Camarillo, CA - CSU Channel Islands (CI) has announced the opening of “Filipinos in Ventura County” photo exhibit to take place on Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the John Spoor Broome Library Exhibition Hall. The opening program is being sponsored by CI’s John Spoor Broome Library, History Program, Kilusan Pilipino Club, and the Center for Multicultural Engagement. The opening program is free and open to the public.

Speakers for the opening program will be CI President Richard R. Rush; Amy Wallace, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs/Broome Library; Elnora Kelly Tayag, Outreach Coordinator; Dr. Rudy Guevarra Jr., Assistant Professor, Asian American Studies, Arizona State University; and Tony Grey, Executive Director, Filipino American Council.

The exhibit will present selections from the new image collection that documents the history of Filipinos in Ventura County dating to the early 1900s and their contributions to the community. Dr. Jose Alamillo, Associate Professor of Chicana/o Studies for CI’s History Program says, “The “Filipinos in Ventura County” photo collection is an important resource for students and scholars interested in teaching and researching local history and the Filipino American experience.”

The “Filipinos in Ventura County” photo collection was selected to be digitized by the California State Library’s Local History Digital Resources Project. In addition to project grant funding, the California State Library will also feature the digital collection in “Calisphere” and the “Online Archive of California,” both primary source databases that are a consortia of California libraries. Tayag explains, “I am tremendously excited that this grant has given our photo collection, the local Filipino community, and the John Spoor Broome Library state-wide visibility.” Tayag initiated efforts to collect the images for the library and hopes to expand the collection to eventually include oral histories and ephemera.

Wallace explains, “With the Filipino image collection, our Library is creating primary source materials for student research that support CI’s mission of fostering multicultural perspectives and interdisciplinary opportunities for student learning and engagement.”

The project is funded in part by grants from the California Council for the Promotion of History and the Institute of Museum and Libraries Services through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), administered by the California State Library’s Local History Digital Resources Project.

Reservations for the opening program can be made by visiting: http://www.library.csuci.edu/about/news/filipino.htm.

Limited parking is available on campus and is complimentary. Follow signs to the designated event parking areas. Parking is also available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station /Lewis Road parking lot in Camarillo. Riders should board the CI VISTA bus to the campus; the fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

For additional information contact Ellie Tayag, Outreach Coordinator, at CSU Channel Islands at 805-437-3140 or elnora.tayag@csuci.edu.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research.