The Family Literacy Focus committee has had a busy year, and we would like to share an annual round-up with the APALA community. First, we’d like to thank the APALA and AILA communities for supporting our continued work in promoting intergenerational literacy. Second, we’d like to give a huge round of applause to our intrepid, thoughtful, and dedicated outgoing co-chair, Amy Kyung-Eun Breslin. She was the sole chair in 2020-2021 and co-chair in 2021-2022. Breslin created a welcoming space for our committee to share, contribute, make progress, and feel cared for and give care to, in light of APALA initiatives. These past two years would not have been the same without her.
Now for the highlights reel of the Family Literacy Focus committee happenings:
- 2021-2022 Talk Story Grant Winners
The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and The American Indian Library Association (AILA) announced the 2022 Talk Story Grant winners on May 9th. This year, the award committees were pleased to award four $500 grants to the following libraries and community organizations to host Talk Story: Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture programming.
Auburn Hills Public Library, in Auburn Hills, Michigan, was awarded an APALA Talk Story grant for their plans to expand their world language collection with books focusing on Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada. In addition they will be offering a Diwali cultural program in Fall 2022, collaborating with members of the local Hindu Temple in efforts to create culturally relevant presentations. Plans for the Diwali program feature a Diwali story, a lesson about Diwali and its history, including appropriate crafts, activities, and snacks. All will be presented by community members who emigrated to the US and are able to speak about their lived experiences of celebrating Diwali in India.
Benton Middle School Tiger Library, in Benton, Louisiana, was awarded an APALA Talk Story grant for forming The Tiger Tales Book Club where they will connect with and feature Mrs. Karen Bean, teacher, librarian, and Filipina/Pacific Islander author, to collaborate with Filipinx Students. The book club plans include weekly meetings to co-read books and share lived experiences to gain knowledge about the cultures presented in young adult books and grow students’ ability to honor, elevate, and understand the cultures of others within and outside the book club. The program will culminate with a Filipinx feast, inviting families to highlight stories the students learned and share stories between generations of family and community members.
Downers Grove Public Library, in Downers Grove, Illinois, was awarded an AILA Talk Story grant to provide two storytelling events for children and families and one for adults. Downers Grove Public Library will partner with the Midwest SOARRING Foundation (MSF) and share Native folktales, discuss how stories teach and inform communities, and feature a display of Native artifacts. The adult event will feature an in-depth discussion about current lifestyles and issues facing Native communities, and an opportunity for patrons to taste authentic Native fry bread. The children/family program will feature a beading craft led by the MSF. These storytelling events will allow patrons to learn about Native culture through oral histories and folklore presented by Native individuals during Native American Heritage Month. The grant will also enable the library to purchase books and materials from Native American-owned businesses.
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, in Florence, Alabama, was awarded an AILA Talk Story grant to develop programs centering on culture and storytelling practices. The library will partner with the Florence Indian Mound and Museum and invite tribal Chickasaw members to share their culture with community members through storytelling. Facilitators will read from a Chickasaw story published by the Chickasaw Press that focuses on several themes or characters within the story. Young patrons will be invited to create their own stories using the previously learned characters or themes. Community members will learn to work together to write and illustrate their ideas. The storytelling event will coincide with Oka Kapassa, “an annual festival held at Tuscumbia’s Spring Park. These programs will connect patrons to nature, history, culture, and music and bring awareness of harmful stereotypes and the effects of colonialism to a group of people who may not have this opportunity otherwise.”
- Recap of Stats
Since 2010, over $45,000 of Talk Story grant funding has been awarded to 82 different communities in 27 states and territories across the United States. The areas with the most winners were California and Alaska. The 2022 Talk Story grant applicants included 12 organizations located in Alabama, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Since 2010, the winners have included 44 public libraries, 10 tribal libraries, 10 community organizations, 8 special libraries, 6 academic libraries, and 4 school libraries.
- Fall 2021 Webinar
The Family Literacy Focus committee members presented a webinar, “Literacy Beyond Food: Tips & Tricks for a Successful Talk Story Grant Proposal” in November 2021 to provide applicants with best practices and guidance in creating a successful grant application. The webinar covered information on the grant and provided tips for success in creating culturally relevant programming, beyond the usual food-related programs.
- Talk Story Logo Rebranding RFP
In collaboration with AILA, the Talk Story grant program seeks to update our logo! The existing logo needs a refresh. Currently, a brown bear represents AILA, and a panda represents APALA. While the panda bear is often used in media to symbolize China, its usage to represent all AAPI communities renders non-East Asian cultures and ethnicities invisible. East Asian ethnicities, cultures, phenotypes, and visibility already dominate the broader AAPI narrative, overshadowing the rich diversity amongst Central Asian, South Asian, South East Asian, Western Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian communities. Continuing to use the panda bear to represent the APALA arm of Talk Story perpetuates the misconception that we are a monolith. We seek to create a new logo that will be more inclusive and representative of all community stakeholders across Indigenous, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian peoples.
WHAT TO SUBMIT:
(1) A portfolio of images that represents your work
(2) 2-5 sentences describing your design process and how you work with clients.
(3) DUE Friday, June 24, 2022 11:50pm AoE
WHO: Submissions are open to all artists, designers, and visual creatives. In efforts to support movements by and for our communities, creatives who identify as Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, and/or Indigenous to the Americas will be given preference.
Please share widely and keep an eye out for the logo voting process this summer!
- In search of longer-term funding
We close this highlight reel with an appreciation and call for further support. We are thankful to have received funding support from ALA, Toyota, Springer Nature, and individual AILA members for these past years. In order to continue supporting AAPI and American Indigenous grant programming, we need a sustainable funder. If you know of any funders who would be interested in helping our annual grant Talk Story: Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture, please let us know at familylit@apalaweb.org. Thank you and take care!
Peace and solidarity,
APALA Family Literacy Focus Committee 2021-2022