are seldom centered in these efforts, despite being underrecognized in these professions. The 2017 ALA Demographic Study identified 0.2% of ALA members as “Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander”; likewise, in 2021, Penguin Random House reported that less than 1% of its content was created by Pacific Island writers and illustrators. If library workers cannot source Pacific Island literature, they risk signaling that libraries are not places that welcome Pacific Islanders. This is exacerbated when displays, events programming, and reading lists for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month routinely exclude Pacific Island representation – a painful erasure in what should be a time of celebration and pride.

It is clear that library workers have an opportunity to be active and informed allies for the Oceanic communities they serve, and the Pacific Island library workers within our profession. Join three Pasifika librarians as they share their experiences as members of the Polynesian diaspora (Kānaka Maoli, Māori) working in different California libraries. Our session will be grounded in a unique Kānaka Maoli relational framework, and informed by mātauranga Māori. We will showcase a range of Indigenous publishers, networks, and events; and highlight community-created resources such as the new Pacific Islanders in Publishing Database. Attendees will leave with a more nuanced understanding of authentic literature, as well as tips on how to support emerging presses and creatives through your library.

Register Here! 

Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Time: 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm (Pacific Time)
Location: Zoom