Library Treasures: 2026 Call for Proposals

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hamilton Library is offering Library Treasures Scholarships for Summer 2026. The purpose of the scholarships is to promote the use of the Hamilton Library’s collections by our students, raise awareness about the educational values of our library’s unique holdings, and offer the expertise of our subject specialist librarians. The library is committed to providing wide-ranging services to our students and assisting them with their respective pursuit of academic excellence.

UH Mānoa students in any discipline and at any level of study are invited to submit proposals of projects that involve the use of Hamilton Library’s collections, and whose final outcome will result in the production of a research or creative piece. Proposed projects may be an integral part of faculty-guided undergraduate or graduate course-related activities, such as those required in research seminars, labs, and creative media. Summer scholarships will be awarded to the best proposals. The grant period is May–August 2026. The scholarship recipients will present their final products at a public event that the library will host in Fall 2026.

Scholarship Category

• Individual projects: $1,500 per award

Eligibility

• UH Mānoa students at any level of study and in any disciplines, fields, and areas of specialization are eligible.
• The estimated graduation time is Fall 2026 or later.
• Priority will be given to first-time applicants.

Competition Schedule

• Proposal submission deadline: Friday, March 27, 2026 (by midnight)
• Notification to scholarship recipients: Friday, April 24, 2026
• Presentation of final works by scholarship recipients: Friday, September 4, 2026

Application Requirements

Use UH File Drop to transmit the application package (Items #1-4 listed below) to Yuma Totani (Professor, Department of History; yuma.totani@hawaii.edu) by the submission deadline. Item #5 (to be completed by a faculty mentor) should be sent directly to Yuma Totani.

1. A project title (not to exceed 30 words) and a statement (not to exceed 2,000 words) describing your project. The statement should address the following questions: (1) which part of the library collections you intend to use and why, (2) how you plan to address the evaluation criteria as indicated below, and (3) which librarians you have contacted to seek guidance on the collection of your interest.

A budget is not required. However, indicate in the statement if you expect to incur any costs in pursuit of your project (such as the purchase of equipment).

2. A plan of work and a list of library resources that you plan to use. Indicate if you would like to obtain special permission to access the library sources of your choosing.
3. An up-to-date curriculum vitae of the applicant.
4. UH WH-1 Form. This form must be completed by every applicant.
5. Faculty Mentor Form. Each project proposal must have a faculty mentor under whose guidance the student will seek to bring the proposed project to a conclusion. Scholarship applicants may choose as a faculty mentor any individual who holds a faculty position at the University of Hawaiʻi.

The faculty mentor is requested to complete the form and email it directly to Yuma Totani (yuma.totani@hawaii.edu).

Evaluation Criteria

The following evaluation criteria apply to all proposals:

• Sources: The proposed project utilizes sources that are available at Hamilton Library, and it identifies their importance in the relevant field(s) of study.
• Analytical content: The proposed project analyzes the sources and explains their significance in the relevant field(s) of study.
• Plan of work: The proposed project has a clear, practicable plan of work as well as the projected outcome of the proposed project.
• Artistic, technical, and communicative content: The proposed project discusses what sorts of innovative visual, sound, editing, and storytelling techniques it plans to apply.
  *The fourth criterion (artistic, technical, and communicative content) is applicable to proposals on creative works only.

Library Materials

Students are invited to explore any part of the vast collections at Hamilton Library, which include general library materials, special collections, closed shelves, maps, government documents, manuscripts and archives, video-recordings and DVDs, musical recordings, and electronic/digital resources. The Hamilton Library website offers various guides to the library collections. See, for instance, Exhibits. See also “Librarians’ Picks.”

Tax Information

Library Treasures Scholarships are considered income and hence subject to withholding and reporting.

Contact Person

Please email Jean Thoulag, Access Services Librarian, for questions regarding resources and access (thoulagj@hawaii.edu; 808-956-2468).