Quick Questions with Ray
Ray
WOC+Lib Contributing Writer
Ray Pun (he/him/his) is a school/academic librarian in California.
What's something you're reading/watching right now? Tell us about it.
Mrs. America on Hulu. When I was a junior in college, I took a history seminar (taught by Dr. Elaine Carey) and I initially wanted to write my senior thesis on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was a proposed amendment to the US Constitution in the 1920s to provide equality of sexes under the law. I was also curious about the central figure challenging the amendment in the 1970s, Phyllis Schlafly who organized a nationwide grassroots campaign that ultimately defeated the ERA.
Mrs. America is a miniseries that traces the drama of ratifying the ERA and how the ERA was advanced by feminists and blocked by Schlafly and other political figures. You also get to see the role of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to US Congress and the first Black candidate for the President of the United States. Watching this series reminded me of the everyday challenges and struggles in fighting for equity, equality and justice. I ended up writing my thesis on the role of white women in the anti-suffrage movements in the 1900s and found interesting ideological parallels among these groups and the anti-ERA movement.
How are you staying grounded during this time?
To be honest, I haven't been feeling grounded during this time. Aside from my work as a librarian, I've been busier than ever, partly because it is in my nature to work on different things.
For example, I recently started volunteering as a career coach for the New York Public Library's (NYPL) career services. I meet with job seekers on a virtual platform for an hour a week and review their career goals, resumes/CVs and cover letters. I find this work to be different and fulfilling, and NYPL is where I started my library career too.
Tell us about your first library job. How did it shape what you do today?
Before working at NYPL, I was researching the anti-suffragettes for my thesis. I located several of their letters and periodicals, and these primary sources were only available at NYPL's main research library. During that semester, I dragged myself to the reading rooms every weekend perusing microfilms and requesting archival boxes. Hours and hours of research just to cite a few of footnotes at times. I eventually thought that research services work would be neat and fun kind of work. At that time, I had a friend who interned there, and they generously connected me to an NYPL librarian who agreed to consider my application as a student intern.
I started out as an unpaid college intern in the Dorot Jewish Division and worked my way in different roles: student page, library technical assistant and librarian. I was fascinated with preserving the oral histories and personal narratives of Holocaust survivors. That work connected to greater interest of mine in human rights. Along the way, I worked in other departments such as the Periodicals Division and processed many newspapers and periodicals including The Phyllis Schlafly Report. I also met many wonderful mentors and colleagues who gave me career advice and suggestions. (e.g. Miriam Tuliao!)
This experience made me develop, expand and appreciate a network of mentors and advisors. It's important to have a group of folks who you can speak to, give you feedback and suggestions from different perspectives.
Tell us one of your favorite quotes.
I've been thinking about this quote recently by Arabelle Sicardi from The Poetry Project, "What part of yourself did you have to destroy in order to survive in the world this year? But most importantly: what have you found to be un-killable?"
What's a valuable piece of career advice you've been given?
Say "yes" to everything. But remember that saying "yes" to something can also be a "no" to something else. There are always trade-offs and we have to prioritize what we value.
What's your favorite section in a bookstore or library?
I generally like to look at two sections: new non-fiction and periodicals. For periodicals, it's always fun to see what's trending in current affairs and technology. My past work in the Periodicals Division truly increased my interest in all kinds of newspapers and periodicals.
A view of Yangon, the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city in Myanmar.
What's your proudest accomplishment?
There have been a few moments. In 2015, the Myanmar Library Association invited me to give a presentation on digital humanities (DH) and projects (back when I was doing more DH work). I remember vividly just arriving from the airport and immediately heading straight to the University of Yangon to give the presentation. We had a wonderful discussion on digitizing a collection of palm leaf manuscripts dating back to 18th century.
It was a unique experience to meet with the library workers there and to visit Yangon for the first time.