The May Book Project

May is the time we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. AAPI Heritage Month has taken on extra significance in recent years following a wave of anti-Asian bias and discrimination that has spiked post-pandemic.

People who love to read know the power of books to bridge cultural divides, and to help people understand and empathize with others. Writers, educators, librarians, and booksellers all know the importance of books in countering prejudice and bias. So last year after a group of high school students in St. Louis, Missouri, asked ten area high schools to add more Asian American and Pacific Islander books to their school library collections and were ignored, they came together with The Very Asian Foundation and We Need Diverse Books to create The May Book Project.

The May Book Project is dedicated to getting AAPI books into school libraries, and to raising national awareness on the need to create inclusive library collections. Their website has numerous resources for libraries (and bookstores) to evaluate and enhance their AAPI collections, including guidance on evaluating books for stereotyping and cultural appropriation, toolkits for promoting AAPI literature to readers, and a number of K-12 and adult reading lists featuring contemporary books and writers.

Read more about The May Book Project