Library Services
The Hawaiian Historical Society library provides a research collection of printed and manuscript material for use by scholars, historians, history buffs, serious students, Society members, and others in the community interested in the history of Hawai‘i and the Pacific Island area. The library's strength is on the history of Hawai‘i and the Pacific in the nineteenth century. It has fine collections of early voyages and travels, Hawaiian-language imprints, and newspapers published in Hawai‘i.
The book and pamphlet collection of more than 12,000 volumes and the manuscript collections of approximately 35 linear feet are cataloged by author, title, and subject according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system. Special library guides provide access to the newspaper, photograph, broadside, and map collections. The library materials are housed in a climate-controlled vault and protected by a security alarm system.
The Library Reading Room is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All library materials are available for research use in the Reading Room. The materials do not circulate. The Society’s librarian is available for reference and research assistance.
The library provides a photocopy service. All photocopying is done by the librarian. The charge is $1.00 for the first page and $.25 per page thereafter.
Patrons may order photographic reproductions from the historical photograph collections. The charge for one 8 x 10 print is $17.00. Prices vary according to size of order.
Microfilm and microfiche readers are available for patron use. Patrons can use their own typewriters, personal computers, or tape recorders if they are not disturbing to other library users.
The library provides limited information by mail service. Researchers requesting information, photocopies, or photo reproductions by mail are charged a $10.00 research fee plus any copying charges.
Library Collections and Research Aids
The Hawaiian Historical Society Library, in addition to general Hawaiian history resources, includes these special materials.
Early Voyages to Hawai‘i and the Pacific
Historical narratives dating from the late 18th and 19th centuries. Many of these narratives include illustrations of people and places, natural history, and maps of the Pacific. Several are in languages other than English. A published bibliography of these narratives is based on the libraries of the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society and the Hawaiian Historical Society: Voyages to Hawaii Before 1860 by Bernice Judd, enlarged and edited by Helen Y. Lind, University Press of Hawaii, 1974.
Hawaiian-Language Books
Hawaiian texts from mission and government presses dating from 1823. This collection includes hymnals, religious tracts, and school texts translated into Hawaiian and printed by the missionaries for use in teaching the Hawaiian people. There are also a small number of texts in other Pacific languages. A published bibliography includes the holdings ofthe Hawaiian Historical Society as well as 35 other libraries and collections: Hawaiian Language Imprints, 1822–1899, A Bibliography, compiled by B. Judd, J. Bell, and C. Murdoch, Hawaiian Mission Children's Society and University Press of Hawaii, 1978.
Newspapers Published in Hawai‘i
Newspaper files of more than sixty-four newspapers published in Hawai‘i, in English, Hawaiian, and Portuguese languages. The holdings date from 1834 to the 1930s and include original and microfilm copies. These newspapers carried shipping news, reports of volcanic eruptions, Hawaiian government reports, and Hawaiian genealogies and chants, as well as political, economic, and social news.
A review of the editorial viewpoints of Hawai‘i’s 19th-century newspapers is contained in “Newspapers of Hawai‘i 1834 to 1903: From He Liona to the Pacific Cable,” by Helen G. Chapin, in The Hawaiian Journal of History, vol. 18, 1984. Published and unpublished guides to the collection are available. Few of these newspapers are indexed.
Newspaper directories include: “Newspapers Published in Hawaii, Survey of the Holdings of the Hawaiian Historical Society,” unpublished library guide, 1953; Hawaii Newspapers and Periodicals on Microfilm, A Union List of Holdings in Libraries of Honolulu, compiled by Hawaii State Archives, Hawaii Library Assn., 1977; Hawaiian Newspapers, by Esther K. Mookini, Topgallant Pub., 1974; Hawaii Newspapers, A Union List, prepared by Hawaii Newspaper Project, 1987. This list is a print-out of bibliographic records entered in OCLC.
Newspaper indexes include: Index to marriages and Index to birth notices published in Hawai‘i’s newspapers 1850–1950, and index to obituaries published in Hawai‘i’s newspapers, 1836–1950, on microfilm. Selected articles in The Friend are cataloged in the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society card catalog. Published newspaper indexes include: Index to the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1929– , Office of Library Services, Hawaii Dept. of Education. This index is now available in print form, on microfiche, and on the Hawaii State Public Library on-line public access catalog; The Index to the Maui News 1900–1932, Maui Historical Society, 1985; The Garden Island lndex 1971–1980, Kauai Library Assn., 1987; Hawaii Observer Index 1973–1978, Leeward Community College Library, 1978.
Manuscript Collections
The manuscript holdings relate to the Hawaiian Islands and Polynesia. They include letters, journals, diaries, unpublished articles, and research notes. The holdings include original manuscripts, typescripts, and photocopies. The manuscripts are cataloged in the main library catalog by author, title (if available), and subject.
Important collections include:
- Papers of William D. Alexander (historian, linguist, surveyor), 1890–1912 (250 pieces);
- Journal of Hiram Bingham, Jr. (missionary to Gilbert Islands), 1856–1857, on a voyage from Boston to Micronesia (1 vol.);
- Letters of Sereno E. Bishop (missionary, surveyor, writer) to Gorham D. Gilman (consul general for Hawai‘i at Boston), 1889–1908 (239 letters);
- Correspondence of George Brown (U.S. consul to Hawai‘i), 1843–1846 (164 p.);
- Hilo shipping lists by Titus Coan (missionary), 1844–1882 (85 p.);
- Account book of William French (Honolulu merchant), 1818–1819 (1 vol.);
- Sketchbook of Charles Furneaux (artist), an illustrated narrative of the lava flow of 1880–1881 (1 vol.);
- Journals, letters, and notes of Gorham D. Gilman concerning travels in the Hawaiian Islands, 1843–1848 (598 p.);
- Journal and papers of Joseph Jackson (postmaster general), 1856–1859 (1 vol. and 20 pieces);
- Journal of Alexander Liholiho (Kamehameha IV) on a voyage to the United States, England, and France, 1849–1850 (1 vol.);
- Notebooks of William Charles Lunalilo (king of Hawai‘i), including diaries, letters, and poems, 1847–1853 (110 p.);
- An elementary grammar and vocabulary of the Hawaiian language attributed to Henry Obookiah (pupil at mission school in Cornwall, Conn.), 1817 (1 vol.);
- Private journal of William Cooper Parke (marshal of the Hawaiian kingdom), 1859–1860 (1 vol.);
- Correspondence of Joel Turrill (U.S. consul to Hawai‘i) with prominent men of the Hawaiian Islands, 1845–1860 (102 items).
Photographs of the Hawaiian Islands
The photograph collections contain approximately 10,000 images and 2,000 negatives. The largest collection is a General Historical Collection of prints of people, places, and events in Hawai‘i’s history. The photographs date from the 1860s to the modern period, with the majority being from the 1880s through the 1920s. There are also several small special collections by single photographers, historical postcards, and photograph albums from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Library subject guides or inventories are available for most of the collections.
The special photograph collections include: Theodore Kelsey Collection of people and places primarily in the Hilo area in the 1920s; the R. J. Baker Collection, “Persons & Places in Hawaii,” 1908 to 1920; the W. H. D. King Collection, “Pictorial Maritime History of Hawaii,” depicting sailing ships and steamships that came to Hawai‘i; the Robin Kaye Collection, “Lanai Photo Documentary,” 1972; and a Micronesian Collection of missionary activities in the Caroline and Marshall Islands, 1897–1898.
The photograph collections also include reproductions of 237 glass-plate photographs made by Dr. Eduard Arning between 1884 and 1886. Arning, a German microbiologist, came to Hawai‘i under the sponsorship of King Kalakaua to study leprosy. The Arning photographs are the only large collection from this period to have been meticulously documented to time and place. The originals are in the Hamburgisches Museum für Völkerkunde in Germany.
Maps of Hawai‘i and the Pacific
The library has a small collection of 19th and early 20th century maps of Honolulu, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Pacific Ocean. The card catalog provides access to the maps in books or cataloged and housed in pamphlet cases. A card inventory lists maps in the map case.
Broadsides Published in Hawai‘i
The library has approximately 300 broadsides published in Hawai‘i from 1829 to the early 1900s. These include political and legal notices, election flyers, speeches, social and commercial advertisements, and funeral processions for Hawaiian royalty. A chronological card inventory provides access to the collection.
Pamphlets Published in Honolulu
The library has a large collection of pamphlets published in Honolulu in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These cover a wide range of topics.They are cataloged and shelved with the bound books. In 1968 the Society produced a microfilm edition of pamphlets published during the reign of King Kalakaua. This collection, “Kalakaua's Hawaii 1874–1891,” includes 46 pamphlets dealing with the political, social, and economic history of Hawai'i during the reign of King Kalakaua and the many controversies of the period.
Journals and Periodicals Relating to Hawai‘i and the Pacific
The library has a large collection of periodicals published in Hawai‘i, including some in the Hawaiian language published in the 19th century. It also collects journals of historical societies of the West Coast and Pacific area, newsletters of historical societies and museums in Hawai‘i, and other periodicals that publish articles on Hawai‘i and the Pacific. These periodicals are included in the library catalog. Some journals have published indexes. A published index to 25 Hawai‘i serials covering the years 1902 to 1969 is the Index to Periodicals of Hawaii, Hawaii Library Assn., 1976.
Newspaper Clipping File
The library has a file of newspaper clippings from the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin that was largely assembled in the 1950s and 1960s. The file also includes earlier clippings and printed ephemera and has a sizable biography section covering prominent men and women of Hawai‘i. The file is classified by subject according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system.
Other Resources for Research in Hawaiian History
Other useful resources for researchers include: city directories published in Hawai‘i dating from 1869; Hawai‘i telephone directories beginning in 1909; biographies, family histories, and biographical dictionaries of men and women of Hawai‘i; and specialized indexes such as the indexes to Pacific whaling logbooks copied on microfilm by the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau at the Australian National University, and the Hawaiian Legends Index published by the Hawaii State Public Library System, 1989.
Gifts
Since its founding in 1892 the Hawaiian Historical Society has been committed to developing its collections relating to Hawai‘i’s heritage through donations as well as purchases. The contributions of friends and members of the Society are very important for fulfilling this responsibility. Photographs, manuscripts, maps, family and local histories, and other materials are welcome.
The acquisition priorities for the library are: accounts of early voyages and travels to Hawai‘i and the Pacific and biographies, histories, serials, pamphlets, photographs, and reference books such as indexes and bibliographies relating to the history of Hawai‘i and the Pacific.