November 18, 2010 Mongolian Americans Are Subject of Dec. 3 Program

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and the People’s Republic of China to the south, east and west. When communism in Mongolia ended in the 1990s, restrictions on emigration lifted, allowing many Mongolians to immigrate to America. Today, Mongolian Americans continue to preserve their culture and heritage thorough participation in academic societies, professional and community organizations, cultural performances, heritage schools, children’s festivals and youth organizations.

“Cultural Stewardship in Mongolian American Communities” will be the subject of a lecture by Alicia Campi, at the Library of Congress at noon on Friday, Dec. 3, in the Asian Reading Room foyer, on the first floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Asian Division, the program is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

Campi is a former U.S. diplomat, and president of the Mongolian Society, the U.S. Mongolia Advisory Group and the Chinggis Khan Foundation. She holds a doctorate in Mongolian studies from Indiana University, and a master’s degree in East Asian/Mongolian studies from Harvard University. Campi is the co-author (with R. Basaan) of “The Impact of China and Russia on United States-Mongolian Political Relations in the Twentieth Century.” Written by two former diplomats, the groundbreaking work is the first in-depth analysis of the political relationship between the U.S. and Mongolia. The study elucidates why, despite over a hundred years of substantive interactions between the two countries, the establishment of formal diplomatic relations did not occur until 1987.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

The Library of Congress is the central repository for all types of Asian publications that are not broadly available at other locations in the United States. Initiated in 1869 with a gift of 10 works in 934 volumes offered to the United States by the Emperor of China, the Library’s Asian collection of more than 2 million items is the largest and most comprehensive outside of Asia. For more information about the division and its holdings, go to www.loc.gov/rr/asian/.

Launched in 2008 and housed in the Library’s Asian Division, the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection documents peoples living in the United States with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia, Indian subcontinent, Hawaii, Guam, Samoa or other Pacific Islands. The collection complements materials housed throughout the Library of Congress that support the study of Asian American Pacific Islander history. Recently donated materials include the plays and research materials from the works of Asian Pacific American playwrights, as well as the papers of the Asian adoptee community.