Today, the Black Eyed Peas’ Allan Pineda Lindo (a.k.a. apl.de.ap), Tia Carrere (Wayne’s World), Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba), Cheryl Burke ("Dancing with the Stars”), Angela Perez Baraquio (Miss America 2001), and Camile Velasco ("American Idol," Season 3), will be at the 6th Annual Spirit Awards and Dinner Benefit Gala in Los Angeles, California.
And who will the beneficiary be? The Filipino American Library (FAL).
As far as I know, this kind of fundraising has not been done for any library in the Philippines. (Please leave a comment below if a star-studded event for the benefit of a Filipino library has been held before.) Could it be that celebrities don't want to be associated with libraries? It is more likely, in my opinion, that no one ever asked them.
I've written before about marketing and leadership, and in this case, the marketing and leadership seem to be quite good. Florante Ibanez, who obtained his MLIS at UCLA this year, is identified as "Webmaster," but it was he who applied for—and was given—a 2004 Community Partnership Grant to "develop and maintain a new enhanced and interactive website... [so that] potential library patrons and researchers would be tempted to visit the physical site."
I suppose Ibanez (whom I do not know and have never met) will say that it was a group effort, but from what I've seen, it was when he came into the picture that things started to happen. But it does look like a group effort because the community seems to be very actively involved. And it's not just composed of the older generation as seen in the fact that FAL is on MySpace (check out the video!).
Then there's "Filipinotown Branches Out With Its Library" by Wendy Leung (AsianWeek, 8 September 2006), which was the cover story and points out that unlike "other Asian immigrants, Filipinos have the English language skills that lead to quicker assimilation to mainstream culture."
My usual grouse applies, though. Ibanez is named, and Elnora Tayag is identified as "curator of the library exhibit," but FAL does not seem to have a "librarian." But as usual, too, don't mind me. Go, FAL, go!
Category: Libraries
Filipino American Library Gala
