Welcome from the Librarian of Congress
As the largest repository of the world’s knowledge and American creativity, the Library of Congress is a symbol of democracy and the principles on which the United States was founded. We celebrate the cultural diversity that makes our great nation by making it our mission to acquire, preserve and make accessible this exponentially growing body of knowledge.
The resources of the Library’s Asian Division cover the area from the South Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia to China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. With more than two million books, periodicals and newspapers, a large number of manuscripts and electronic media, the collections are the most comprehensive sources of Asian language materials outside of Asia.
In celebration of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, the Library has launched an updated Web site highlighting the resources on Asian Pacific American history and culture available from our extensive online collections.
This annual celebration is one of the ways in which the Library heightens awareness and recognizes the contributions of Asian/Pacific Americans to our nation. This year’s theme, “Leadership, Diversity and Harmony—Gateway to Success,” acknowledges the many nations and ethnicities that Asian/Pacific Americans represent and their roles in society that have helped strengthen American fellowship, encourage prosperity and enliven spirit.
On behalf of the dedicated Library of Congress staff, I invite you to the Library in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, including a keynote presentation by Michelle Rhee, chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, on May 7.
The Library’s month-long celebration will help demonstrate how Asian/Pacific Americans have helped make America a strong, vibrant, and free society through their strong values, love of family, and commitment to community.
James H. Billington
Librarian of Congress
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month
May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month-a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).
Like most commemorative months, Asian/Pacific Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian/Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration. Twelve years later, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension making the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law.
The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.
About This Year's Theme
Leadership, Diversity and Harmony—Gateway to Success
The theme for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is selected annually by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization organized exclusively for educational purposes to promote equal opportunity and cultural diversity for Asian Pacific Americans within in the federal and D.C. governments.
This year’s theme, “Leadership, Diversity and Harmony—Gateway to Success,” honors the many contributions citizens of Asian and Pacific Island ancestry have made to America. Through their entrepreneurship and strong values of love and family, they have strengthened the economy and enriched communities across the nation.
Last Updated: 04/25/2008