The document is a transcription of an excerpt of Judy Yung’s interview with Lora and Roy Chan for the Chinatown Oral History Project. This excerpt is focused on the relocation of the Asian Community Library during Yung’s role as head librarian.
From 1976 to 1980, the Asian Community Library relocated three times, first as an addition to the Park Boulevard Branch, then the basement of the Main Library, followed by 9th and Broadway. For the entirety of Yung’s experience as head librarian, she felt that the library was not big enough and so she constantly scouted for its next location.
The library held performances, workshops, and events while also serving several populations of all ages. Its facilities were not adequate to the volume of their patronage — a problem that intensified, ironically, as the library moved closer to the heart of Chinatown. The small spaces they had occupied limited the potential of the Asian Community Library.
