By M. Diane McCormick 

Ellen Min’s parents didn’t have the means to buy books, so she immersed herself in books by volunteering to help at her school library. 

“The librarian was amazing,” she said. “I was a book nerd. I loved hanging out at my school library because I could access these books that did not exist at home. She would let me take books home beyond the school limit.” 

Min and a friend co-founded Harrisburg Asian American Pacific Islander after grieving together over the 2021 Atlanta mass shooting targeting Asian women. They realized others might need a community and space to share and celebrate their heritage.  

HAAPI supported The Library’s AAPI Reading Festival on April 6 by providing information and recommending cultural performances. The Library was ideal for the event because libraries “are not spaces where there are lots of barriers to entry,” Min said. “It’s not like a hostess at the table is determining whether you belong or you’re dressed right. I love that it is already a welcoming, inclusive space.”  

What did libraries mean to you as a child?  

Even though I was born and raised in the United States, my community was Korean. I didn’t learn English until I went into elementary school. Part of it was going to the library, getting books, and learning to speak English, read, and write. Once I learned English, I became an English teacher. I loved to read, so libraries were my whole life. Even now, I cannot keep up with the amount of books my kids want to read, so we visit a library almost every weekend. We go to all of the libraries in the area. We go to wherever the books they want are.  

What does The Library mean to the region’s immigrant and refugee communities?  

The same thing it did for me. It’s access to books that you might not have the means to buy. I’m all about visibility. Growing up, I would look at history books and read three sentences about the Korean War [compared to the] countless painful stories from my grandparents and parents. I would hate it when I went to the library and never saw characters who looked like me, and if they did, they were awful depictions.  

Has that representation changed?  

I’m so excited because there are so many AAPI authors and characters who don’t fit stereotypes and limited molds. Central Pennsylvania has changed so much. We have refugees and immigrants coming in all the time. That’s what makes our region strong and beautiful. Being able to go to The Library, access books, and see themselves is powerful.  

Will HAAPI work again with The Library? 

Ty [Library Programming and Outreach Administrator Tynan Edwards] said he wants to collaborate to make the AAPI Reading Festival bigger and better next time, which I would love. Let’s figure out how to add to it every year and reach more people.