| Surveyors
Needed for Asian/Pacific Islander/American History Project
The Asian/Pacific Islander/American History Project
of Greater Rochester (APA-HiP) seeks community
scholars and surveyors to document historical records
under a $14,772 grant awarded recently by the Documentary
Heritage Program (DHP), established by the New York
State Legislature in 1988 to address the needs of historical
records programs across New York State.
APA-HiP
is the first pan-Asian community project to be funded
under DHP, which awarded a total of $100,000 in grants
this year to 14 organizations. The APA-HiP grant will
focus on the four largest Asian American ethnic groups
in the six-county Greater Rochester region: Asian Indians,
Chinese, Koreans, and Southeast Asians (Vietnamese,
Laotian, and Cambodian). In addition, other smaller
populations, such as Filipino, Samoan, Nepali, and Pakistani,
will also be surveyed.
The
survey is the first phase of a three-year documentary
archive plan, designed to ultimately make historical
records available to scholars, students, and the general
public for research and educational purposes.
During
the first year, APA-HiP will employ community scholars
and surveyors to conduct a comprehensive survey of historical
documentary records held by organizations, employers,
individuals and colleges/universities. A consulting
archivist and project advisory committee, made up of
APA community leaders, will help with planning and setting
collection policies. (See specific job descriptions
at the end of this news release.)
"Already,
we have identified more than two dozen organizations
we believe are holding records of historical value to
our community," said Vivien Hao, co-founder of
APA-HiP and a project advisory committee member. "We
encourage anyone who may have photos, immigration papers,
minutes, bylaws, and other documents pertaining to Asian
Americans in this area to contact us."
"We
know the first Asian American family settled in Rochester
in the 1870's, and that in the last 20 years, the APA
population has grown faster by percentage than any other
racial group in the Rochester area," Hao added.
"Our project seeks to collect, document and preserve
knowledge about the contributions and achievements of
Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent."
According
to the 2000 US Census, there are about 25,000 persons
of Asian or Pacific Islander descent living in the Greater
Rochester area (Monroe, Wayne, Orleans, Genesee, Ontario
and Livingston Counties). This represents 2.5 percent
of the general population of about 1 million people.
APA-Hip's
documentary survey will be conducted in cooperation
with the University of Rochester's Rush Rhees Library,
Division of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation.
See:
Job Postings for Apa-Hip
Documentary Heritage Program Grant Positions
For
more information, please contact Vivien Hao at (585)217-9591
or info@rochesterasianhistory.org
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