Libraries are no longer just places where you go to borrow books.
The Hawaii State Public Library System is an invaluable resource, as it provides anyone with a library card now only a rich source of printed books and magazines, but also a portal into a huge digital library. All free to you.
There are links to newspapers (current and archived), depositories of state and federal documents. Lots of interesting stuff buried in here.
There’s a long list of databases accessible through the library website.
Scrolling through the list, there’s lots of general information. Then I got to two publications by Congressonal Quarterly, CQ Researcher and CQ Weekly. I subscribed to CQ Weekly for a while, but it got too expensive. Now I can read it for free. There’s the Foundations Directory, an excellent guide for researchers and journalists, among others. There’s a Hawaiian Legends Index, which I haven’t had time to explore yet. There’s a collection of Japanese-American Relocation Camp newspapers. Legal Information Reference Center. Morningstar Investment Research Center. There’s a search engine to search a variety of newspapers and magazines for any topic you’re interested in. There’s lots of science, medicine, health, history…It’s kind of a treasure trove.
I believe the libraries still offer access to Press Reader, which gets you to stories from newspapers around the world. The basic subscription if free using your library card number and PIN, and if you want the fancier options, you can upgrade your subscription as well.
Of course, you can still borrow physical books. Or you can also borrow ebooks or audiobooks, if that’s your preference.
Libraries (at least those on the east side of Honolulu) have also become bookstores. Hawaii Kai, Aina Haina, and Kaimuki have sections where used books are for sale at very low prices. I’ll plug Hawaii Kai, which opens its bookstore almost every day.
The Hawaii State Libary…if you start exploring, its collection will entertain and inform you for quite a while.
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Kaimuki library has places to study with power outlets. Hawaii Kai has a great book selling program. Aina Haina library was closed for a long time to refurbish. They spent plenty but there are no power outlets for laptops so students don’t go there to study. They also changed nothing about the drainage or entry so the next big flood will come into the library just like the last one.
The State Library main branch is great but the drug addicts/mentally ill who have camped inside and in front make visiting unpleasant. The librarians all by themselves with these lunatics need hazard pay.
I go to the main library downtown and there is a security guard when you walk in. I don’t know if there are others on the second floor or not. Glenn you could say the same for Ala Moana Center and Kaiser Honolulu Clinic (yes I was there last week when they had the shooting!) and I’m sure other places where the public meets.
Agree with you that libraries are a great, free resource. I love that you can search the catalog and reserve materials on line, to be held at the library of your choice.
So also let me voice one grievance. Public libraries are closed on Sunday and all three days of every holiday weekend, times when many more people could go if libraries were loudly and proudly open. Somehow its like a church being closed on Sunday. Worse, I never remember the holiday closings until I arrive and see others turning away, also disappointed.
Peter
On Oahu three of the larger libraries (Kaimuki, Pearl City, Kaneohe) are open on Sundays. And, yes, the library does still offer access to PressReader. The upside-down scrolling on PressReader’s index kind of throws me off, but that’s not the library’s fault.
“Libraries are no longer just places where you go to borrow books.” I think you mean “to just borrow books.” Libraries also provide fun activities for families, mostly during the summer. You can also get movies on DVDs for just $1.
I stand corrected.