Exploring the Chinese American Experience:
A CALA Award-Winning Book Talk with 
Traci Huahn, Michelle Jing Chan, and Karen Fang 

(Poster in PDF)

Join the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) for its first special virtual event honoring the 2025 CALA Best Book Award recipients. This engaging session features award-winning authors whose works highlight the resilience, artistry, and stories of Chinese Americans.

      Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
      Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM EDT
      Zoom Link: Register for the Webinar

Featured Speakers and Talks:

• Traci Huahn, author of Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School; Michelle Jing Chan, illustrator

         Talk Title: Journey of a Thousand Miles: Bringing the Story of Mamie Tape to Life

Join author Traci Huahn and illustrator Michelle Jing Chan as they discuss their own journeys of bringing Mamie Tape’s story to life. Learn more about the history of Mamie Tape and her family, Traci’s extensive archival research and interviews with Mamie’s relatives, and Michelle’s "behind-the-scenes" art process.

• Karen Fang, author of The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong: Background Artist
  Talk Title: Background Artist: Visibility, Invisibility, and the Power of Art

Praised as the "definitive new biography" (Smithsonian Magazine) and a "worthy tribute to a groundbreaking artist" (Publishers Weekly), Karen Fang's Background Artist tells the extraordinary story of the Chinese immigrant artist, centenarian, and Disney Legend who helped make Bambi. In her talk for CALA, Fang will discuss Wong's early life under Chinese Exclusion, how his art practice countered the injustice of the era, and what lessons his long life provides us in this current moment.

Come hear from the author, illustrator, and scholar as they discuss the inspiration behind their creative process, the research that shaped their narratives, and the powerful messages at the heart of their award-winning books. Discover how these works illuminate overlooked chapters of Chinese American history, elevate voices long silenced, and celebrate the enduring impact of representation through storytelling and art.

 Learn more about the award and recipients: https://cala-web.org/awards/bestbook/2025recipients

We look forward to celebrating these outstanding authors with you!

Dear CALA Members,

Recipients of 2025 CALA awards, grants, and scholarships have been selected or granted. Please click on the Awards tab to view the details.

2025 CALA Best Book Award Recipients

美国华人图书馆员协会2025最佳图书奖的获奖者名单

The CALA Best Book Award Subcommittee is pleased to announce the following recipients of the 2025 CALA Best Book Awards. The annual CALA Best Book Award recognizes outstanding books, published in English or Chinese, which exhibit excellence in addressing Chinese Americans, Chinese, people of Chinese origin, Chinese cultural heritage, or China, and written by Chinese authors or authors of Chinese descent. The Award is to raise awareness of these topics and authors in North America.  

CALA最佳图书奖评审小组荣幸地宣布2025年度CALA最佳图书奖的获奖者名单。一年一度的CALA最佳图书奖旨在表彰以英文或中文出版的优秀书籍，这些书籍在描写华裔美国人、中国人、华裔人士、中国及中华文化传承等方面表现出色，并由华人或华裔作者创作。该奖项旨在提高北美地区对这些主题和作者的认识和关注度。

The following are the recipients of the Best Book Awards. We congratulate the authors for their outstanding works representing the diversity of the Chinese and Chinese American experience.

以下是本次最佳图书奖的获奖者名单。我们向这些出色作品的作者表示衷心的祝贺，他们的作品展现了华人和华裔经历的多样性。

2025 CALA Best Book Awards Recipients

Headline: ALA/CALA 2025 Annual Conference Banquet Registration (closed on 6/20/2025, Friday)

Banquet Registration Form: ALA/CALA 2025 Annual Conference

Dear CALA Members,

ALA/CALA Annual Conference Banquet will be held on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at Tai Lake Restaurant (太湖海鲜酒家), 134 N 10th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

This special event will feature remarks from the CALA President and highlight of CALA's accomplishments this year. It also offers a valuable opportunity for members to reconnect, foster new professional relationships, and celebrate the individuals who have contributed significantly to CALA’s success. We will take this occasion to acknowledge their dedication, welcome new members to our community, and enjoy authentic Chinese cuisine in the heart of Philadelphia.

We greatly encourage as many CALA members as possible to participate.  Banquet Registration will be closed by Friday, June 20, 2025.

The CALA Program Committee sincerely thanks the CALA President and the Executive Committee for their strong leadership and generous financial support in making this event possible. We are also grateful to all members for their active participation and continued engagement.

Registration

Payment Method:  We strongly recommend you use Zelle (type in: hongyaony@gmail.com, the registered name is "Chinese American Librarians Association"). If you are unable to pay in advance, please be prepared to pay on-site with exact cash (no change will be provided).

Payment amount:  $30 per person

Time of the banquet:  June 29, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Restaurant Name: Tai Lake Restaurant (太湖海鲜酒家)

Restaurant Address: 134 N 10th St Philadelphia, PA 19107 (Google Map Directions)

Note: The restaurant is within walking distance from the conference center.

Dear CALA Officers and Committee Chairs:

Please submit your annual reports by 06/06/2025 (Submission form is open from 05/19/2025 to 06/06/2025). 

• 2020-2025 strategic plan
• Handbook of Officers (2019) - with committee charges
• Report Template 

Instructions:

1. Sign in with your CALA membership registered email and password if you have not done so
2. Click on the "Register" button
3. Follow the instructions on screen
4. Upload your report files (in PDF) 

[Note: If you submit multiple files for one or more committees, simply upload the files one at a time.]

Dear CALA Members:

The Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) 2024-2025 Nominating Committee cordially invites you to consider running for the following positions for the 2025 CALA general election.

We are seeking candidates for the following positions: (The duties listed here):

• President (4 year term, starts July 1, 2025: first year 25-26 as the Incoming VP; second year 26-27 as the VP; third year 27-28 as the President; and fourth year 28-29 as the Immediate Past President)
• Executive Director (3 year term, starts July 1, 2025: 2025-2028)
• Five Positions for Board of Directors (3 year term, starts July 1, 2025: 2025-2028)

These positions are critical to the continual development of our organization CALA. Nomination of Board of Directors shall take into consideration the geographical representation. Based on CALA’s Constitution and Bylaws, all nominees must be personal members in good standing with a record of participation in the activities and functions at various levels of CALA. The election will be held in the Spring 2025. The elected officers are expected to attend at least one board meeting each year. Absence from two consecutive board meetings without prior written approval from the President will result in the removal from the CALA Board.

The Nomination Form is available at https://forms.gle/LmWWc4pfoUs9bQsv9 .

Please consider either nominating yourself or by anyone else within CALA. If you nominate someone, please ensure you have their consent first. 

The deadline for submitting the nomination is December 4, 2024.

Should you have any questions, we would love to answer them for you. CALA appreciates your willingness to support, serve, and run for your preferred position!

Thank you!

Vincci Kwong

CALA Immediate Past President & Chair of Nominating Committee 2025-2026

CALA 2024-2025 Nominating Committee:

• NCA: Elaine Tai, etai221@gmail.com 
• SCA: Xiwen Zhang, xiwen@csusb.edu
• GMA: Lianglei Qi, lqi@cheyney.edu
• MW: Shuyi Liu, shuyil@mail.fresnostate.edu 
• NE: Edward Junhao Lim, edward.lim.jh@gmail.com
• SE: Yi Wan, yw19@email.sc.edu 
• SW: Jie Pan, jpantxl@gmail.com 
• Canada: Wei Zhang, zhangw94@mcmaster.ca 
• Asia-Pacific: Katherina Lee, lee_katherina@yahoo.com

Dear CALA members and Friends,

The CALA Newsletter Subcommittee is inviting YOU to contribute to the next issue of the fall CALA Newsletter. CALA members and non-members of the association can submit articles focused on areas of interest to the Chinese American Librarian community. See Past Issues, for examples.

Topics can be focused on, but not limited to, the following areas:

·  News & Announcements

o Member news 

o Achievements, promotions, nominations and awards

o Publications, call for collaborations

o Milestones

·  Feature stories

o Chapter highlights

o Interviews of librarians or CALA advocates

o Spotlights of CALA members

o Expert advice (library series, traditions, foods, etc.)

o Behind the scenes (conference(s), programming)

o Personal experiences

o Programs & outreach with a positive impact on librarians, library workers & community

o Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, allyship initiatives 

o Collaborations (national, international and local)

o International outreach

o Impact stories (libraries and patrons)

·  Conferences & Travels

o Visits

o Traveling

·  Reviews

o Book reviews (unofficial – so that you may publish elsewhere)

o Food/Restaurant reviews of CALA conference favs

o Opinions & Perspectives - on current library issues

·  Trends

o Technology & Observations

o Sustainability

o Spaces (community, academic, etc.)

o Management

o Learning

o Student well-being

·  Small albums (of people, events, etc.)

·  Memorials

 

Article requirements:

·  Length: Between 100–1500 words (exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis)

·  Complete and ready for publication. The committee will do light editing of each article

·  Deadline: November 15, 2024

 

*** Note: The official reports from various CALA Committees, Task Forces and Chapters are archived on the CALA Website and are not included in the newsletter. This is per the Executive Board's policy.

 

Please send a final complete copy of your submission to the emails below. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

With much appreciation,

The CALA Newsletter Subcommittee

Esther De-Leon, Co-chair, esther.de-leon@ttu.edu

Jen Woo, Co-chair, jenniferjwoo@gmail.com

Amy Jiang, Member, ajiang@laverne.edu

Jianshan Yang, Member, yangjs0825@gmail.com

Dear CALA members,

Since COVID, announcements for CALA Awards and Grant recipients have been shared through the CALA listserv and the CALA Membership Meeting. The Executive Committee sincerely apologizes that this information was not clearly communicated, which led to a misunderstanding that the Award and Grant presentations will be held at the CALA Banquet at ALA.

Below is a list of recipients for this year’s awards and grants. The recording for the Membership Meeting is available at https://iu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/t/1_p4gt51yo. Award and grant recipient information will be updated on corresponding CALA webpages accordingly.

If you have any suggestions or feedback for CALA’s program(s), we encourage you to share them with the Executive Committee at exc@cala-web.org. Your input is valuable to us. Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Vincci Kwong

2023-2024 CALA President

CALA Outstanding Library Leadership Award in Memory of Dr. Margaret Chang Fung

Huanwen Cheng

 

CALA Distinguished Service Award

Wenli Gao

 

CALA Scholarship of Library and Information Science

Elaine Wei San Kong

 

Sage and JCLC NALCo LIS Student Scholarship for CALA

Luming Zhang and Caroline Chow

 

Sheila Suen Lai Scholarship of Library and Information Science

Hiu Wing (Ann) Sze

 

Huang Tso-ping & Wu Yao-yu Research & Scholarship (Faculty)

Ying Huang

 

Huang Tso-ping & Wu Yao-yu Research & Scholarship (LIS Student)

Yiren Zhang and Wei Feng

 

Sally S. Tseng Professional Development Grant

Hsianghui Liu-Spencer

 

President's Recognition Award

Committees/Taskforces

Assessment and Evaluation Committee, Mentoring Program Committee, Public Relations and Fundraising Committee, Web Committee, Web Application Development Taskforce, Digital Services Evaluation Taskforce

 

Volunteer Leaders

Ray Pun, Edward Junhao Lim, Weiling Liu, Lei Jin, Esther De-Leon, Qing Zou, Ying Liao

 

ALA Travel Grant

Min Tong, Michael Huang, Grace Liu, Feng-Ru Sheu, Fangmin Wang, Changhong (Bella) Wu, Hui-Feng Chang, Xiaojie Duan, Xiaojie Duan, Jing Xu

 

China Travel Grant

Wei Xuan, Jinxuan Ma, Yali Feng, Wenli Gao, Kuie Chiu

 

Chapter President Travel Grant

Wei Zhang, Maggie Wang, Shuyi Liu

 

CALA Best Book Award

Children’s Fiction

The Many Masks of Andy Zhou by Jack Cheng

 

Children’s Nonfiction

On the Tip of a Wave: How Ai Weiwei’s Art is Changing the Tide by Joanna Ho and Catia Chien

 

Young Adult Fiction

An Echo in the City by K.X. Song

 

Young Adult Nonfiction

The Boy from Clearwater: Book 1 by Yu Pei-Yun

 

Adult Fiction

Straw Dogs of the Universe: A Novel by Ye Chun

 

Adult Nonfiction

Orphan Bachelors: A Memoir by Fae Myenne Ng

Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming by Ava Chin

 

Honor Books

Children’s Fiction

Ghost Book by Remy Lai

 

Young Adult Fiction

Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying

 

Adult Fiction

The Chinese Groove: A Novel by Kathryn Ma

__________________________

Vincci Kwong

Librarian, Director of Research and Learning

Franklin D. Schurz Library

574-520-4444

vkwong@iu.edu

The Intranet site at https://cala.wildapricot.org is now live as CALA's website at https://cala-web.org.

-- CALA Webmaster (2023-2024)

The CALA Scholarship Subcommittee would like to announce the 2024 CALA Scholarship Awards as below:

1. The CALA Scholarship of Library and Information Science, $1,000: one student

2. Sage and JCLC NALCo LIS Student Scholarship for CALA (The Sage & JCLC Inc. NALCo LIS Student Scholar Program): two students, $1000 each

3. The Sheila Suen Lai Scholarship of Library and Information Science, $500: one student

4. Huang Tso-ping & Wu Yao-yu Research & Scholarship (for faculty and students at Wuhan University, China)

Congratulations to all award recipients!

CALA Scholarship Subcommittee (scholarship@cala-web.org)

Hui-Fen Chang, Co-chair

Clara Tran, Co-chair

Katherina Lee

Yanli Li

Wei Zakharov