...hailing from diverse places; bringing distinct experiences; challenging conventional paradigms; instilling others to reach their academic potential and to expand their intellectual horizons.
Inspired by the educator Paulo Freire, I strive to eradicate the ‘culture of silence’ created when individuals are oppressed by information practices/systems that deny them access and representation.

Profiled in I5, an interactive documentary about 5 immigrants.>>>

• with Honma, Todd. "Libraries as Contested Community and Cultural Space: The Bruggemeyer Memorial Library of Monterey Park, California,"AAPI Nexus: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Policy, Practice & Community, 5(1): 33-57, Spring 2007.
• with Hernández Carrión, J. Rodolfo. “Harnessing ICT to Develop Community and Identity: A Model for Academic Departments,” International Journal of Web Based Communities, 2(1): 70-80, 2006.
• “Web Based Communities Scholarship: From Silence to Dialogue,” International Journal of Web Based Communities, 1(4): 423-435, 2005.
• “Aprendizaje socio-crítico en servicio: Educación para la participación estudiantil en los estudios de la información” [Critical Service Learning: Student Participation in Information Studies Education]. In: La participación en las administraciones públicas: ¿cooperación o enfrentamiento?, edited by Antonio Colomer Viadel. Valencia, Spain: Editorial UPV, 2006, pp. 293-304.
• “Raison d’être for Multicultural Library Services,” IFLA Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section Newsletter, pp. 6-7, November 2004. Translated and available in Danish, Dutch, English, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, Swahili and Swedish. http://www.ifla.org/VII/s32/index.htm
• "From Real World to Web-based Ethnic Communities: Challenges and Experiences of the Chinese in Latin America," Proceedings of the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International Conference on Web-based Communities 2004; 24-26th March 2004; Lisbon.
• with Roy, Loriene et al. "The Future for Latinos in Library Education: A Panel Presentation," In: The Power of Language/El poder de la palabra: Selected Papers from the Second REFORMA National Conference, edited by Lillian Castillo-Speed and the REFORMA National conference Publications Committee. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2001; pp. 35-41.
• "See, Hear, and Speak No Evil: A Content Approach to Evaluating Multicultural Multimedia Materials," RUSQ: Reference and User Services Quarterly, 39(3): 255-64, Spring 2000.
• "Immigrant Children Mediators (ICM): Bridging the Literacy Gap in Immigrant Communities," Proceedings of the 65th General Conference of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 20-28th August 1999, Bangkok, Thailand. Also published as a French translation Enfants immigrés et médiation: une façon de réduire le fossé linguistique pour les communautés immigrées.

  Resources & Initiatives

• library and information organizations (LIO) @ AAAS 2005 ~ Chair.
• PRAXIS - Practice, Reflection, Advocacy, eXcellence, Inquiry, Solutions: A Pre-Doctoral and Recruitment Program for Tomorrow’s Culturally Diverse Information Studies Faculty and Leaders, partially funded by Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant ($196,000), 2002-03.
• Memoria, voz, y patrimonio: The First Conference on Latino/Hispanic Film, Print and Sound Archives / The Sixth Institute of the Trejo Foster Foundation for Hispanic Library Education, August 15-17, 2003; University of California, Los Angeles ~ Chair.
• Diversity Recruitment and Mentoring Committee, UCLA IS ~ Co-Chair.
• with Honma, Todd S. “Multicultural Literacy,” 21 st Century Literacies (A web publication of Pacific Bell/UCLA Initiatives for 21st Century Literacies ), Spring 2002.
• "Information Literacy Within a Critical Multicultural Framework," Keynote Speech, WILU 2003, May 12-14, 2003; Windsor, Canada.
• "Digital Divide/Ravine or Infoschism: One Librarian's View and Response (Powerpoint presentation)," Library Leadership Institute: Leadership and Diversity in the New Millennium, Fullerton College, 26th February 2000, Fullerton, CA. " The Digital Divide: A Selective Bibliography (February 2000)," compiled for Institute. SEE updated bibliography.
• "Multiracial/Multiethnic People: Selected Resources (June 1999)," prepared for Racially and Ethnically Mixed People: Information Needs, Services, and the 2000 Census, American Library Association Conference, 27th June 1999, New Orleans.

  Courses

• IS 19 – Asians in Latin America: Constructing and Representing Community and Identity [Fiat Lux seminar, Spring 2007]
• IS 201 – Ethics, Diversity and Change in the Information Professions
• IS 207 – International Issues and Comparative Research in Library and Information Science
• IS 289 – Multilingual Information Resources
• IS 220 (formerly LIS 203) – Design of Library and Information Services
• IS 227 (formerly LIS 289) – Information Services in Culturally Diverse Communities
• IS 280 (formerly LIS 290) – Research Methodology
• IS 290 – Research Seminar: Information Studies

My continuing passion is to part a curtain,
that invisible shadow that falls between people,
the veil of indifference to each other’s presence,
each other’s wonder,
each other’s human plight.
—Eudora Welty