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Jennie Pu, who is Chinese American, aims to have the Hoboken Public Library reflect the community it serves. Photo by Mark Koosau
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Pu takes the place of Lina Podles, who retired from her position in June after serving for 20 years. Photo by Mark Koosau
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Pu's goal for the Hoboken library is for it to be ubiquitous and everywhere. Photo by Mark Koosau
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Pu's new role comes at a time where racism and violence against Asian Americans have become more visible. Photo by Mark Koosau
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Jennie Pu, who is Chinese American, aims to have the Hoboken Public Library reflect the community it serves. Photo by Mark Koosau
2 / 4
Pu takes the place of Lina Podles, who retired from her position in June after serving for 20 years. Photo by Mark Koosau
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Pu's goal for the Hoboken library is for it to be ubiquitous and everywhere. Photo by Mark Koosau
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Pu's new role comes at a time where racism and violence against Asian Americans have become more visible. Photo by Mark Koosau
It was her first week on the job, and already Jennie Pu was busy. As the new Hoboken Public Library Director, she was sworn in at City Hall, attended multiple events, and met a multitude of officials.
She marks a new era for the Mile Square City’s public library system as the first new director in 20 years. Pu, who is Chinese American, became the first Asian American woman to helm the position in the city’s history, and started her new job on August 9. “It’s been wonderful and very welcoming,” said Pu.
Her new role comes amongst the increasing diversity in Hudson County, including a population growth in the Asian American community. It also comes at a time where Asian American representation, identity, and visibility have become more important than ever before.
A Jersey City resident, Pu was born in Connecticut, before moving to Seattle, Washington where she grew up. She also spent time overseas in China.
Pu takes the place of former director Lina Podles, who retired in June after serving 20 years in the position. She was recommended by a colleague to apply, and went through the application and interview process. She was unanimously approved by the library’s board of trustees.
Becoming a librarian is her second career; before, she worked in technology. When her father died, she had to take care of the family business, and from there she was met with choices: either continue going forward in network security, or do something where she could make more of a difference.
“We moved from Seattle to New York for some family reasons, and I started to think about a career that could marry my love for tech and my love for service,” she said. For her, librarianship was where the two roads met together.
From there, she enrolled in a library school, and landed a job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art very early on while earning her degree. Afterwards, she worked for a multitude of libraries in New Jersey, and her most recent position before Hoboken was the Dean of College Libraries at Hudson County Community College.
As the first Asian American in the role in Hoboken, Pu’s experience shaped her views. “I think having that kind of visibility in libraries as an Asian Pacific American is so important, because it shows that we are part of the conversation,” she said. “Not only that we’re leading the conversation, and that these voices that were traditionally not represented, are going to be heard and that we elevate all voices.”
Her experience working with the Asian American community stretches far back. Over in Seattle where she attended the University of Washington, she met Connie So, a professor at the university who currently teaches American Ethnic Studies. “She was my first Asian American woman teacher,” said Pu. “Going through school, most of my teachers were white. So was tall, extremely smart, sharp witted, and because of her, I majored in American Ethnic Studies.”
So brought her over to the Wing Luke Museum, a museum about the Asian Pacific American experience. After college, Pu interned and eventually worked at the museum under Ron Chew, a famous journalist and community leader, who was executive director of the museum at the time. Over at the Met, she worked for the Department of Asian Art.
Pu’s role comes at a time where violence against Asian Americans has been brought to light, primarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s been hard for our community,” said Pu. She encountered a hate crime in Jersey City, and grew up seeing it happen to her parents all the time. “This is not new. Hate against Asian Americans has been around since as long as we’ve been in this country. It’s just become a lot more visible.”
As the cases have become more visible, it also highlights the racism and stereotyping that has affected the community for a very long time.
“Jennie is always a very intelligent, inquisitive student,” said Connie So. “But she grew up in an area where she didn’t learn a lot about Chinese or Chinese Americans. She thought she had a lot of understanding. But I think the narratives that she was taught and that she embraced; when I asked her why she believes these things, how she knows these things to be true, that’s what the conversation really opened up.”
So’s advice that she gives to her students comes from the civil rights activist Audre Lorde in utilizing your anger – don’t be furious, as that won’t let you do anything, but use your anger constructively to make positive changes.
So said that Pu believed in certain stereotypes back then, but what it did in using anger constructively was motivating Pu to get involved in Asian American organizations, helping out her friends and at places.
“I think that’s a key thing,” said So. “If you don’t think you’re doing enough to try to resolve these issues, then go ahead, it’s never too late to go ahead and do something. I think that’s the stuff that Jennie knows in terms of what to do about it.”
In Pu’s profession as a librarian, she’s aware of how overwhelmingly white the profession is, but she notes the push to diversify the field. “It is a heavier question because it’s something that I live with daily and I look through those eyes,” said Pu. “I think because of that, I’ve always been very committed to ensuring that the people I work with reflect our community.”
Back at HCCC, she helped increase the number of staff who speak Arabic and looked at hiring those who are bilingual. At the Hoboken Public Library, she’ll look into recruiting staff that reflects the community, as well as diversifying the library’s programs.
“People talk about ‘Oh, it’s so hard to find librarians of color’,” she continued. “Yes, and no, it has to be intentional. So I think my lens as a Asian Pacific American is that I’m very intentional about recruiting talent that’s diverse, and that is going to forums that were not traditional like job forms, going to these ethnic affiliates and having these relationships.”
Pu will oversee the continuing renovations to the Hoboken library. Her goal is for the library to be ubiquitous and everywhere; being more like the center of the city, and creating satellite locations for the library.
With her personal and professional experience, Pu will look to take the Hoboken Public Library further beyond.
“I think it’s really important to bring our personal experiences, especially as the first Asian American Hoboken Public library director,” she said. “Even though we’re on different coasts, I think we have a lot to learn and we have a long way to go. But with the right leadership and staff, the library is just gonna get better and better and more vibrant.”
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at mkoosau@hudsonreporter.com or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.
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August 28, 2021 at 01:33AM
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