Library A Week

Asian Educational Media Service Library

2010 no. 10

Library Profile

Library Name: Asian Educational Media Service Library Location: 805 W Pennsylvania Ave, Urbana, IL 61801 Type: Special Mission: Our mission is to promote understanding of Asian cultures and peoples and to assist educators at all levels, from elementary schools to colleges and universities, in finding resources for learning and teaching about Asia. Library Website: http://www.aems.illinois.edu LTLS Directory Page: http://www.lincolntrail.info/qan LTLS Member Since: 2008   An interview with Program Director, Nancy Jervis, Events Coordinator, Jason Finkelman, and Librarian, Sara Thompson.

What is unique about your library?

To the public, we are exclusively a media library. Our materials focus on East and South Asia. Since we focus on education, we have a lot of documentaries, but also have feature films. We also have curriculum units for educators. A very important part of our library is also the film screenings and festivals that we hold.

What are the primary goals and objectives of your library?

We have many different constituencies. We serve both speakers of native languages and people just starting to learn about Asian cultures. We also help support K-12 teachers as well as professors at the university level. Our patrons can come from the general public, the U of I, or the local school districts. They can be teachers, researchers or just someone with an interest in Asian culture and media. If someone would like to see what Asia is like, they can come into our library, because the visual focus of our materials will help paint that picture.

What cooperative efforts are you currently doing?

We are part of the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies at the U of I, and act as an outreach arm to the public for the center, so we cooperate with other partners at  the AEMS Library. Each month, during the school year, we hold an AsiaLENS screening at the Spurlock Museum on campus. It's free and open to the public. The screenings always involve a presenter and discussion to give attendees context for the film. A different kind of collaboration was held at the Krannert Center. In January, in conjunction with a performance of Chinese music by the Kronos Quartet, we were asked to add events that could help contextualize the performance. We planned a screening of the movie Women of the Southern Wind at the Krannert Center and then also tied our February AsiaLENS film, Up the Yangtze held at the Spurlock, into the event. Also, each of the staff members here brings in new contacts and possibilities for cooperation. Nancy has a background in East Asian academics and is working with university professors so that they can help de-brief the films to the public, and assist them in selecting films from the AEMS Library to show in their classes. Jason has a great background as an event planner in the performance art world and brings those contacts to the center. Sara brings the library background and is working on more cooperation between libraries.

Tell us a story about your library.

Our last AsiaLENS film was My Daughter the Terrorist. It is a documentary film about two young Sri Lankan girls that join the Tamil Tigers. Some members of the Sri Lankan community in Champaign-Urbana were opposed to the film being shown. They felt that the war that had been going on for 30 years had ended and that showing the film would bring it up again, and asked us not to show the film. We met with some members from the community and assured them it would be properly contextualized.  We went ahead and held the screening. Many members of the Sri Lankan community came, some stayed outside and some participated, but in the end they congratulated us.  We now have another discussion set up with the Sri Lankan community later this week, to plan a follow-up event on the issues raised by the film.  It is great to be able to be a catalyst for these kinds of discussions, which the university environment really fosters.

If money were no object, what services would you add?

We would re-establish the annual Asian film festival at the Art Theater. This used to be an event held every fall, but funding for it has been cut. We are currently seeking ways to hold it in a more limited way, on campus.  But if we could, we’d really like to do it in a public venue where more people could attend. We would also like to update the collection and fill in gaps. It would be nice to get DVDs to replace some of the VHS tapes. It would be great if we were in a more accessible space, and had more space for a growing collection. It would also be great to have our own screening facility onsite so we could do weekly screenings. Of course, more staff would help the library run smoother, plus allow us to hold more events and keep our database updated.

What is popular in your library?

The most popular materials are martial arts movies, Bollywood movies, and Japanese anime films. The AsiaLENS Documentary and Independent Film Series is also incredibly popular. Upcoming screenings at the Spurlock Museum: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 7:00pm The Betrayal (Ellen Kuras, 2008 96 min.) Discussion led by Fiona Ng, UIUC   Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 7:00pm Can’t Go Native? (David Plath, 56 min.) Discussion led by Keith Brown, Pittsburgh

How does your library use online tools to connect to your users?

In addition to the library, our website hosts a searchable database of 6,000 films, mostly documentaries but features as well.  You can search by subject, and find descriptions, reviews and distributors.  We also use Facebook and Twitter for outreach, and our website now has an online “chat with the librarian” feature.

Request a visit to your library If you would like to set up a special date for us to visit your library contact LTLS Consultant Michelle Ralston Library of the Week is published by Lincoln Trail Libraries System, 1704 W. Interstate Dr., Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-0047  -   [email protected] Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes