Before graduating with her Master of Management in Library and Information Science at USC, Alyssa Adraneda, MMLIS '22, had the opportunity to work with USC Libraries — which resulted in a special project close to her heart and family roots: USC’s Preserving Filipino Los Angeles exhibit.
Helping bring the exhibit to life was very personal for Adraneda, who grew up and has lived in Southern California for more than 30 years and whose grandfather survived the Bataan Death March.
In her role as co-curator, she assisted USC librarians with curating the Filipino American Library collection the university acquired in 2017. The resulting exhibit showcases books, pamphlets and artifacts that highlight the Filipino American experience in LA.
"It shows our resiliency, it shows how powerful we are as a community if we come together," she said, describing the exhibit to USC News. "It represents how powerful and rich our history is."
As part of the MMLIS curriculum, students in the online master’s degree program supplement their academic learning experience with temporary employment in the information professions, supervised by the host organization and overseen by MMLIS faculty.
"The MMLIS program here at USC has given me the foundation not only to help curate this exhibit but also talk about it and highlight and underscore one of our main pillars of accessibility,"" she said in her tour of the exhibit.
Adraneda has enjoyed sharing this exhibit with her family, friends and any visitors she meets while in Doheny Library, she said. The collection can be viewed on the lower level of USC Doheny Library until early 2023.