Críticas Magazine

Bruce Jensen

A Peruvian-born Chinese-Canadian residing in the United States
May 12, 2008

"Professor wants libraries to reflect cultural diversity" was the headline last week over in Silicon Valley.

That's because Dr. Clara Chu spoke Thursday at the Sunnyvale Public Library.  The UCLA professor of Information Studies and Asian American Studies is, as the article points out, "a Peruvian-born Chinese-Canadian residing in the United States":

...she looks at Sunnyvale and Cupertino's increasingly diverse demographics, particularly the 43 percent of both populations who are foreign-born, and sees opportunities for libraries to help residents better understand each other.

"What I want to do there is to have us think about how we all have a heritage and a culture and that it's wonderful to learn about our own culture but also to learn about other cultures around us," she said in a recent phone interview.

People of all ages and who speak all languages are invited (Chu speaks Cantonese, French and Spanish).

When I think back on some of the spectacularly amazing people I met in Westwood--and there were many such people--I marvel, shake my head and wonder why they even let me in to UCLA.  A huge clerical oversight, obviously.  But it was Dr. Chu who cleared the path for me to get there.  She helped me along the way, and eventually abetted in the grandaddy of all clerical errors when I was allowed to graduate.

You may know her as the 2002 American Library Association Equality Award Honoree, and as a 2005 Library Journal Mover & Shaker.

What you might not know about is her featured role in the KQED interactive documentary series called i5, about five immigrants in California.  Her episode has the catchy title "Ask Doctor Chu,"

Posted by Bruce Jensen on May 12, 2008 | Comments (0)