Use and Access
- Access to the Plantation Archives
- Submitting a Request
- About Your Appointment
- Using the Plantation Archives
- Finding Aids
Hawaiian Collection
Special Collections
UHM Library
Hawaii Voyager
ACCESS TO THE PLANTATION ARCHIVES
The HSPA Plantation Archives is available for use by UHM students, faculty and staff, and the general public. Access to the Plantation Archives is by appointment only. For your planning purposes, note that the Plantation Archives is available for use in the reading room of the UHM Library's Special Collections, generally within the hours of 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Be sure to check the Special Collections web pages for exceptions to these hours, and to check the UHM Library's web pages for building hours during holidays and interim periods.
Before submitting a request for access to materials in the Plantation Archives, researchers will be expected to:
- Review informational pages (see About the Plantation Archives, Use and Access, and Frequently Asked Questions) and appropriate plantations' registers and finding aids (see Plantations and Finding Aids). A paper copy of the Plantation Archives registers and finding aids is available in the Special Collections reading room.
- Consult with a Special Collections librarian to determine if HSPA is the appropriate resource for your research project. Contact us by visiting the Special Collections reference desk, or by e-mailing speccoll@hawaii.edu or calling (808) 956-8264.
After doing the above, researchers may fill out a request form and submit it to Special Collections, at our reference desk, or by e-mail or fax. Researchers who are submitting their requests by e-mail or fax should submit their requests to the address or number provided by the librarian with whom they are consulting.
Retrieval time for requests may be up to 48 hours. Someone at Special Collections will contact researchers to set an appointment day/time.
If you need to cancel your appointment to use HSPA, please let us know. If you need to postpone your appointment, please contact us to reschedule. All materials held for appointments not kept or not rescheduled will be reshelved. After that, requests will need to be resubmitted and appointments rescheduled; retrieval will again take up to 48 hours. (e-mail: speccoll@hawaii.edu; tel.: (808) 956-8264)
Requested materials are held at the circulation counter of Special Collections. Researchers will need to present a photo ID (e.g. UH library card, drivers license, state ID, passport, student ID), which will be held at the circulation counter while materials are being used. Researchers are allowed to use one folder or item from their request at a time, and are asked to use a pencil when taking notes. All materials are to be used only in the reading room of Special Collections; no materials may leave the reading room. See Frequently Asked Questions for further information.
Materials in the Plantation Archives are organized by sugar company. Each sugar company has its own register and finding aid. The register contains a history of the company or companies involved, a scope and contents note describing the strengths and weaknesses of that group, and a general outline summarizing the records in each series. The finding aid provides a more detailed listing of the contents of the sugar company's archive. This detailed listing provides information at the level of the folder or volume. See Plantations and Finding Aids for a list of the sugar companies covered in the Plantation Archive, and for access to each sugar company's register and finding aid.
A paper copy of the Plantation Archives registers and finding aids is available in the Special Collections reading room.