PRESS RELEASE
SFPCG-PR-108-2021
PH CONSUL GENERAL INVITES PUBLIC TO VISIT SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY’S FILIPINO AMERICAN CENTER
Filipino American Center head librarian Abraham Ignacio Jr. (left) shows to Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Frank R. Ferrer (right) the Filipino and Filipino American titles that are currently in circulation at the San Francisco Public Library. (San Francisco PCG photo)
SAN FRANCISCO, USA – As part of the thrust of the Philippine Consulate General to promote Filipino books and publications in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, Philippine Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer visited the Filipino American Center at the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) on 19 October 2021. Deputy Consul General Raquel R. Solano and Vice Consul Adrian Audrey L. Baccay joined the Philippine Consul General during the visit.
Filipino American Center head librarian Abraham Ignacio Jr. toured Consul General Ferrer around the SFPL Main Library, which prides itself as the only library in the United States that hosts a dedicated center for its Filipiniana and Filipino American collection.
The Filipino American Center is one of only three ethnic-based resource centers housed within the SFPL Main Library. The two others are the African American Center, and the Chinese Center.
According to Ignacio, the Center currently houses 3,000 to 4,000 items in English, Filipino and other Philippine languages, authored by Filipino and Filipino American writers and published in the Philippines and the United States. Books on Filipino literature and history form a significant part of the library’s Filipiniana collection.
“It is a great pleasure to visit the Filipino American Center at the San Francisco Public Library, and see its vast selection of titles covering a wide range of fields and interests—from Philippine history, politics and society, to Filipino and Filipino American folklore, poetry and genre fiction,” Consul General Ferrer said.
Impressed by its wide selection of Filipino and Filipino American titles, Consul General Ferrer urges the public to visit the SFPL Main Library’s Filipino American Center “to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of the Philippines, the Filipino people, and the Filipino American community.”
“I invite the public to experience the joy of reading and learning about the Philippines by visiting the Filipino American Center,” said Consul General Ferrer, who immediately applied for his free SFPL Library Card. Open seven days a week, the library catalogue of the Filipino American Center is available online at http://sfpl.org/filipinoamerican.
The Philippine Consul General also encourages the public to participate in the Filipino American Center’s upcoming events in celebration of Filipino American History Month this October. Information on these events is available on this website: http://sfpl.org/events/special-programs/filipino-american-history-month-2021. END
As a token of appreciation to Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Frank R. Ferrer (right), Filipino American Center head librarian Abraham Ignacio Jr. (left) gave a copy of his book entitled “The Forbidden Book: The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons,” which features political cartoons by mainstream American media during the early years of U.S. colonization of the Philippines. (San Francisco PCG photo)
Philippine Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer (left) and Filipino American Center head librarian Abraham Ignacio Jr. (right) discuss possible areas of cooperation between the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco and the San Francisco Public Library’s Filipino American Center. (San Francisco PCG photo)
Officials of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, led by Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer (second from left), visit the Filipino American Center at the San Francisco Public Library on 19 October 2021. In the background are literary entries called “hay(na)ku,” a 21st century Filipino diasporic poetry form. (San Francisco PCG photo)
Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Frank R. Ferrer applies for a free library card at the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) on 19 October 2021. California residents are entitled to a free SFPL library card valid for four years, which gives holders access to the SFPL System’s 1.15 million book collection. (San Francisco PCG photo)