• From the University Librarian
• Libraries’ Annual Fund Campaign Benefits Students
• New Exhibit, Healing U: Health Education at UCI, Opens on April 29th
• Donors Attend Viewing of Salinger Family Fund Acquisitions
• AnteaterTag@UCI Invites Players to Travel Back in Time
• Library Wish List
• Library STARs Pilot Program Develops Future Leaders
• History of American Fashion on Display in Workshop
• Visit by Garden Grove High School Students Expands Horizons
• Treasures from Special Collections and Archives
• Follow us on Social Media!
• New Exhibit in Special Collections & Archives: Ward Ritchie and Laguna Verde Imprenta
• Lydia Fletcher joins UCI Libraries
• Calendar of Events

Vol 20 | No 2 | Spring 14

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Visit by Garden Grove High School Students Expands Horizons

In January, Garden Grove High School teacher Katy Jue brought 25 students from her Vietnamese American History class to the UCI Libraries to expose them to the rich resources available in the Libraries’ highly regarded Southeast Asian Archive (SEAA) and UCI’s Vietnamese American Oral History Project (VAOHP).

Thuy Vo Dang, Archivist for the Southeast Asian Archive and Regional History, organized and led the tour. “I was delighted to share the Libraries’ historical resources with our local high school students,” said Vo Dang. “Our goal is to help them feel empowered by seeing their histories reflected in the materials, and to spark their imagination to pursue research here.”

After a warm welcome, the students were ushered into a computer classroom for an overview of the SEAA and VAOHP, followed by a tour of the SEAA Reading Room. Mr. Bao Nguyen, Garden Grove School Board trustee and UCI alumni, joined the group and enjoyed seeing the impact of the experience on the students. “The Southeast Asian Archive is an invaluable resource for Garden Grove students to contextualize their academic studies as well as their personal experience growing up in Westminster, CA,” said Nguyen.

The field trip provided an opportunity for the students to learn something new about Vietnamese American history, the UCI Libraries’ resources, and the UCI campus. For 9th grader Tammy La, the visit was a discovery of a very personal nature. While in the SEAA Reading Room, she discovered the English translation of the book, Stormy Escape, by her grandmother Kim Hà, a local author whose work documents the experiences of Vietnamese refugees.

The next leg of the tour was in the Special Collections and Archives reading room facilitated by Public Services Librarian Steve MacLeod. Students were introduced to primary sources and given a “show and tell” experience with the records, photographs, and artwork. By chance, Kim Hà’s, handwritten manuscript was on display for her granddaughter to see.

The final part of the field trip was held at the Cross-Cultural Center where a group of UCI students facilitated discussions organized by the Southeast Asian Student Association with lunch provided by Our 1 World’s Cathy Lam. Garden Grove City Council member Chris Phan attended and provided his perspectives on following one’s heart when selecting a college major.

The students’ feedback after the visit ranged from new discoveries such as, “There used to be statues of Confucian men in front of the Asian Garden Mall (in Westminster, CA),” to learning more deeply about how the events that happened in Vietnam still affect people today.

Said Vo Dang, “While the students took away some valuable information from their visit, I also learned a great deal about the importance of the connections we forge with younger students.”