The Friends of the Chinatown Library is a voluntary organization to help the Chinatown Branch Library of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) system. We provide volunteers and funds to support activities and to purchase materials. Our mission is threefold: (1) Develop community awareness of public use of library materials and services. (2) Raise funds for capital improvement, additional technology, services, reading materials and equipment. (3) Promote education, recreation and cultural programs for the immediate and extended community.

Our board meetings are normally held on the third Monday of each month from September through June.  We also host special events every other month.  For more information, click Calendar. 

                                          Angi Ma Wong's Business Feng Shui

Angi Ma Wong, known internationally as the Feng Shui Lady, will speak on the topic of Business Feng Shui for the "Year of the Rat" at the Chinatown Branch Library on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 6:30 PM in the Community Room.  The Friends invite you to come and learn more about this lively topic, click on Events.

                                         Mei Ling in China City by Icy Smith

The Friends invite you to come to our meeting scheduled at 6:30 PM on Monday, January 28, 2008 in the community room of the Chinatown Library to celebrate the publication of Icy Smith's new children's book entitled Mei Ling in China City.   The story is about the friendship between two young girls during World War II.  One of the girls, of Japanese ancestry, is interned at Manzanar War Relocation Center during World War II.  The other young girl is a Chinese American who lives in China City Los Angeles.  To read more about their story, click on New Books.  To learn more about the celebration meeting, click on Events.

                                           HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 2008!

Chinese New Year's Day falls on Thursday, February 7, 2008.  The lunar calendar counts this year as 4706 and it is truly awesome to realize Chinese and Asian culture has been recorded in history for nearly 5000 years.  According to Chinese legend, Buddha called for all the animals to come see him before he left the earth.  As the animals arrived  to wish Buddha farewell, he selected 12 animals as signs for the lunar calendar cycle.  The first animal to arrive and be selected was the rat.  Year 4706 is the year of the rat and is the beginning of the 12 year lunar cycle.  To learn more about the animal personalites in the lunar new year cycle, read The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes by Theodora Lau, click New Books.

A traditional Chinese New Year Celebration begins on Chinese New Year's Eve day with a family dinner.   Before getting the family members together to eat delicious Chinese food,  people prepare by cleaning the house, buying new clothes, paying off debts, and preparing the food for the meal.  On family dinner night, the children receive lucky money in little "red envelopes".  The celebration continues for about 2 weeks and usually ends with a lantern festival on the last day.  To learn more about the calendar of Chinese New Year events in Los Angeles Chinatown, click on Events.

This Chinese New Year, the Friends would like to extend Health and Happiness to two library branch managers, Carol Duan and Shan Liang.  The Friends would like to thank Carol Duan for her wonderful leadership during 13 years at Chinatown Library.  She was dedicated and responsive to the needs of the Chinatown community.  She will be a definite asset in her new position as Branch Manager at Robertson Library.  The Friends would also like to welcome Shan Liang as the new Branch Manager at Chinatown Library.  Shan was the Senior Librarian at the Eagle Rock Branch Library.  Shan's husband, Steven Chang, organized the Chinese Heritage Collection (CHC) when he worked at the Chinatown Branch.  The Friends, the Library Staff, and the Community look forward to working with Shan Liang at the Chinatown Library. 

             CHINATOWN BRANCH CELEBRATES LEO POLITI’S CENTENNIAL

Starting in January 2008 and continuing through November 2008, the Chinatown Branch Library will host events to celebrate the centennial of Leo Politi, a Caldecott Medal winner, for his wonderful children's books and artwork.  For a listing of events throughout 2008, click Library.

A beautifully illustrated and well written book entitled Leo Politi: Artist of the Angels by Ann Stalcup, is featured on our website.  To learn more about this beautiful book, click New Books.

                                         Books and Events 2005-07 of the Friends

May 2006 was Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and we celebrated, with a book discussion and video tape viewing, and compared the status of women in 19th century China and of Chinese women in the 21st century.  The Friends of the Chinatown Library, the Chinese American Museum, and the Chinese Historical Society hosted this event to discuss SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN by Lisa See.  Although the novel is a fictional account of the friendship between two Chinese women, it is historically based on 19th century Chinese customs such as footbinding and arranged marriages.  More significantly, the story revolves around the secret language of Nu Shu, a genuine language created and used by Chinese women over a thousand years ago.  For more details on Lisa See's latest book and this book discussion on May 15, 2006, click on Events.

In March 2006, we were saddened by the death of Judge Delbert Earl Wong, a founding member of the Friends of the Chinatown Library.  In memory of Judge Wong, the Friends have donated several new books in his memory.  To learn more about this pioneer in the field of law and the books given in his memory, click on New Books.  On Friday, September 29, 2006, the OCA-GLA will honor Judge Delbert Wong (posthumously) and Mrs. Dolores Wong for community achievement.  If you would like to learn more about the OCA-GLA event, just click New Books. 

On the Events webpage, Connie Wong presents an historical overview about the "Chinese Heritage Collection" (CHC) at the Chinatown Branch Library.   In addition to books, the CHC has audio visual items on Chinese American History; this collection includes documentaries about how Chinese Americans faced social challenges as they grew up in this country.  The Friends held a screening of a few of these documentaries on February 27, 2006.  For documentary titles, click New Books.

On November 18, 2005, the Friends hosted an author reading with Angi Ma Wong and her new children's book entitled WHO ATE MY SOCKS?   To learn more about the author and her new book, click on Events and New Books.

The Friends of the Chinatown Library invited author Ann Stalcup in February 2005 to speak.  She presented her biography on beloved children's author and artist, Leo Politi, click New Books to learn more about the people who attended this special book event.

Our feature interview is with Jack Hom, benefactor and philanthropist, who has given generously to the Friends' endowment programs, especially the Friends of the Chinatown Library Scholarship Program.  To read about Jack's humble beginnings and his mid-life job transition from owning and running a Chinese restaurant to becoming a stock broker managing investments, click Features.   

The Friends of the Chinatown Library awarded scholarships to twelve college-bound seniors who are Chinatown library users and to four Los Angeles Public Library users for their first year of college.  The Awards banquet was held on June 8, 2007 at the Golden Dragon Restaurant located in Chinatown, Los Angeles.  The Friends have awarded these scholarships for 22 years.  Frances Hui, a former scholarship winner shares her success story with us.  To read excerpts from her story and to learn more about this year's scholarship winners, click Scholarships. 

At the final board meeting held on June 18, 2007, the Friends elected new officers for the 2007-08 year.  We also learned one of our board members, Patty Kao, was honored for her volunteer work with Stanford University.  To learn more and/or to become a member, click Membership.    

On this website, we will continue to update information on efforts to save the South China Tiger.     For more information on the South China Tiger, click Tiger News.

In future months, we hope to provide more articles and photos for your reading pleasure. We would love to hear from you. Please send us your comments. Our street address and our email address are listed in Membership or Contact Us.