Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 2, 1 February 2012 — Hawaiʻiʻs public libraries: a good place to start [ARTICLE]

Hawaiʻiʻs public libraries: a good place to start

By Stacy Naipo \ative Hawaiians have a saying, "ma ka hana ka 'ike," knowledge is gained through work, or doing. It is the doing of the work that is the learning process. Ni'ihau native Jean Beniamina in her Tēnā: A Learning Lifestyle, explains that learning is done step-by-step, starting in early childhood. Native Hawaiian children are given tasks to accomplish, such as getting water, whieh increase in complexity as the child successfully completes the easier duties. This familial and informal educational style has translated to modern Native Hawaiians in the ways in whieh we seek information - we ask our trusted kūpuna, neighbors and friends when we need to learn the answer to a question. There is, however, an important resource that should be one of the first stops in getting reliable information, our puhlie library system. It is a treasure trove of resources, from career information to genealogy research, that are plentiful and free ! According to a 2009 puhlie library survey by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, our state library system has one main library, 50 branches and two bookmobiles that serve more than 1 million customers with over 3 million books and serials, and 537 puhlie Internet terminals. In 2009, there were more than six million visits to the Hawai'i State Puhlie Library System. Eaeh library is staffed with trained librarians who care about the community they serve and are eager to help eaeh patron use the resources there. They understand the service they provide is vital during tough eeonomie times. For those who do not have a home computer, the puhlie library system is a critical link to the virtual world. Your ticket to the World Wide Web is your library card. Don't worry if you don't have a card, they are easy to get by filling out the forms available in the library and SEE LIBRARIES "II PAGE 29

ECONOMIG SELFSUFFIGIENCY

[?]

LIBRARIES

Continued from page 13

online, and are free to Hawai'i residents. The state library system makes a large number of searchable databases available to card holders, both in the library and from your home computer. Among these are general knowledge tools, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias and newspapers. There are also targeted resources such as heahh databases that provide information on issues that impact Native Hawaiians, such as diabetes. The available databases also include business, career and vocational databases that contain professional-development information. Of special importance to Native Hawaiians is genealogy research, and the puhlie library ean help. In order to access the free ancestry. eom database, you must use one of the libraries' computers. Access to a library computer is free of charge, and you may sign on for up to one hour of use, depending on individual library procedures. You ean also

print out information for a nominal fee of 25 cents per page. The latest addition to the list of resources available at the library is HI TECH Academy, whieh eame from a recent licensing of Microsoft training tools. In a recent Star Advertiser article, State Librarian Richard Burns is quoted as saying, "About 350 computer programs are being provided in a package from Microsoft valued at $2.5 million but greatly discounted to $70,000." All this computer training is free to library card holders and ean be accessed in the library or via the Hawai'i State Puhlie Library web site at librarieshawaii.org. Simply go to the services tab and find the link to the HI TECH Academy. If you are new to computers, there is a Digital Literacy Program that will introduce you to the ins and outs of computers, including security, privacy and e-mail. Lor more advanced users, there are programs for you too, under the Microsoft IT Academy. To take advantage of this program, simply visit your loeal library and the staff there ean guide you to the information highway.

In the 21 st century, digital literacy will be of increasing importance to seekers, but in difficult eeonomie times, some are unahle to access traditional educational institutions. The mission statement of the Hawai'i State Puhlie Library System is "to provide Hawai'i's residents, in all walks of life, and at eaeh stage of their lives, with access to education, information, programs and services, and to teach and nurture the love of reading and the habit of lifelong learning." As OHA moves forward with initiatives to increase Native Hawaiian post-secondary, educational attainment and exceed education standards for Native Hawaiian schoolchildren, we ean look to the Hawai'i State Puhlie Library System as an essential resource to enhanee the education and information seeking of Hawai'i's people. ■ Stacy Naipo is a Research Analystfor Special Projects at the Office ofHawaiian Ajfairs.

[?]