The Asian Community Library found support for its efforts from related organizations at UC Berkeley—its Asian American Studies program and its librarians responsible for acquiring materials in Asian American Studies.
In her interview about her involvement with the Asian Community Library for the Chinatown Oral History Project, Lillian Galedo reads her letter to Lee White, the head of the Oakland Public Library. Her letter showcases how the ACL’s community extended beyond Oakland, including as it does a testimonial in support of the re-funding of the Asian Community Library from UC Berkeley’s Asian American Studies Library.
Lillian Galedo was a member of the board of the Friends of the Asian Library from approximately 1977 to 1979. A Filipino American woman who also served as a library assistant at the Asian American Studies Library at UC Berkeley, she acted as a link between UC Berkeley’s Asian American Studies program and the Asian Community Library. On a practical level, for instance, she provided Yung with the Asian American Studies Library’s book catalog so that Yung could draw upon it in her own library’s orders.
Although the letter to Lee White is not dated, it provides insight into the risk that the ACL faced of being de-funded. To become re-funded, the ACL gathered supportive testimonials from community organizations and partner institutions to underscore how they benefited the community. Previous to the creation of the ACL, the public library system did not recognize the need for a library with media from various Asian languages.
