The Hawaii State Library is a historic building in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, United States, that serves as the seat of the

Hawaii State Public Library System The Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) is the only statewide public library, public library system in the United States. The system has 51 libraries on all the major Hawaiian Islands: Hawaii (island), Big Island of Hawaii, Kauai, Kauai, ...

, the only statewide

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

system and one of the largest in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The Hawaii State Library building is located in

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the n ...

, adjacent to

Iolani Palace Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshaw ...

and the

Hawaii State Capitol The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of the U.S. state of Hawaii. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state. The Hawaii State Legislature—co ...

. Originally funded by

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

, the building was designed by architect Henry D. Whitfield. Groundbreaking took place in 1911 and construction was completed in 1913. In 1978, the building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

within the

Hawaii Capital Historic District The Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been the center of government of Hawaii since 1845. Location With the grounds of Iolani Palace and the Hawaii State Capitol at its core, the historic district reaches inland acro ...

. The building holds over 525,000 cataloged books. The entire Hawaii State Public Library System has a collection of over 3 million books. Nearby is the Hawaii State Archives which holds book collections of historical significance to

. The

Edna Allyn Edna Isabel Allyn (April 5, 1861 – June 7, 1927) was an American librarian, she was the first librarian of what is now the Hawaii State Library. Early life and education Allyn was born on April 15, 1861, in Wellington, Ohio, U.S.. Allyn gra ...

Children's Room houses murals by artist

Juliette May Fraser Juliette May Fraser (January 27, 1887 – July 31, 1983) was an American painter, muralist and printmaker. She was born in Honolulu, which was then the capital city of the Kingdom of Hawaii. After graduating from Wellesley College with a de ...

depicting Hawaiian legends while the garden courtyard features a mosaic of ocean currents by

Hiroki Morinoue Hiroki Morinoue (born 1947, ) is an American Hawaiian visual artist, of Japanese descent. His artwork fuses western Impressionism with modern Japanese design. Morinoue lives in Holualoa, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Early life and education Morin ...

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadin ...

's cast bronze sculptures, named ''Parent I'' and ''Young Girl'', greet visitors at the lawn in front of the building.

History

Before the Hawaii State Library was constructed, library facilities were provided by the Honolulu Library and Reading Room Association, founded in 1879 by the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian:

ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi Latin epsilon or open E (majuscule: Ɛ, minuscule: ɛ) is a letter of the extended Latin alphabet, based on the lowercase of the Greek letter epsilon (ε). It was introduced in the 16th century by Gian Giorgio Trissino to represent the pronunc ...

, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

. Prior to this, the site was the location of Hāliʻimaile, the residence of Boki and Liliha and later,

Victoria Kamāmalu Victoria Kamāmalu Kaʻahumanu IV (November 1, 1838 – May 29, 1866) was ''Kuhina Nui'' of Hawaii and its crown princess. Named Wikolia Kamehamalu Keawenui Kaʻahumanu-a-Kekūanaōʻa and also named Kalehelani Kiheahealani, she was mainly refe ...

and her father and brothers before they ascended

Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; Anglicisation, anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the List of Hawaiian monarchs, fourth monar ...

and

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, s ...

. Hawaii's royalty ( King Kalakaua,

Queen Kapiolani Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, Queen Emma, and Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop) gave both financial support and their personal book collections to the association. King Kalakaua also provided tax exemptions and a land grant for a permanent site in downtown Honolulu. The Hawaii State Library was funded by a grant from

. The Library met the government-related requirements for the grant with the cooperation of Walter F. Frear.

was the head librarian when it opened in 1913. In 1921, the County Library Law established separate libraries on the islands of

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

, and Hawaii, under minimal supervision by the Library of Hawaii, which restricted its services to

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. Even so, the latter quickly outgrew its quarters. In 1927, the

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

legislature approved funding to expand and renovate the building. Construction was completed in 1930. Architect C.W. Dickey tripled its size by new wings to create an open-air courtyard in the center. After statehood in 1959, the

Hawaii State Legislature The Hawaii State Legislature ( Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha‘ōlelo kau kānāwai o ka Moku‘āina o Hawai‘i) is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii, consisting of the Hawaii State Senate (upper house with 25 senators) and t ...

created the

, the only statewide system in the

, with the Hawaii State Library building as its flagship branch. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the library continued to outgrow its facility. In 1990, it funded a second major renovation and expansion, which was completed in 1992. The renovations addressed

air-conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

, roofing,

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

removal,

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses piping, pipes, valves, piping and plumbing fitting, plumbing fixtures, Storage tank, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. HVAC, Heating and co ...

, better access for the

handicapped Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

, and

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

, while the expansion added a large wing to the rear of the building that blended well with the older wings.

Library development in Hawaii

The library system of Hawaii State Library, which was established in June 1965, called for a new concept of organization that had to be created by the state librarian.HUNT, J. R. (1968). Library development in Hawaii. ''Wilson Library Bulletin'', ''42'', 810–811. This system would provide complete service to all aspects of society. Ideas were sourced from other established libraries and organizations, then integrated to create best practices for the library system. Although the Library System is an independent State agency, the state librarian is appointed by the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

, and reports directly to the Superintendent of Education. Other government agencies that the state librarian reports to are the seven appointed School Advisory Councils, the four Library Advisory Commissions, and others that are engaged in education. The state librarian is responsible for the operation, planning, programming, and budgeting of all public libraries within the State; however, there are no local funds in Hawaii, and as such, the governor and legislature approve the funding and budget of the State Library.

Gallery

Image:HawaiiStateLibrary-chandelier&skylight.JPG, Skylight & chandelier above foyer Image:HawaiiStateLibrary-court2front.JPG, Interior courtyard facing front Image:HawaiiStateLibrary-annexroof.JPG, View of rear annex across courtyard Image:HawaiiStateLibrary-murals+books.JPG,

murals in children's room

References

External links

Hawaii State Public Library System
{{Authority control 1913 establishments in Hawaii Carnegie libraries in Hawaii Education in Honolulu Federal depository libraries Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii Historic district contributing properties in Hawaii Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii Library buildings completed in 1913 Mediterranean Revival architecture in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu Neoclassical architecture in Hawaii Public libraries in Hawaii State libraries of the United States Tourist attractions in Honolulu