Hawaiian & Pacific Collections Department: Ask Us

Below are answers to frequently asked questions organized by topic.​ Use the double arrow icon to quickly move back to the top. If you need further help, email us.

• Research Strategies
• Books and Articles
• Audio/Visual Materials
• Electronic Resources
• Dissertations and Theses
• Rare and Archival Materials
• Photocopying and Scanning
• Duplication Requests
• Permission and Attribution
• Gifting to the Collections
• Hawaiian Language Translation

• I am researching a Hawaiʻi or Pacific-related topic. Where can I find information?
  Search in the library's discovery layer, OneSearch by typing in keywords or key concepts of your topic. OneSearch is an umbrella search that looks in the library's physical holdings and other databases for physical and online books, dissertations and theses, articles, journals, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, CDs, other audio-visual materials, and much more. OneSearch is designed to "discover" material for you pertaining to your topic. If you are overwhelmed by the results, you can narrow your search by using the "Search for" scopes on the top and/or, once you have a results list, you can "Tweak your results" using the filters on the left. 
   
• I am not finding any relevant information related to my research topic. What do you recommend I do?
  When you don't find useful information in OneSearch, it may be a sign that your keywords need to be revised. If your search has multiple keywords or keyword concepts, remove the less important ones and search again. If your keywords are very narrow, use broader keywords. If you keywords are too broad, use narrower keywords. If your keywords are expressed in multiple ways, use synonyms. 
   
• I am researching a Hawaiʻi or Pacific-related individual. Where can I find information?
  Start in the library's discovery layer, OneSearch by typing in the name of the individual. If you do not find any information on the individual, you may need to search in Hawaiʻi or Pacific related directories, biographical dictionaries, and newspapers. For further help with newspapers, look in the Hawaiʻi newspapers or Pacific newspapers research guides. If you are doing Hawaiʻi-related genealogy research, look in the Hawaiʻi genealogy research guide. 
   
• I am researching a Hawaiʻi or Pacific-related company, government or non-government agency. Where can I find information?
  The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections has many periodicals, such as annual reports, from companies, government and non-government agencies. To find these materials, search the library's discovery layer, OneSearch by typing in the name of the institution. Another search strategy is to think about the industry the institution is a part of and look for materials pertaining to that industry. For example, look for information about the Hawaiʻi sugar industry if you are researching a particular sugar plantation. If you don't find any information, you may need to search in Hawaiʻi or Pacific related directories and newspapers. For further help with newspapers, look in the Hawaiʻi newspapers or Pacific newspapers research guides.
   
• I am researching a Hawaiʻi or Pacific-related place. Where can I find information?
  The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections has many materials about places in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Start your search in the library's discovery layer, OneSearch by typing in the name of your place. If you find too much, you will need to narrow your search with additional keywords such as history. If you find too little or nothing at all, you will need to search for your place within a broader geographic context. For instance, if you are researching Kalihi, you may need to research Honolulu. For more help with Hawaiʻi-related place research, look in the Hawaiʻi Place Names research guide.

• How can I find a particular book?
  Search in the library's discovery layer, OneSearch using main words from the title and at least one of the names of the author(s). You may find a print or electronic copy. Any print copies with the locations UH Mānoa HP: Hawaiian or UH Mānoa HP: Pacific are located in the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections. You need to place a request to have the items retrieved for you. Any print copies with the locations UH Mānoa HP: Hawaiian Reference or UH Mānoa HP: Pacific Reference are located on the reference shelves in the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections. Any print copies with the locations UH Mānoa Hamilton Library are located in the library's general collections on the second and third floors. You can retrieve the reference and general collection copies on your own.
   
• How can I find a particular journal, magazine, newspaper, or other periodical title?
  Search in the library's discovery layer, OneSearch using the main words from the title. You may find one record of the title with multiple formats (print, electronic, or microfilm) listed under the Get It section. Or you may find multiple records of the title for all the different formats. Print copies of titles are available in the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections if the location listed on the record is UH Mānoa HP: Hawaiian or UH Mānoa HP: Pacific. You will need to request the title and indicate any issues you want. If the call number has the word Microfilm, those titles are available on the first floor of the library in the microfilm room. Access to electronic copies of titles is for UH Mānoa affiliates only unless the electronic copies are in a database that provides public access.
   
• How can I find a particular journal or magazine article related to Hawaiʻi or the Pacific?
  Go to the Find Journal and Magazine Articles page on this website and search in the databases listed. For articles written in magazines and journals published in and about Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, search in the Hawaiʻi Pacific Journal Index. This database indexes the article title, author, journal title, and the first sentence or two of the article. Broad searches with no more than three keywords works best since the indexing is very limited. If you find any articles not freely available online, you will need to request the issue and visit the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections to read the article.  For articles written in national or international journals not exclusively on Hawaiʻi or the Pacific, search in the other databases listed on the page.
   
• How can I find a particular newspaper article related to Hawaiʻi or the Pacific?
  Go to the Find Newspaper Articles page on this website and search in one of the databases listed. The databases listed are Hawaiʻi-related index or full-text newspaper databases. If the newspaper article(s) you want is not freely available online, then you will need to search for the article(s) using the print or microfilm copies of the newspaper. Use the library's discovery layer, OneSearch to see if the library has print or microfilm copies. If you are unable to visit us and need an article from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Honolulu Advertiser, and/or Honolulu Star-Bulletin, you may want to subscribe to staradvertiser.newspapers.com. If you are looking for any newspaper article related to the Pacific, look in the Pacific newspapers guide.

• I am not affiliated with UH, how can I access audio/visual materials at the Wong Audiovisual Center?
  Visit the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections reference desk and a librarian will have you fill out the Short Term Researcher Wong Audiovisual Center Privilege form.
   
• I am not affiliated with UH, how can I access the streaming videos?
  You can access the streaming videos on any public non-authenticated computer in Hamilton Library. Be sure to bring your own headphones. Due to copyright restrictions, streaming of videos on personal devices is limited to UH students, faculty, and staff.
   
• I am a community borrower card holder, can I borrow audio-visual materials?
  Review Appendix II in the Libraries of the University of Hawaiʻi System Circulation Policy for information on loan privileges of audio-visual materials for community borrower card holders. 
   

• I am not affiliated with UH, and I am not on Oʻahu. How can I access streaming media?
  Due to our licensing agreements and copyright laws, we are not able to provide access to password-protected streaming media to non-affiliated UH patrons. This applies to, but is not limited to, the Hawaiian Music Collection and the Hawaiian Collection’s Off-Air streaming media collection.

• I am a not affiliated with UHM, how can I access your licensed electronic resources?
  If you do not have a UH username that affiliates you with UHM, the only access to our electronic resources we offer is via the two unauthenticated computers in the CLIC lab on the first floor. Please note that these computers, due to our licensing agreements,, offer limited capabilities and in most cases will not let you download the licensed resources you find to external drives.

• How can I find a UHM dissertation and/or thesis? 
  Print and electronic copies of UHM dissertations and Plan A theses are available in the Hawaiian Collection. Some electronic copies are available in the library's institutional repository, Scholarspace under the collection Dissertations and Theses. For UHM affiliates, some electronic copies are also available in Proquest's Dissertations and Theses. To find any theses and dissertations, search in the library's discovery layer, OneSearch. If you find it in print, you will need to request it and visit the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections reading room to read it.
   
• I'm not affiliated with UHM nor able to physically visit the library, how can I access a UHM dissertation and/or thesis?
  For dissertations and theses only available in print in our physical collection, you will need to visit us to see it. If that is not an option, you can ask your community or university library to initiate an interlibrary loan on your behalf. For those dissertations and theses available electronically for UHM affiliates through Proquest's Dissertations and Theses, you can purchase a copy directly from Proquest by visiting their Dissertations and Theses Dissemination and Ordering webpage. For those dissertations and theses available electronically through Scholarspace, you can freely download the version for non-UH users; however, copying/printing is not permitted.
   

• You hold only a paper copy of my UHM Plan A thesis or dissertation. May I submit a digital copy of my thesis or dissertation for posting to ScholarSpace?
  We accept UHM dissertations and Plan A theses from UHM Graduate Division only, and can not accept copies directly from students. 

• You hold only a digital copy of my UHM Plan A thesis or dissertation. May I submit a paper copy to be held in the Hawaiian Collection? 
  We accept UHM dissertations and Plan A theses from UHM Graduate Division only, and can not accept copies directly from students.

Due to COVID-19, Hawaiian and Pacific Collections' manuscript and archival collections are not available for use.

• When can I access rare and archival materials?
  The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections' rare and archival materials are available Monday-Friday 9:30am-4:30pm during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Access to some archival collections require 24-48 hours advanced notice. Prior librarian approval is needed if you plan to research an archival collection on a Sunday that we are open.  During breaks and interim weeks, hours of availability may be different. Check the Hours and Contact Info webpage prior to your visit.
   
• How can I access rare and archival materials?
  Rare materials need to be requested using the Library's discovery layer, OneSearch. Place requests no more than 1-3 days in advance prior to your visit since materials are held for only 3 days. Collection level records of archival materials are located in OneSearch or Voyager, but specific items from those archival collections need to be requested using the manuscript request form. To fill out the manuscript request form, you will need to use the finding aid for that collection to identify the specific items you want. If the finding aid is available online, it will be linked to the record. If the finding aid is not available online, you will need to view the print finding aid available at the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections reference desk. Once the manuscript request form is completed, email the form to hawnpac@hawaii.edu. A librarian will review the form and reach out to schedule a research visit.
   
• How do I distinguish rare and archival materials in OneSearch?
  Rare and archival materials have the following locations assigned to them in OneSearch: UH Mānoa HP: Hawaiian Rare or UH Mānoa HP: Pacific Rare.  Rare materials have a call number that starts with two letters, e.g. JK9325 1893 .H39 1893. Archival materials have a call number that starts with the word Manuscript, e.g. MANUSCRIPT H00065.
   
• Can I take photos of rare and archival materials?
  Non-flash photography is allowed of rare and archival materials. Photocopying and scanning is prohibited.
   
• How should I cite archival material?
  In citing materials, use the following format: [Item, Collection], Hawaiian and Pacific Collections, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library.

• Can I scan or photocopy materials?
  Most materials except rare and archival materials may be scanned or photocopied in accordance with current copyright laws. Flatbed and overhead scanners are available and are free to use. Bring an external drive to save images. Photocopy machines are not available in our reading room. 
   
• Can I take pictures of materials?
  Materials may be photographed in accordance with copyright laws. Flash photography is prohibited of rare and archival materials. You may use any camera, phone, or tablet device to take photos.
   
• Can I print?
  Printing is available. You will need a Mānoa One Card or a Mānoa One Guest Card. The latter is available for purchase from the Library Business Office or Campus Center. Funds are added online with a credit card. Printing is 10 cents per page.
   
• Where can I purchase an external drive?
  You can purchase an external drive at the University Bookstore.

• Can you photocopy or scan an item for me?
  For duplication requests of published materials such as books, articles, dissertations and theses, please contact the library's Interlibrary Loan Lending section for rates and to coordinate the request. For duplication requests of unpublished materials, such as a photograph, please email hawnpac@hawaii.edu for rates and to coordinate the request. Duplication services are charged at a cost-recovery rate. 

• How do I obtain permission to publish an image in a publication?
  The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections physically own materials in our collections but does hold copyright to all of those materials. If you would like to publish an item in a publication, it is your responsibility to determine if the material is protected under copyright law and seek permission from the copyright holder to publish it. For more information on copyright, visit the Learn About Copyright website from the Copyright Clearance Center. For help on seeking permission from a copyright holder, visit the Getting Permission website from the University of Texas Libraries.
   
• How do I obtain a license to use an image in a publication?
  The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections does not grant licenses for use of the materials in our collections. We do not own the rights to the materials digitized online and we are not allowed to issue licenses to that content. You may use anything you find in our collections with the understanding that you are responsible for clearing the rights to use. 
   
• Do you have a usage right agreement?
  The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections does not have a usage right agreement. Generally, our library users may use the materials we hold in any way they wish, as long as they are in compliance with applicable laws, including copyright laws and providing a repository credit.
   
• How should I provide attribution of the image I use in a publication?
  It is important to attribute the photographer (if known), the collection the image is from, and the repository the image is found in. Here is an example attribution, "Images courtesy of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library, Pacific Collection." Another example, "Photograph by Robert A. Duckworth-Ford, from the collection Filipino Workers in Hawaiʻi, 1926, held at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library, Hawaiian Collection." Other example, "Leslie Sheraton Slides of Hawaii" collection, courtesy of the Hawaiian Collection, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Library.

• Thank you for considering a gift to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library Hawaiian and Pacific Collections. For information on gifting materials and funds, please visit the our Gift Guidelines page.

• Can you help me translate into Hawaiian?
  The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections is not able to translate for you. Use the online Hawaiian language dictionary wehewehe.org to look up words. Use the online book Hawaiian Grammar by Samuel H. Elbert and Mary Kawena Pukui to research sentence patterns and phrases.