Recalling an Arab American Dream: The Story and Legacy of Ameen Rihani’s novel The Book of Khalid and The New York Public Library

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This paper presents the life and contributions of Ameen Rihani as a case study of public libraries’ historical efforts in supporting immigrants in America within IFLA’s context of “connections, collaboration and community.” Ameen Rihani (1876-1940) was a Lebanese-born Arab Christian who immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. One known fact was that he frequently visited the New York Public Library (NYPL) where he read many classics and studied English. Hailed as the father of Arab American literature, Rihani wrote The Book of Khalid, which is considered to be the first Arab American Novel in English. The Book of Khalid is a symbol of Rihani’s relationship with the United States and the NYPL, and reflects on the themes of political struggles and cultural challenges of immigration, urban life and authoritarianism that still exist today.

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“Ameen Rihani: Report of the Death of an American Citizen,” 13, September, 1940. Accessed from Ancestry.com Ameen Rihani’s Biography in http://ameenrihani.org/index.php?page=biography Baron, Melanie (2016). Children in Crisis: Libraries Respond. School Library Journal. Accessed on 16, May, 2016. http://www.slj.com/2016/05/feature-articles/children-in-crisis-libraries-respond/#_ IFLA Public Libraries Committee (2015). Responding! Public Libraries and Refugees. IFLA Library. Accessed on 16, May 2016. http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/public-libraries/publications/library_service_to_refugees_0.pdf Jacobs, Linda K. Strangers in the West: The Syrian Colony of New York, 1880-1900. Kalimah Press: New York, 2015. Kennicott, Philip. “Lebanese Writer Hailed as Father of Arab American Literature,” The Arab American News. 24, May 2002: 12. NYPL, Mission Statement: http://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/mission NYPL, “100 Years of the Arab American Novel: Ameen Rihani’s The Book of Khalid and Arab Life in Lower Manhattan.” NYPL Blogs. 11, October 2011. http://www.nypl.org/audiovideo/100-years-arab-american-novel-ameen-rihani%E2%80%99s-book-khalid-and-arab-life-lower-manhattan Pun, Raymond. The Book of Khalid Turns 100! NYPL Blog. 6, October, 2011. http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/10/06/book-khalid-turns-100 Rihani, Ameen. The Book of Khalid. Melville House: New York, 2012.