Collections
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library has a general collection and many unique and special collections that support the Carnegie R1, community-serving research and teaching mission of the University. Our collections are recognized locally and globally for their importance in advancing scholarly research. Contents of collections are in various formats, including Audiobooks, Audiovisual media, Digital Collections, and Microforms, to name a few. Learn more about these collections.
- Archives
University Archives and Manuscripts is the public interface for University Archives, Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection, and Manuscript Collections. It collects, preserves, and documents UH history, the personal papers of several of the state’s members of Congress, and the history, culture, and politics of Hawaiʻi.
- Asia
The Asia Collection is the most significant collection of Asian materials in the State of Hawaiʻi and in the Pacific. It dates from 1920, when the Board of Regents established the Japanese Department at the University of Hawaiʻi (UH). Distinct area collections include Asia General, China, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Philippines, Russian Northeast Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
- Government Documents
This library is a congressionally designated depository for U.S. Government documents. Public access is guaranteed by public law (Title 44 United States Code). The UHM Library is also a depository for United Nations documents.
- Hawaiian and Pacific
The Hawaiian and Pacific Collections are internationally recognized for the depth and breadth of their holdings. Within the geographic scope of Hawaiʻi and the broader regions of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia, the collections include material in all formats, languages, subjects, academic levels and eras.
- Jean Charlot and Archive of Hawai‘i Artists & Architects
An extensive archive of art works and documents relating to the artist and writer Jean Charlot (1898-1979) and to his friends, other artists, and intellectuals. The library holds several related archives of Hawaiʻi Artists and Architects, available for research by appointment in the Jean Charlot Collection reading room.
- Loanable Technology
The collection features over 100 different types of items, ranging from adaptors and cables to microphones, smartphone gimbles, GoPro and SLR cameras, ʻukulele, MIDI equipment, and virtual reality headsets.
- Main
Located throughout Hamilton Library, the main collection includes materials that fall within the broad categories of Business, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Science and Technology, Music and General Rare. Materials collected include books, journals, and reference items in electronic and print formats.
- Maps, Aerial Photographs, and GIS (MAGIS)
MAGIS contains the largest collection of cartographic materials in Hawaii with over 300,000 items, including early to modern maps, aerial photography, and geospatial data. Emphasis is on Hawaiʻi, Asia, and the Pacific. A GIS lab is available for working with GIS data, spatial analysis, and data visualization.
- Russia
Russian materials are located throughout Hamilton Library. The first books were added in 1910, and now consist of roughly 60,000 volumes of Russian area books, serials, and microform holdings. See also Russian Northeast Asia.
