Panel 2: Connecting Archives and Communities through Technology
Mauna Kea Social Media Archiving 

Presenter: Kawena Komeiji is from Nuʻuanu, Kona, Oʻahu and serves as the Hawaiʻi-Pacific Resources Librarian at the James and Abigail Kuaihelani Campbell Library (University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu). One of her professional goals is creating better pathways to access the ʻike held in Hawaiian language primary documents. Kawena has a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Studies and a master’s in library science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. 

Presenter: Shavonn Matsuda is a librarian at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. She is pursuing a PhD in Indigenous Studies from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. Her research is focused on Indigenous knowledge organization and pathways to improve access to Hawaiian knowledge in libraries and archives. Recently, her work has focused on the creation of a Hawaiian controlled vocabulary, as part of an IMLS-funded project titled, Lau Ā Lau Ka ʻIke: Knowledge Overflowing.

Presenter: Alphie Garcia has served as the Information Resources and Collection Management Librarian at the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu since 2013. His latest professional interests include improving patron experience, maximizing library resource usage, and digital archives.

Presentation Description: July 2019 marked a significant moment in modern Hawaiian history as law enforcement arrested 35 kūpuna who are protecting Mauna Kea and reawakened a nation of Hawaiians and allies. Through social media, the messages of the Kū Kiaʻi Mauna movement have spread across ko Hawaiʻi pae ʻāina (Hawaiian archipelago), the United States, and around the world. Functioning much like the nūpepa ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in the 19th century, social media platforms have become a place of discussion, scholarship, and art. Recognizing the importance of this historical moment, a group of librarians and archivists began to think of ways to preserve the content being created. Because social media archiving is so new to the field, there is no one template that fits all, especially for Hawaiʻi. In this presentation, we will discuss our process, challenges that we have already encountered, and the current state of the project.