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by Robin Cavaco On Friday, April 10th, the School of Communication and Information (SCI) had their 2026 Open House. Originally intended as an in-person event, it was moved onto Zoom due to the bad weather and campus closures. The event began with Library and Information Science’s Assistant Professor, Keahiahi Long, performing the opening oli, "O Lono 'Oe". Dean Denise Konan, Ph.D., Dean of College of Social Sciences, followed with the Welcome Remarks, the theme of the year (Human-Centered AI), and event agenda. SCI highlights were presented by Hye-ryeon Lee, Ph.D, Chair of SCI. Dr. Lee announced that the Library and Information Science (LIS) program placed #36 in the nation in 2025. Way to go, LIS! This year also marks the program’s 60th anniversary. Congratulations LIS for making it to 60 years! I wish you many more amazing decades. Looking back on my own LIS journey, I remember that when I began my studies in 2014, the department was in its own stand-alone college. Around 2015, they moved to be under the ICS (Information and Computer Science) program.
Dr. Brett Oppegaard, a SCI Journalism professor, introduced and welcomed the Keynote Speaker, Dr. S. Shyam Sundar, Director of the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence at Penn State. He presented to us his “Human-Centered AI: Navigating Bias, Promoting Transparency, & Combating Misinformation” research.
Ending the Open House was the presentation of alumni recognitions. This year’s recognitions were exciting and emotional. Each alumni, including our very own Sunny Pai, who was HLA President in 2024, gave a brief thank you speech, reminiscing about their time in their program and how it helped them become who they are today. Besides the joy and honor we experienced, it was also just fun to see where everyone currently works; who knew one of our state senators majored in Journalism? Alumni and Executive Director of Shangri La, Ben Weitz, zoomed in from his office at the Shangri La, even inviting us to visit, and illustrating to prospective students how varied careers can be with this type of degree. Being able to feel a part of our alumni’s journeys helped foster a sense of connection and pride. Congratulations to all awardees! Recognized Awardees were:
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by Ellen-Rae Cachola
Tracking Bills
The HLA Advocacy Committee has set up a tracker using BillTrack50 to help monitor bills of importance to libraries and the library profession. We focus on issues that impact the freedom to read and access to information. To sign up for alerts about bills that you are interested in and to submit testimony if hearings are scheduled, you may sign up for your own personal account with the Hawaiʻi State Legislature (click Register). These are the bills that are on our radar this 2026 legislative session:
Participation Guidelines For those of us who are city or state workers, we must participate in these events on our own free time, as individual citizens. For more information, please review the Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission’s Quick Guide on Lobbying Activities for State Officials and Employees. If you are uncertain about what you are allowed to do, reach out to the State Ethics Commission for guidance. More Information HLA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Per IRS guidelines, HLA may educate the public and decision makers, through public education and discussion, on issues such as the freedom to read and civic education. The HLA Advocacy Committee is a group of volunteers working to build community support for libraries, strengthen relationships with stakeholders, and advocate for a better landscape for libraries and archives in Hawaiʻi. Learn more about our committee here. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. by the HLA Community Engagement Committee Promoting the freedom to read lies at the heart of every library’s mission. This principle ensures that people of all ages and backgrounds can explore ideas, encounter new perspectives, and find stories that reflect and expand upon their own experiences.
Each year, Banned Books Week (BBW) elevates and celebrates our freedom to read and invites us to reflect on the harms of censorship. BBW brings together librarians, educators, writers, publishers, and readers to affirm that access to stories/ideas is essential to a healthy and democratic society. HLA is proud to contribute to BBW 2025 through two initiatives that uplift local voices and emphasize our commitment to intellectual freedom. Video Series Featuring Local Leaders HLA invited a range of local voices to share short personal reflections on why they believe intellectual freedom should be cherished and defended. Among those who shared statements are:
These snapshots will be shared publicly through HLA’s social media channels during Banned Books Week 2025, and underscore the power of diverse perspectives in resisting censorship. We invite you to view these stories via this HLA Youtube channel playlist. Community Reflections on Padlet HLA has also launched “Why I Read Freely” via Padlet, a digital wall of voices that gathers local insights from community members. Contributors can respond to prompts like:
About Banned Books Week Banned Books Week was started in 1982 by Judith F. Krug of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, in coalition with publishers, booksellers, and writers’ organizations. The annual event, observed nationally this year from October 5-11, draws attention to ongoing/increasing challenges to books in classrooms and libraries – many of which are related to race, gender, sexuality, history, etc. These attempts to censor undermine the core tenets of a civilized and educated society, and are ultimately attempts to silence voices, restrict perspectives, and narrow our understanding of the multi-faceted world we live in. Standing Together for Intellectual Freedom By encouraging curiosity, dialogue, and access to diverse viewpoints, Hawai‘i’s librarians and information professionals ensure that our libraries remain places where everyone can learn and explore without fear of restriction. HLA extends a heartfelt mahalo to all who continue to champion these values, in small or large ways, and to those who contributed to our BBW initiatives this year. Together, we celebrate not only the books themselves, but the essential freedom to seek and share the ideas that define who we are as a collective, diverse community. As a community, we are free to read and we are free to think. Let’s continue to protect that freedom for all, remembering that “Free People Read Freely.” With aloha - HLA’s Community Engagement Committee by Ellen-Rae Cachola The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library and Information Science (LIS) program is part of the School of Communication and Information (SCI). The SCI held their open house on April 11, 2025 to introduce visitors and guests to the disciplines within this school, situated in the College of Social Sciences. It was a day of intriguing mini workshops covering Communication, Journalism, Library and Information Science, and Peace and Conflict Resolution.
The University of Hawaiʻi’s Library and Information Science Program is well-positioned in this new School of Communication and Information. Library Sciences brings a unique lens with its focus on physical and digital stores of both historical and current data, knowledge, and wisdom and how best to preserve and make accessible these invaluable resources today and for future generations. In addition, the library field faces challenges similar to other communications disciplines, including rampant misinformation and emerging technologies like AI. For example, school librarians are working hard at teaching children how to identify misinformation and avoid being misled. By working alongside the disciplines of communication, journalism, and peace and conflict resolution, library science students, faculty, and researchers can engage in relevant dialogue on how information is disseminated and experienced in different contexts. Together these disciplines will find new ways to address our shared challenges. We wish the LIS Program an exciting chapter of learning and scholarship ahead!
Statement on the firing of Carla Hayden and HLA's Concerns about Hawaiʻi's Shifting Landscape5/15/2025 by The HLA Board HLA is concerned about the firing of Dr. Carla Hayden by the current Administration. Dr. Hayden was the first African American Librarian of Congress, who was hired in 2016. She was targeted by a conservative group for circulating what they called “radical” perspectives. But Hayden connected her purpose at the Library of Congress as an opportunity to represent broader views of history and knowledge, as a descendant of African Americans. Moreover, Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights, was also dismissed. Her office played a vital role in guiding the nation’s understanding of artificial intelligence and intellectual property. These acts resonate with the firing of Dr. Colleen Shogan, the National Archivist of the U.S., earlier this year. HLA is concerned about the firing of qualified information professionals from the highest library and archival institutions in the U.S. These professions require a high degree of professional ethics and neutrality in their practice in order to protect intellectual freedom and public trust in government.
Meanwhile, we are seeing efforts to dismantle the Institute for Library and Museum Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. These actions are already impacting us at the state level. Next Steps What can you do now? By May 16, we encourage you to write or call our Congressional Delegation to press for 2026 federal funding for public and school libraries. This resource, the Dear Appropriator Letter to fund libraries for FY 2026, will help you speak up for 2026 funding for the Library Services and Technology Act and the Innovative Approaches to Libraries grants. Share how your library is an invaluable resource for our community. Next, if you want to know what is being done locally, join the online HLA Spring Meeting on Saturday May 31, 2025 from 11-3pm. This will be an opportunity to discuss these issues with our community. By sharing our experiences from different vantage points, we can find the hope in one another to move forward as a profession. ʻAʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia. No task is too big when done together by all. Hawaiʻi's Shifting Landscape We also witness the local impacts of the shifts in current federal priorities and want to highlight how Hawaiʻi librarians and supporters are responding.
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