Discovering Local Gems in Asian Heritage Month!

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We offer our deepest condolences to the Filipino Community of Vancouver and all other communities affected by the Lapu Lapu Festival tragedy!

The McGill Libraries is celebrating this year’s Asian Heritage Month with books and films by Quebecers of Asian heritage and those about them.

Check out these two Redpath Book Displays:

Creative Asian Quebecers showcases fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by Quebec writers of Asian heritage, and also films by Quebec directors of Asian heritage. Many of these creative workers are globally known and have won multiple prizes. On the list you are likely to find books and films that you enjoyed in the past without realizing their Québécois connection.

Montreal’s Chinatown between Past and Present presents books, videos, scholarly articles, as well as McGill student papers and theses about the important heritage site of Quebec.

Among the displayed are documentary films by two renowned Montrealers.

  • Meet and Eat at Lee’s Garden (2020) by film director Day’s Lee “explores Chinese restaurants in Montreal, Canada in the 1950s and the role they played in creating a bond between the Chinese and Jewish communities.” The McGill Libraries acquired this rare DVD (currently available only at the McGill Libraries) with support of the Lee Tak Wai Foundation. (Note: the president of the Foundation, Honourable Dr. Vivienne Poy, was instrumental in having May recognized as Asian Heritage Month across Canada.)
  • Film director Karen Cho’s Big Fight in Little Chinatown (2022) tells stories through the voices of members of Chinatowns in Canada and the United States (Montreal, Vancouver, and New York). While each story is unique, they share similar present challenges. How can they preserve their Chinatown amidst the intense urban development around it? How can they embrace their heritage and culture, while pursuing individual dreams?

As you will learn from these documentary films, for the old-time Montrealers of Chinese heritage, Chinatown is more than a heritage site and tourist attraction. It is a source of personal memories, as well as a community gathering place. It is their “home” or “Jiā 家.” To further explore the concept of Jiā 家 and learn about the movement to protect and promote the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Montréal’s Chinatown, visit the JIA Foundation website.

International Women’s Day: Working (More than) 9-5 

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Written by Dawn McKinnon

March 8th, 2025 is International Women’s Day (IWD). International Women’s Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, and many of the same issues are impacting women’s advancement. This year’s theme is #AccelerateAction, to emphasize the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality, both in personal and professional spheres (IWD website). 

To accompany IWD, the Redpath Book Display for March includes books by and about female entrepreneurs, who all work more than 9 to 5 to achieve their goals. Check out the list of books to learn about the successes and challenges faced by businesswomen who run the world. If reading the printed page isn’t for you, look for the audiobook versions in the list, so you can hear them roar. 

Creativity is a theme amidst the selections – the authors work hard for their money, and many discuss creative ways to earn R.E.S.P.E.C.T. and overcome challenges, including stories from social media star Madeline Pendleton, entrepreneurial consultant Charlene Walters, and Beth Comstock, who held positions in historical companies like GE.  

Many titles promote the power and importance of equity and diversity, such as “Promoting a culture of equity in the #MeToo era” where McElhaney et al., share experiences in the workplace, as well as recruiter Patricia Lenkov’s research in “Time’s Up Why Boards Need to Get Diverse Now.” 

Time after time, stories from women around the world and of those who came before us help us make sense of the world, so it is important to include selections that provide historical context (Making choices, making do: survival strategies of Black and White working-class women during the Great Depression), as well as the stories of independent women in today’s era (Girls who green the world : thirty-four rebel women out to save our planet).  

From steel toes and stilettos to Avon, these books were made for walking you through the pitches, celebrations, and barriers as they rewrite the rules for success. Visit the Redpath Library display to explore these in addition to other works, and view the full list of selected titles. 

Yomu Yomu, Tadoku,* Easy Japanese Books Available

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The McGill Libraries recently acquired the electronic version of the Nihongo Tadoku Bukkusu にほんご多読ブックス series. Users can now access graded readers for Japanese language learners in either print or electronic format:

  • Reberu betsu Nihongo tadoku raiburarī レベル別日本語多読ライブラリー  (also, called Nihongo Yomu Yomu Bunko ほんごよむよむ文庫) consists of 15 volumes divided into five levels (0-4). Each volume contains 4-6 booklets (parts).
  • Nihongo Tadoku Bukkusu にほんご多読ブックス consists of 55 books divided into six levels (0-5).

Detailed information about the titles in these series and how to access them can be found in “Resources for Japanese Language Learners” of the Japanese Studies guide. For questions and additional information, contact the East Asian Studies Liaison Librarian (hye-jin.juhn@mcgill.ca).

*Yomu よむ means “to read.” Tadoku 多読 means “extensive reading.”