The Asian/Pacific/American (A/P/A) Institute at New York University (NYU) is a 2013 recipient of the Diversity Award for their work in building archives documenting Asian/Pacific American (A/PA) histories in New York and on the East Coast. The award recognizes an individual, group, or institution for outstanding contributions in advancing diversity within the archives profession, SAA, or the archival record.
The A/P/A Institute offers graduate fellowships, public programming, exhibitions, and publications that promote the long-term development of diversity within the archives and the archives profession. The Institute also completes archives-building initiatives that center on conducting archival surveys of A/PA-related collections. Through the surveys, which bring graduate scholars into contact with community-based organizations and individuals, the Institute has been able to map and create a record of the documentation available on East Coast A/PA history, share information about A/PA-related collections on its project website, and facilitate the donation of A/PA collections to archival repositories. Visit http://dlibdev.nyu.edu/tamimentapa/ to view the results of the surveys.
One recommender noted that A/P/A “has truly transformed activists into archivists and archivists into activists. It views the archive not as an isolated space ensconced in an academic institution, but rather as a living site of memory that must contribute to the community.”