The University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�’s will become a hub for international experts as it hosts the September 8–11, 2025, at the Imin Conference Center. IASA is a leading international organization dedicated to safeguarding recorded sound and audiovisual materials.

This year’s theme, “A Loss of Place: Preserving Climate Narratives, Cultural Identity, and Marginalized Voices through Audiovisual Media,” underscores the urgent need to document communities facing climate displacement and highlights the role of audiovisual archives in preserving cultural resilience.

The conference was brought to Hawaiʻi by David Rowntree, Hamilton Library’s digital preservation librarian, part of the local planning committee with librarians and archivists from Hamilton Library, Bishop Museum, and at ����Ӱҵ West Oʻahu.

“Our team’s collective enthusiasm reflects just how significant this event is,” said Rowntree. “Bringing global perspectives to Hawaiʻi’s doorstep is an incredible opportunity, and we’re excited to be part of this important conversation.”

Call for submissions

through April 14, 2025, for contributions exploring the preservation of climate-impacted media, including film, sound, audiovisual records, drone footage and underwater recordings. The conference aims to spark meaningful discussions at the intersection of climate change, cultural identity, marginalized communities, and Indigenous knowledge systems.

“IASA is thrilled to join the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� for this year’s conference,” noted IASA President, Patrick Midtlyng. “As a global organization, our executive board recognized the importance and value of re-engaging with the Pacific region and expressed a strong commitment to making this a priority.”

at the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu is part of a nationwide effort to digitize and preserve historic publicly funded radio and television programs across America, including .

The project, (AAPB), is a collaboration between the , and participating organizations across the country who care for archival public media.

“I’m so proud that the programs from PBS Hawaiʻi archived at ʻUluʻulu will soon be available to watch online through the American Archive of Public Broadcasting website,” said Janel Quirante, ʻUluʻulu head archivist. “The footage will be in good company with other public media icons like Julia Child and Mr. Rogers!”

ʻUluʻulu, Hawaiʻi’s official state archive for moving images, is coordinating the digitization and description of 2,000 films and videotapes from the PBS Hawaiʻi collection. The entire digitization project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The digitized programs will be made publicly available through ʻUluʻulu‘s online catalog and the AAPB website. The digital preservation masters will be stored at ʻUluʻulu and at the Library of Congress.

“We are in the business of preserving analog media—ensuring that these films and videotapes are carefully maintained, digitized, and made accessible to the public,” said ʻUluʻulu Collections Specialist and Producer Heather H. Giugni. “It is partnerships and opportunities like these that make our mission possible.”

ʻUluʻulu received the PBS Hawaiʻi collection in 2016, and the tapes are physically stored in a vault on campus. Over the years, ʻUluʻulu has been able to digitize portions of this collection through various grant funding. The new project will enable the digitization of the remaining videotapes, with the help of WGBH and a preservation laboratory in Pennsylvania.

Read more at .
—by Zenaida Serrano Arvman

experts were among a group of (NHR) who quickly came together after the Maui wildfires and gathered resources that could aid Lahaina museums, cultural centers, libraries and schools in salvaging fire damaged items.

Art Archivist Librarian Malia Van Heukelem and Paper Conservator Liane Naʻauao, the only active NHR members in Hawaiʻi, contributed their expertise in a series of webinar presentations recently made available online by the . While the webinars were developed for Lahaina cultural and heritage institutions, the information could also be helpful to Maui residents wishing to salvage family treasures.

“Despite what looks like total loss at some sites, there are things that can be saved, and it’s worthwhile to take your time and carefully plan and salvage cultural heritage and precious family heirlooms,” said Van Heukelem in her presentation.

The videos cover topics including:

• : Overview of hazards, personal protective equipment, psychological first aid and available resources
• : Items that might be salvageable (types of materials), first entry (safety), retrieval (assessment and documentation), stabilization treatments, when and how to contact a conservator, packing and additional resources
• : Recommendations for assessment, documentation, handling and initial stabilization of paper-based materials

As NHRs, both Van Heukelem and Naʻauao have received professional training in assessing, handling, documenting and preserving collections. In addition, Van Heukelem previously worked in museum collections management with the state’s Art in Public Places Collection and at ʻIolani Palace before going to work on flood recovery work and preservation management at Hamilton Library. Naʻauao specializes in library and archival material conservation and has worked in various collections care and conservation positions across the island.

More on how to help Maui ʻohana and the Maui wildfires.

They continue to share their knowledge and connect institutions and individuals with the information resources they need for recovery.

“We have advocated for hands-on salvage train-the-trainer workshops, training for the residents to salvage their family treasures, and funding for cleaning spaces and storage,” said Van Heukelem. “We have made a difference in some of the information being shared regarding safety and collections salvage, and will provide additional assistance as needs arise.”

Long before it was a bustling tourist spot, Lahaina, Maui was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in the early 19th century, a major whaling port and one of the first places in Hawaiʻi where the missionaries settled. The town’s many centuries-old buildings earned Lahaina a designation by the National Park Service (NPS) in 1962 because of its rich historical and cultural significance.

Related ����Ӱҵ News story: Remains of prominent aliʻi, lost ‘royal island’ part of Lahaina

“It is one of 17 in the state and one of two on the Valley Isle to hold the rare designation,” said William Chapman, interim dean of the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� who also leads its graduate certificate program in historic preservation. “The 1962 designation predated the National Register of Historic Places, which didn’t start till 1966.”

The deadly wildfire in August 2023 destroyed most of Lahaina along with many of the buildings that contributed to the National Historic Landmark recognition, including the Waiola Church (originally built 1832), where several early members of the Hawaiian monarchy are interred; Baldwin House Museum (built in 1834), the oldest home on Maui; and the Pioneer Inn (built in 1901), Lahaina’s first hotel and one of the oldest operating in Hawaiʻi.

Historical data could provide details to buildings

Rebuilding Lahaina’s historic buildings is possible, says Chapman, thanks to extremely detailed drawings by architects and students from the 1960s and 1970s collected by the Historic American Building Survey and held in the Library of Congress. The drawings
have measurements taken to within an 1/8 of an inch, with many recorded through high-resolution photographs.

“Together with the digitized versions, these records will be a useful guide for restoration/reconstruction purposes to rebuild Lahaina over time,” Chapman said. “Working with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation and other key groups, it will be important to communicate the interests and needs of the local people, which all should be taken into account.”

Chapman is working on a project with the Hawaiʻi Historic Preservation Division to make the information more accessible. As vice chair of the , Chapman has already been assisting with some preservation efforts before the fire. His role with the board is to help review all listings in Hawaiʻi, both for the state and the National Register for which they make official recommendations.

“We would be involved in any revisions to the district description as a result of the fire,” he explained.

More on how to help Maui ʻohana and the Maui wildfires.

Chapman is also collaborating with others on a book, expected to be released in December, about architectural heritage in the Pacific that will include the history of Hawaiʻi and Lahaina. Looking ahead, he hopes the School of Architecture can be more involved with other projects relating to the rebuilding of Lahaina in the future.

—By Arlene Abiang

Fourteen public history students were invited to participate in a preservation workshop from this past semester to help clean and maintain every known grave marker in Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi.

The workshop gave the students the opportunity to receive a one-of-a-kind history lesson and deepen their connection to Hawaiʻi as they worked in partnership with HOPE (Hands-On Preservation Experience), the National Parks Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“Gaining inspiration from their kūpuna (ancestors, elders), our students learned from the history of the leprosy settlement; the community of Kalaupapa; their instructors from the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, the National Park Service, HOPE and others; and from one another,” explained Professor Kerri Inglis. “With an emphasis on learning about the ancestors they were caring for and the cultural significance of place, students were immersed in the history not only of Kalaupapa, but of Hawaiʻi itself.”

Inglis said it was in the actual doing of the work in March that students and instructors learned the most, not only about the techniques and importance of preservation, but about working together and belonging to a community.

“This trip was very life changing for me,” said one student. “It gave me a whole new outlook on life and all the possibilities that life holds. Poina ʻole ia. I will never forget this huakaʻi (journey) and the pilina (connection) I and the rest of the hui (group) built and experienced. I have gained a new sense of belonging, sense of place, and sense of aloha.”

—By Susan Enright

students are preserving the history of the North Shore communities of Waialua and Haleʻiwa by interviewing kūpuna (grandparents, elders) from those areas. The three-credit, spring semester course offered by the ����Ӱҵ ����ԴDz� departments of and is an that preserves the memories and experiences of the kūpuna for future generations.

“We’re finding that a lot of kūpuna; their stories are really important,” said Keola Silva, a ����Ӱҵ ����ԴDz� PhD student who was also born and raised in Waialua. “They hold lots of life lessons, lots of golden nuggets that we can use and apply to today and in our future.”

The students complete the course and project by producing and presenting each kūpuna with their own digital story map, which combines maps with narrative text, images, video and other multimedia content.

Oral history project touches lives

The class of 12 was a mix of undergraduate and graduate students representing majors in anthropology, ethnic studies, Hawaiian studies and English; along with two community members who participated in the class activities. The kūpuna, called “narrators,” shared experiences in Waialua ranging from music to genealogy to plantation work.

• Related ����Ӱҵ News story: Students record memories to preserve Waialua’s past, May 8, 2018

“If I’ve touched one person, than I think I’ve done what I set out to do,” said Judy Miner Miram, one of the kūpuna narrators and a life-long Waialua-Haleʻiwa resident. “I felt honored to share what Haleʻiwa was like in the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s.”

After the interviews, the students transcribed the recordings, worked through the editorial process and sought guidance from their narrators and each other as they compiled their research into digital story maps.

One student, Daven Chang, says that he was so moved by the experience that he wrote and arranged a song called, “Waialua is Calling to Me.” He and his classmates performed it at the hōʻike, or exhibition, of the kūpuna digital story maps. About 100 people attended the event, where students thanked the narrators and shared a final meal with them.

“It reinforces my belief that when you are tied to community, and you know your community and the value of your community, even more so you become motivated to do things for the community,” said Silva.

The interviews are to be archived at the . The program is a partnership with the ʻĀina Ulu Program of Kamehameha Schools, and ����Ӱҵ worked with the Waialua Hawaiian Civic Club to connect kūpuna with students for the project.

The started in 2013 as an archaeology/anthropology program where students learned techniques in low impact archaeology at culturally significant sites on the North Shore of Oʻahu.

In spring 2018, the focus shifted to ethnography and the research of life stories, rather than artifacts.

Transplanting wild microbes from healthy related plants can make a native Hawaiian plant healthier and likelier to survive in wild according to new research from the in the botany department and the (OANRP). Professor and postdoctoral researcher used microbes to restore the health of a critically endangered Hawaiian plant that, until now, had been driven to extinction in the wild and only survived in managed greenhouses under heavy doses of fungicide.

The plant, Phyllostegia kaalaensis, is in the mint family and only grew in the Waiʻanae mountain range in West Oʻahu. It is listed as critically-endangered, and from 2002 until now, has only existed in two greenhouses on Oʻahu—one managed by the State of Hawaiʻi and one by the U.S. Army. The major threats to its survival in the wild are habitat loss, invasive animals like pigs and rats, and diseases. In fact, one powdery mildew fungus does so much damage to these fragile plants that, even in a greenhouse, they require monthly fungicide treatments.

Probiotics for plants

One problem with this fungicide-dependence is that plants aren’t so different from humans or other animals—when it comes to their health, every plant and animal depends on a collection of beneficial micro-organisms. In plants, the microbes that live in their leaves, stems and roots, are called endophytes, and “good” fungi make up an important part of this consortium. Endophytic fungi are known to help plants survive droughts, obtain nutrients and minerals, as well as fight off infections. In fact, some of our antibiotics and cancer drugs derive from these endophytes. But when plants are sprayed with fungicides in a greenhouse, it doesn’t just kill the fungal diseases, it also kills the beneficial endophytes.

Amend and Zahn wanted to test the idea of whether it was possible to apply “probiotics for plants.” They took leaves from a closely related wild that plant was healthy and contained a typical mix of endophytes, blended them into a smoothie and sprayed the mixture onto the leaves of P. kaalaensis to see if beneficial microbes could be transplanted from one species to another. They then subjected these plants, along with a control group, to the deadly powdery mildew.

The plants that received the microbial spray were able to resist disease, those that didn’t receive the spray soon died. Using DNA barcode sequencing to identifying which species were inside leaves before, during and after the disease, Amend and Zahn determined the beneficial fungus that was most likely responsible for protection from disease: the yeast Pseudozyma aphidis. Those treated plants did so well, that they have since been planted out in the wild, and now represent the only wild population of P. kaalaensis on the planet.

“The power of this approach lies in its simplicity,” said Zahn. “There are quite a few plant species that only exist in the “purgatory” of managed greenhouses, and quickly succumb to disease when they are taken to the wild and away from their regular fungicide treatments. Spraying these plants with a slurry of beneficial fungi once before outplanting could increase their chances of surviving in the wild.”

The honored the (OMKM) with its 2017 Pūalu Award for Culture and Heritage. This award recognizes organizations that exhibit through their actions, practices that promote island traditions and preserve our multi-cultural heritage.

“The Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce bestowed our Culture and Heritage Award to the Office of Maunakea Management for its implementation of a Long-Term Historic Property Monitoring Plan for the University of Hawaiʻi Management Areas on Maunakea. The plan specifically enhances cultural stewardship on Maunakea and preserves our island’s cultural heritage. We were not only impressed with OMKM’s preservation initiatives and actions, but also with its collaboration with the community,” said Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Wendy Laros.

Striving for sustainable management and stewardship

The Office of Maunakea Management was established in 2000 to provide dedicated Hawaiʻi Island community-based management of the natural, cultural and scientific resources on nearly 12,000 acres of ����Ӱҵ managed lands on Maunakea. OMKM’s mission is to “achieve harmony, balance and trust in the sustainable management and stewardship of the Mauna Kea Science Reserve through community involvement and programs that protect, preserve and enhance the natural, cultural and recreational resources of Maunakea while providing a world-class center dedicated to education, research and astronomy.”

Achieving balanced stewardship is especially challenging given the wide-ranging environmental, cultural, research and community interests. Over the years OMKM initiated and continues to execute management programs to protect and preserve the unique cultural resources under ����Ӱҵ’s care.

The Long Term Historic Property Monitoring Plan was prepared and approved by the . This plan is in fulfillment of the Cultural Resources Management Plan’s action step to systematically monitor the condition of over 260 historic properties containing about 1,000 archaeological features located in the Mauna Kea Science Reserve, Maunakea Access Road Corridor and the Mid-Level Facilities at Halepōhaku. Significant historic properties are vulnerable to intentional and unintentional human impact as well as damage from natural erosion, biological invasions, weather and geological events including earthquakes. The plan assists OMKM with monitoring and documenting historic properties in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Division, and the development of measures to mitigate possible adverse impacts to preserve and protect historic properties for future generations.

The preparation of the Long Term Historic Property Monitoring Plan and implementation of regular annual monitoring without a statutory requirement, demonstrates the Office of Maunakea Management’s commitment to stewardship and best practices in cultural resource understanding, protection and preservation.

OMKM was also recognized last year by the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce for its environmental stewardship programs with a Pūalu Award for Environmental Awareness. The Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation’s 2017 Preservation Commendation Award, Hawaiʻi’s highest recognition of preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and interpretation of the state’s architectural, archaeological and cultural heritage, was presented to the Office of Maunakea Management last month.

• Related ����Ӱҵ News stories:
  Office of Maunakea Management awarded 2017 Preservation Commendation, April 17, 2017
  Office of Mauna Kea Management honored with environmental award, June 29, 2016

The will become the third Preservation Steward library in the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) Federal Information Preservation Network. The university signed a memorandum of understanding with GPO.

Under this agreement, the library pledges to permanently preserve print collections of United States Reports, the official record of the U.S. Supreme Court. The volumes contain the ruling, orders, and other proceedings of the Supreme Court.

“The at ����Ӱҵ Mānoa is excited to be one of the first three federal depository libraries to become a Preservation Steward,” said Librarian Gwen Sinclair. “We selected United States Reports for our initial entry into the Federal Information Preservation Network program because it is one of the few titles for which we have a complete set.“

The ����Ӱҵ Mānoa collection contains 555 volumes of the reports from 1817 through 2016. The library also has copies of the earlier volumes (1798–1816) that were privately published without any federal assistance.

“Although 95 percent of our collection was destroyed in the October 2004 flood, these volumes were undamaged because they were shelved in the main collection at Hamilton Library and at Sinclair Library,” said Sinclair. “The University of Hawaiʻi came into existence in 1907, but our collection of volumes extends all the way back to 1798. Early volumes acquired from other libraries by ����Ӱҵ librarians include an 1895 volume from the Supreme Court of the Hawaiian Islands. The ����Ӱҵ Mānoa Library looks forward to preserving these important records of the United States Supreme Court for many years to come.”

To help federal depository libraries meet the needs of efficient government document stewardship in the digital era, GPO has established Preservation Stewards to support continued public access to historic U.S. government documents.

“GPO welcomes The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa into this important program of maintaining government information in all platforms,” said GPO Director Davita Vance-Cooks. “I encourage more libraries to become part of this venture of preserving valuable print collections of government information.”

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faculty and staff joined hands to clean the Puhi Plantation Camp Cemetery located on Kauaʻi CC grounds, as part of the ’s 50th Anniversary. About 50 faculty, staff and community volunteers cleared debris and trash, dug away weeds, cleaned grave markers and placed fresh flowers at the grave sites.

In the Puhi Plantation Camp Cemetery, 97 names are listed on the gravestones—20 are marked in Japanese and 52 are unknown. According to a 2003 Garden Island newspaper article, Grove Farm’s Puhi Camp was a close-knit ethnically diverse community with workers and their families who came from China, Philippines, Japan, Puerto Rico and Portugal. At one time, there were 600 homes with 1,200 residents. Sugar cane, pineapple and other crops were cultivated until 1968.

The camp is remembered for being a place where people were happy and productive, and appreciative of the richness of a simple way of life. It had its own gas station, slaughterhouse, Chinese laundry, three stores, and places where children could play freely. A former swimming spot known as “Up Pond” still exists as a reservoir that feeds into Kauaʻi CC’s loʻi.

“We thought it would be most fitting to celebrate by honoring those who lived here and the roots of the land on which Kauaʻi CC stands,” said Helen Cox, Kauaʻi CC chancellor. “Giving back through community service is a hallmark of our mission. This project symbolizes what we stand for and will continue forward. Here’s to the next 50.”

—By Camilla Matsumoto