New exhibit in the Moir Reading Room

Our newest exhibit is now available for viewing by the public. Come see “War Through a Child’s Eyes: World War II Children’s Victory Posters from the Hawaiʻi War Records Depository.” During the war, in an effort to boost morale and support, the public education system had children create Victory Posters. Students in grade school all the way up to high school participated, giving a unique perspective to the war. Come see the exhibit; you might find a student or teacher with which you have a connection, as several students and staff have already done.

Location: Hamilton Library, Moir Reading Room, A550
Exhibit hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-4:00pm

Varsity Victory Volunteers panel, Bishop Museum

On March 16, 2013, I was able to attend the Varsity Victory Volunteer panel that was held at Bishop Museum in conjunction with the Congressional Gold Medal Exhibit. Ted Tsukiyama, an important donor to the UH Archives’ Japanese American Veterans Collection, led the panel with Yoshiaki Fujitani and Akira Otani as panelists. I was able to record parts of their presentations. I didn’t think about needing a tripod, unfortunately, so I hope it’s not too shaky.

Congressional Gold Medal Exhibit, Bishop Museum

I had the opportunity to attend several of the panels presented at Bishop Museum during the month of March. The Congressional Gold Medal, which was awarded to the AJAs who fought during World War II, was on exhibit at Bishop Museum. Along with the exhibit, several panels were given each Saturday for four or five weeks. I’ll share some photos and videos soon but here are some photos of the exhibit itself.

Ground floor Exhibit Hall from above

Ground floor Exhibit Hall

Military Medals of Senator Daniel Inouye

Senator Daniel Inouye as a child (ca. 1928)

Congressional Gold Medal (front)

Congressional Gold Medal (back)

“I Found It In the Archives!” national competition

Each year, the Society of American Archivists puts on a national competition called “I Found It In the Archives!” They ask any archive user to send in a short story of something amazing they found in an archive will doing research. This year’s entries were fun to read. Take a look and feel free to vote on your favorite story.

http://www2.archivists.org/initiatives/i-found-it-in-the-archives/i-found-it-in-the-archives-2013-national-competition

New Exhibit

Come visit the new exhibition in the Archives Reading Room!

ON DUTY, OFF DUTY:

A Soldier’s Life in Hawaiʻi After the Bombing of Pearl Harbor

Works by A.S. MacLeod from the Hawaiʻi War Records Depository

The exhibition showcases works of A.S. MacLeod, an artist working for the United States Army’s graphic arts department at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. His paintings reflect the stark reality of war leaving its mark on Hawaiʻi, but also bring to life a lighter side of those years of conflict through depictions of off-duty soldier life in colorful and vibrant island settings.

All artwork displayed was donated to the Hawaii War Records Depository (HWRD), a collection originally established in 1943 by the Territorial Legislature with the goal of documenting the war experience in Hawaii through the eyes of its citizens, organizations, and businesses. Housed at the University of Hawaiʻi since its inception almost 70 years ago, the complete HWRD collection is accessible to researchers and the community through the Archives & Manuscripts department at UH Mānoa’s Hamilton Library.

15 August to 7 December 2012

Archives & Manuscript Department • ŸMoir Reading Room

Take the Phase III elevator to the 5^th Floor

Hamilton Library • ŸUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10:00am to 4:00pm

Freezing Records

Photo courtesy Civil Beat (civilbeat.com)

As an archivist, it seems second nature to me that we “fumigate” our archival collections before bringing them into the storage rooms by freezing them. I guess the first time I heard about freezing as a fumigation technique, I was a bit surprised as well. Here’s an interesting online article about the Hawaii State Archives freeze fumigating their records.

Archives in the news

Although this msnbc.com story was published six months ago, it’s worth noting in our new blog that the UH Archives was instrumental in determining the validity of an oft-misunderstood photograph stored in the Hawaii War Records Depository (HWRD). The photo below has been included in many publications, cited as being taken on December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. However, one reporter, Bill Dedman, decided to check the facts and contacted the UH Archives to see if a copy of the image resided here. Read the story for the full details of his investigation and the real facts he uncovered.