Library Treasures come to life with student talks

Mapping historic and present-day fishponds. Connecting insect infestations with colonialism in Malaysia. Detecting emotion in Hawaiʻi Sugar Plantation Archives. Exploring Okinawan perspectives in the postwar magazine Aoi Umi. Considering Indigenous Tahitian perspectives through 18th and 19th century periodicals.

Hamilton Library’s summer 2025 Library Treasures scholarship recipients covered a wide variety of topics in their research presentations on Sept. 5 in Room 306. The audience of mostly librarians and UH faculty members contributed to lively discussions of their research, which was conducted using resources from Hamilton Library’s special collections. Students made use of its MAGIS collection, Tahitian newspapers on microfilm, the Hawai‘i Sugar Plantation Archives, the Aoi Umi magazine holdings (one of the most extensive in the U.S.), and the Hawaiian and Pacific, Asia, and Main collections for their projects. Learn more about the students’ work by reading their full project descriptions.

The Library Treasures program promotes the use, across disciplines and media, of its special collections by students, faculty and researchers. Hamilton’s library treasures reflect the complex nature of our community and the areas of excellence within the university – especially relating to Hawaiʻi, the Pacific, and Asia. The 2026 scholarships call for proposals is now open, and the application deadline is Friday, March 27, 2026. For more information, please contact Yuma Totani, professor in the UH Mānoa Department of History.