from an East Side Freedom Library press release:
Please join us in celebrating the Hmong Archives’ new permanent home at the East Side Freedom Library on February 1oth. An agreement of association will be signed at 7 PM, with a brief program, light refreshments, and tours available. More information about the celebration can be be found on the event page.
From the Hmong Archives:
On February 10, 1999, Hmong Archives became a nonprofit to “research, collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate materials in all formats about or by Hmong,” thanks to the efforts of Yuepheng Xiong of Hmong ABC. Over a month later, with repainted used furniture, and a collection of Hmong books in Chinese, 500 cassettes, and boxes of papers and other objects, we celebrated our modest “grand opening” with a buffet from Foodsmart and speeches. That night we received one of our treasures, a Hmong Texas phonograph record that Steve Trimble had bought at Goodwill and now donated. The dream of an institution to collect and preserve Hmong culture for future generations had begun in a 12 by 12 foot room on the second floor of the Nobles Building at Metropolitan State University.
In our first year we counted 12 visitors, 2 items checked out, about 100 hours worked in the room, and 51 donations that amounted to 10,833 items. That included 631 audio, 843 books, 7821 file items, 162 objects, 366 photographs, and only 57 videos. By late 2015, those numbers grew to 3175 audio, 6382 books, over 113,000 files, 5827 objects, 20,396 photographs, and 4791 videos, for a total of 187,321 items accessioned, done with 29,726 volunteer hours. We collect Hmong stuff (Hmoob teej tug) in 13 categories, including archival boxes, cards, maps, newspapers, periodicals, posters, and works of art.
Read the entire press release.
Download a flyer here (.pdf).
