EDWARDSVILLE - SIUE’s Lovejoy Library will host a special event to commemorate Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month.
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At 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, 2025, community members are invited to Lovejoy Library on the SIUE campus for “An Afternoon of Traditional Chinese Music.” Four artists with the Nanjing Music Ensemble will perform traditional Chinese music and share history about Chinese musical traditions.
“I would just encourage people to show up,” said Simone Williams, Diversity and Engagement Librarian at SIUE. “It’s a way to have community with other people, to learn other people’s cultures.”
Williams explained that she didn’t originally plan to bring the Nanjing Music Ensemble to campus. But after a successful Lunar New Year celebration at Lovejoy Library, a few students and faculty members asked if she would consider collaborating with the ensemble for APIDA Heritage Month.
Not only was Williams eager to host an event to commemorate the month, but she was excited to see so many students engaging with the library’s programming. She said the Lunar New Year event was a great success, and she hopes “An Afternoon of Traditional Chinese Music” has the same impact on students and staff.
“It makes you feel good because you see students who were smiling from ear to ear,” she remembered. “Almost everybody who was in the audience, the photos that we took, you could just tell that they were happy to see themselves represented on campus…It just made me happy to see so many students happy.”
While students are at the forefront of Williams’s planning, she emphasized that all Lovejoy Library events are for the community. Whether you’re associated with SIUE or not, you are invited to the library for their programs.
Williams believes the library plays an important role in the community, and she wants to engage with people on and off campus.
“I think it’s very important because it not only exposes the community to the library and university, but vice versa,” she said. “The community is also part of the university and a university should be and is a part of the community.”
She encourages community members to come by and check out Lovejoy Library at “An Afternoon of Traditional Chinese Music” on May 1. For more information, visit the official SIUE Lovejoy Library Facebook page.
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