Labriola Center Open Stacks
Sun Devil Reads
North Lounge
AAPI Food and Culture
The AAPI Food and Culture collection encapsulates the diverse and vibrant food cultures that define the AAPI experience. Through mouthwatering photographs, heartfelt stories, and expertly crafted recipes, we invite you to embark on a culinary journey that celebrates the 50 distinct ethnic groups that comprise the AAPI community. Whether you're an experienced chef or a curious home cook, this collection offers something for everyone, serving as a delicious reminder of the beauty found in shared meals and shared experiences.
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) culinary traditions, we collaborated with faculty and staff across the university to bring you this featured collection. Special thanks to Qian Liu, Orkhon Enkhtuvshin, Xia Zhang, Young Oh and Rudy Guevarra Jr. for their contributions to this featured collection.
Black Voices
This collection is the result of many thoughtful conversations among colleagues, within leadership circles, and with the ASU community about diversfiying ASU Library’s book resources to adequately represent more Black, Indigenous and People of Color authors and researchers. Although there is more work to be done, this collection is one of many projects here at ASU Library that aims to fill the gaps we recognize within our library collection and continue our mission of providing a diverse and inclusive experience for library patrons with our collections.
We dedicate this collection to the countless authors who have uplifted the Black and African American community and brought forth stories of their experiences and culture through their writings of literature, history, memoir, and beyond. This collection is broad in its scope, but we hope that the many genres allow for people with varying interests to find a book that calls to them.
This featured collection was curated by the Community-Driven Archives Initiative/Black Collections team and their student interns.
Disability and Inclusion
These books serve as resources to better understand the experiences of those with disabilities. Included are memoirs, histories, photography, and children's literature addressing topics such as identity, activism, and education.
Honor Hispanic and Latinx Heritage
This collection serves to commemorate Hispanic and Latinx communities through their influence and contributions to American society. We dedicate this collection to the authors and directors who shared stories of their experiences and culture through the written word and cinema. This featured collection was curated by archivists, library staff, librarians and members of the El Concilio student coalition.
Islamic Collection
This collection encompasses Islamic thoughts, knowledge and beliefs. It also highlights important holidays for Muslims, such as Ramadan and Eid. Ramadan is a holy month in the Islamic calendar characterized by devotion to God through acts of worship, reflection upon the Quran and fasting. The purpose of fasting is not only to practice self-discipline, thankfulness and empathy towards others who are less fortunate but also to develop God-consciousness. Ramadan is a significant month because it was the month the Quran was revealed as a guidance and a distinguishing factor between right and wrong. Eid al-Fitr, the first day after Ramadan, is characterized to be a day of celebration and community and family bonding after the month of Ramadan. In short, this collection serves to provide knowledge on Islam and celebrate our faith!
Japanese Popular Culture
In popular culture, anime and manga are known for their colorful imagery, exaggerated character features, and complex themes. Through a series of volumes or episodes, audiences are exposed to themes such as love, loss, society, and history. As the popularity of anime and manga continues to grow around the world, their influence can be seen in films, video games, and books. Not only are anime and manga incredibly entertaining, they also provide an understanding and glimpse of Japanese culture. The characters, plots, and themes in this collection all provide insight into Japanese perspectives and cultures.
We encourage you to explore this collection co-curated by librarians and Dr. William Hedberg, Professor of Japanese in the School of International Letters and Cultures. This collection supports the JPN 115 course and includes manga, books, and films that address Japanese popular culture.
Central Lounge
BIPOC Playwrights
The BIPOC Playwrights Collection is dedicated to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) playwrights of the 20th and 21st centuries, whose works are in English or with English translations widely available. The collection is intended to serve as a resource for the performing arts community at ASU and to amplify the work of historically marginalized artists. There was an identified gap in our collection holdings, particularly for audition resources that authentically represent our BIPOC students. We aim to disrupt the pattern of white actors and narratives being centered onstage. This collection is a testament to the rich, powerful storytelling amongst BIPOC playwrights. We will continue to update the collection to make visible the intersectionality of race, identity, and nationality of these playwrights.
This particular project is inspired by the upcoming production of Detroit ‘67 directed by ASU graduate student and MFA candidate in Directing, Crestencia (CeCe) Ortiz-Barnett, at ASU. Alongside ASU faculty member Rachel Finley, Associate Professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre (MDT), CeCe Ortiz-Barnett (‘24), ASU Performing Arts Librarian, Caelin Ross collaborated to create original play list and for people interested in learning more about this topic.
This collection is dedicated to the ASU students, faculty and artists whose stories deserve to be uplifted, both on and offstage. To support our theatre community, please visit: https://musicdancetheatre.asu.edu/events
Every Day is Earth Day
In celebration of Earth Month, University Sustainability Practices invites you to explore this collection of books focused on sustainability. This collection includes a variety of topics ranging from water conservation, sustainable economics, climate change, plant-forward eating, and more! Within this collection, you can find books written by expert ASU faculty working in the sustainability field. ASU staff, faculty, and students in the sustainability community were also given the opportunity to contribute some of their favorite books to this collection! The Every Day is Earth Day collection is part of the University Sustainability Practices celebration of Earth Month that brings awareness to sustainability as one of ASU’s core values. Throughout the month of April, University Sustainability Practices will be hosting events centered around sustainability. Get involved this Earth Month.
Indigenous Speculative Fiction
Indigenous speculative storytelling [re]imagines and [re]configures reality. It remembers and re-members lands, languages, memories, and cultures to acknowledge, honor, and reclaim resilience and kinship.
- Indigenous Speculative Fiction class, Spring 2023 with Dr. Jerome Clark
Reference
This collection includes a sampling of standard reference materials such as encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries that can support learning and research on a variety of topics. These reference materials are always available in the library because they are non-circulating, meaning they cannot be checked out.
Transcendent Voices: Perspectives Beyond the Binary
In celebration of Transgender Awareness Week, this collection seeks to highlight a diverse range of transgender, nonbinary, two-spirit, and other gender diverse experiences. Explore critical essay collections on how to craft a better world for trans and gender diverse individuals, provocative fiction and poetry that will make your heart ache, as well as graphic novels and memoirs that explore the unique challenges and triumphs within the community. These empowering works of passion, empathy, and solidarity shed light on not only the historical struggles of trans & gender diverse individuals, but the love and joy they experience in being their most authentic self.
Special thanks to the Rainbow Coalition, TransFam and the LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Association for their contributions in curating this collection.
Zines
Zines (short for fanmagazines or just magazines) are self-published, independently distributed pamphlet-like print publications. Whether hand-drawn or digitally-born, made in cut-and-paste technique or hand-pressed, printed in color or black and white, produced by one person or put together by a group of same-minded individuals — zines claim a space for expressing authentic personal experiences and artistic freedom, protesting injustice, tackling identity or gender explorations, or simply speaking one’s mind.