Library hours
M W Th 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 8:30 AM-2:15 PM
Friday 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Welcome to our BIS Library!
Celebrate AAPI Heritage in May!
The Bay Area is a melting pot of Asian American & Pacific Islander culture & events:
2 pm Location: Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco
11 am Location: Chinatown, 720 Grant Ave, San Francisco
May 11 - Y for Youth Community Festival
12 pm Location: Crane Cove Park, 18th St and Illinois, San Francisco
May 17 - Soy Vey: Shumai & Shalom
6:30pm Location: Yank Sing, 101 Spear St.San Francisco
May 18 - Indonesian Bazaar
11 am Location: Fort Mason, Building D
May 18 - Corky Lee Book Event + Talk
4 pm Location: Edge On The Square, 800 Grant Avenue, San Francisco
May 19 - Islands by the Bay Festival
11 am Location: Yerba Buena Gardens, 750 Howard St, San Francisco
May 25 - Cultural Festival in Chinatown
11 am Location: 1138 Grant Ave, From Broadway to California, San Francisco
1 pm Location: Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, 750 Kearny St 3rd Floor, San Francisco
May 31 - Flores de Mayo
2 pm Location: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St, San Francisco
Support our Asian Americans Community through awareness, empathy and being an ALLY! Please check out how the SIA student club at BIS is recognizing our Asian American Community through this GOOGLE SLIDESHOW!
Want to know what are the Popular Reads for:
If I don't have the book you are looking for, please talk to Mrs. Chang to make a request.
Interested in any book recommendations or looking for different genres?
Spanish Books (Fiction & Non Fiction)
Find Collections or Topics under Destiny Discover or just click onto the genres that interest you!
If you have any questions or need book recommendations, please contact me at Mrs. Chang lchang@burlingameschools.org
Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders make our Nation more vibrant through diversity of cultures, languages, and religions. There is no single story of the AANHPI experience, but rather a diversity of contributions that enrich America’s culture and society and strengthen the United States’ role as a global leader. The American story as we know it would be impossible without the strength, contributions, and legacies of AANHPIs who have helped build and unite this country in each successive generation. From laying railroad tracks, tilling fields, and starting businesses, to caring for our loved ones and honorably serving our Nation in uniform, AANHPI communities are deeply rooted in the history of the United States.
We also celebrate and honor the invaluable contributions the AANHPI communities have made to our Nation’s culture and the arts, law, science and technology, sports and public service — including the courageous AANHPIs who have served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic as health care providers, first responders, teachers, and other essential workers.
During this year’s Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, our Nation celebrates the achievements of Vice President Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to hold the Office of the Vice President. Vice President Harris has blazed a trail and set an example for young people across the country to aspire to follow, including members of AANHPI communities and AANHPI women in particular.
President Biden and Vice President Harris also recognizes the heightened fear felt by many Asian American communities in the wake of increasing rates of anti-Asian harassment and violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increasingly observable layers of hate now directed toward women and elders of Asian descent in particular. Our Nation continues to grieve the senseless killings of six women of Asian descent in Atlanta, and the unconscionable acts of violence victimizing our beloved Asian American seniors in cities across the country. Acts of anti-Asian bias are wrong, they are un-American, and they must stop.
Present-day inequities faced by AANHPI communities are rooted in our Nation’s history of exclusion, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia against Asian Americans. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have endured a long history of injustice — including the Page Act of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the incarceration of Japanese American citizens during World War II, the murder of Vincent Chin, the mass shooting of Southeast Asian refugee children in 1989, and the targeting of South Asian Americans, especially those who are Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh, after the national tragedy of 9/11. It is long past time for Federal leadership to advance inclusion, belonging, and acceptance for all AANHPI communities. President Biden is committed to a whole-of-government effort to advance equity, root out racial injustices in our Federal institutions, and finally deliver the promise of America for all Americans.
Kamala D. Harris is the Vice President of the United States of America. She was elected Vice President after a lifetime of public service, having been elected District Attorney of San Francisco, California Attorney General, and United States Senator.
Her parents were activists, instilling Vice President Harris with a strong sense of justice. They brought her to civil rights demonstrations and introduced role models—ranging from Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to civil rights leader Constance Baker Motley—whose work motivated her to become a prosecutor.
She was elected District Attorney of San Francisco in 2003. In that role, Vice President Harris created a ground-breaking program to provide first-time drug offenders with the opportunity to earn a high school degree and find employment. The program was designated as a national model of innovation for law enforcement by the United States Department of Justice.
In 2017, Vice President Harris was sworn into the United States Senate. In her first speech, she spoke out on behalf of immigrants and refugees who were then under attack. As a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, she fought for better protections for DREAMers and called for better oversight of substandard conditions at immigrant detention facilities.
As Senator, Vice President Harris championed legislation to reform cash bail, combat hunger, provide rent relief, improve maternal health care, and address the climate crisis as a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Her bipartisan anti-lynching bill passed the Senate in 2018. Her legislation to preserve Historically Black Colleges and Universities was signed into law, as was her effort to infuse much-needed capital into low-income communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 11, 2020, Vice President Harris accepted President Joe Biden’s invitation to become his running mate and help unite the nation. She is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected Vice President, as was the case with other offices she has held. She is, however, determined not to be the last.
Learn more about BIS Asian Americans with books on:
- American dragons
- Epic Crush of Genie Lo
Escape from Saigon : how a Vietnam War orphan became an American boy
- Great Wall of Lucy Wu
- Check out some Resources and Articles to explore:
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC): https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/
- How to be an Ally: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/asian-american-racism-coronavirus_n_5e71ca06c5b63c3b64870f25
- Resources to Stand Against Racism: https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/covid19
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month!
1) Every November, we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, also known as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. It's a chance to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions and histories and important contributions of Native American people, along with acknowledging their hardship and struggles both throughout history and in the present day.
2) There are over 9 million Native Americans and Native Alaskans living in the United States today. And with over 500 federally recognized tribes, there are hundreds of different cultures that are as unique as the people they represent. From artwork and literature, to cuisine and music, there is much to appreciate and learn.
3) In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which empowered the federal government to take Native-held land east of Mississippi and forcibly relocate Native people from their homes in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee to “Indian territory” in what is now Oklahoma.
4) The Trail of Tears was part of a series of forced displacements of approximately 60,000 Native Americans between 1830 and 1850. During that time, nearly 4,000 died of disease, exposure and malnutrition. To recognize and remember their history, you can walk parts of the Trail of Tears in Springfield, Missouri.
5) It wasn’t until 1924 that Native Americans were granted citizenship after Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act. While Native Americans were also given the right to vote in 1924, it took another 40 years for all 50 states to allow them voting rights.
6) In 2020, 9.1 million people in the United States identified as Native American and Alaska Native, an increase of 86.5% increase over the 2010 census. They now account for 2.9% of the population. By 2060, the Native American and Alaska Native population is expected to be 10.1 million and account for 2.5% of the population. Alaska has the largest population of Native Americans in the United States, followed closely by Oklahoma.
7) The three largest Native American tribal groupings are Cherokee, Navajo and Latin American Indian tribes. The three largest Alaskan Native groupings are Yup’ik, Inupiat, and Tlingit-Haida.
8) There are approximately 175 Indigenous languages spoken in the United States today.
9) In 2020, The Washington Redskins changed their name to The Washington Football team, dropping “Redskins” which is a derogatory term often used for those of Native American descent. The Cleveland Indians followed suit and are now known as the Cleveland Guardians.
10) During World War II, the United States government enlisted the help of Native Americans, known as code talkers, who used the Navajo language to transmit top-secret information to allied forces. Much of this information was classified until 2002 when congress passed the Code Talkers Recognition Act. Overall, some tribes had as much as 70% participation in the war effort.
11) Things that we might take for granted, like rubber, corn, kayaks, modern-day farming and even mouth wash, all find their roots in Native American design.
Check out some interesting reads from our BIS Native American Books at BIS Library:
