February 4, 2020

Five Things You May Not Know About the Tateuchi East Asia Library

We are celebrating our new name at the Tateuchi East Asia Library in conjunction with the recently announced endowment from the Tateuchi Foundation – a transformative investment that will help us grow and provide more services and programs. Our dynamic librarian staff are always thinking of new ways to engage students, faculty, and the community to “raise the bar” of excellence in support of East Asia studies, including some things you may not know!

Did you Know?

1) We like to sing! When it comes to supporting language learning, singing is one of the most fun ways to engage students — from last year’s open-mic Karaoke program to this quarter’s Korean Singing Club led by Professor EunYoung Won from the Asian Languages & Literature department, the library isn’t just for reading anymore!

2) Our student employees are AMAZING. From taking inventory of more than 97,000 volumes last quarter to cataloging rare, ancient Chinese inscription rubbings, our students perform all kinds of critical operational and research tasks that are vital to our mission. Thank you student employees!

Student employee Xianda “Nick” Hou examines Chinese stelae inscription rubbings

3) We are teachers. Our libraries staff teach all kinds of classes and workshops. One of our recent initiatives is Digital Scholarship for East Asia Studies, a program designed to introduce digital resources and methodologies relevant to ALL scholars of East Asian studies.  Workshops are led by our librarians, specialists or invited experts, and provide students the opportunity to discuss or present their own research. With twenty-one workshops per year, this ambitious undertaking will have a considerable impact on UW’s East Asian studies graduate student community. Check the EAL calendar and our Facebook for event details. Upcoming workshops:

• China Research Workshop: Text Mining and Analysis – February 18th
• Tateuchi Research Methods Workshop Series for Japanologists – February 24th

4) We love book clubs.  From Booksori, a series of Korean-language book talks — to Japanese Tadoku Club and a soon-to-be established Chinese Reading Club, we are committed to making the Tateuchi East Asia Library a place to build community with all of our patrons, inside and outside UW.

Dr. Fu Hsiung Shen alumnus and former faculty of the UW School of Medicine and political activist, shares recollections on August 25, 2019 through the library’s East Asia Oral History Project.

5) We are history keepers. The library is home to the East Asia Library Oral History Project at the University of Washington Libraries to document the life and experiences of Seattle’s Chinese immigrant community from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and other areas of the world. We host Community Forums for members of Seattle’s Taiwanese and Chinese community to share their stories and experiences with one another, to receive updates on the project, and to learn from and exchange knowledge with guest speakers — academics, oral historians, and community leaders with specialized knowledge.

Okay, it’s actually six (6) things you didn’t know about the Tateuchi East Asia Library — we can’t leave this last one out! 😊

 6) Our team wins awards! In 2019, we celebrated our award-winning staff:

• •  Library Journal named Azusa Tanaka, Associate Librarian of Japanese Studies one of the 2019 Movers & Shakers.
  • University of Washington Libraries’ 2019 Distinguished Librarian Award, the highest honor available to a UW librarian went to Hyokyoung Yi, Korean Studies Librarian and Head of Public Services.
  • Zhijia Shen, Director and Chinese Studies Librarian received the 2018 Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) Distinguished Service Award, one of the five ethnic caucuses of American Library Association, and is the highest recognition given by the Association “to individuals who consistently demonstrate outstanding leadership and achievement in library and information services at the national and/ or international level.”

To learn more about the Tateuchi East Asia Library, come visit us on the 3^rd floor of Gowen Hall or learn more online here.