Introducing our 2017 Roselani Intern

From August 7th to September 8th, we were very lucky to have Kathryn Antonelli as our 2017 Roselani Summer Intern! She is originally from Rhode Island and has since been adopted by Philadelphia. Kat earned a BA in Media Studies and Production from Temple University, and she is currently completing an MLIS (Masterʻs in Library and Information Science) from the University of South Carolina.

What brought you here to ‘Ulu‘ulu? What are some of the things you were hoping to learn during your internship with us?

Two main things brought me to ʻUluʻulu: its specialization in moving images, and its mission to preserve Native Hawaiian cultural history. Before I discovered my interest in the LIS field, my undergraduate program and my jobs during and after college all involved working with audiovisual materials, so I knew I wanted to continue using those skills as I “migrated” to a new field. It’s very unique to find an archive that focuses on these materials. Also, I love learning about other languages and cultures, so when I saw the post advertising the internship I had to see what ‘Ulu’ulu was all about. As I’ve gotten more experience working in archives, I’ve become aware of their potential to help marginalized groups tell their stories, and I was really drawn to the way ‘Ulu’ulu attempts to do that as inclusively and respectfully as possible.

Could you please share a little about the work you did at Princeton?

This summer has been interesting for me because I took a trip back in time as I worked. Before I came to Hawaiʻi, I was interning with Princeton Universityʻs Manuscripts Division team. There, my focus was on post-1980 born digital audiovisual materials like optical media and files on computer hard drives. That was a great experience and I unlocked some inner computer geekiness I never knew I had–believe it or not, using the command line can be pretty fascinating. Now that Iʻm here, though, Iʻm working with formats like videotape and film that mostly date between the 1950s and 1980s (although ʻUluʻulu does have film thatʻs even older, and plenty of digitized files you can check out on the website).

What projects are you working on at ‘Ulu‘ulu ?

Iʻve gotten the opportunity to do a few different things here! I finished accessioning all of the Pau Hana Years programs in our PBS Hawai’i collection, and am now working to clean up the metadata for our Juniroa collection. Iʻve also helped organize the Don Ho collection and get it on the shelves, inspected film from an incoming home movie collection, done transcoding and quality control for the KGMB collection, and worked at outreach events to let the universityʻs students know about ʻUluʻulu. Itʻs been a lot of fun getting to try my hand at different responsibilities, and learning the ins and outs of how the archive operates.

Was there anything about the videos you worked with that was surprising or unexpected?

Having taken classes in audiovisual materials, I was aware that an incredible number of formats have been produced over the years. However, getting to actually handle them and discover the differences has been entertaining and enlightening.

So you’ve been here for about a month now, what are you enjoying most about Hawai‘i?

Aside from the beauty of the land and sea, which absolutely cannot be overstated, I love how ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi is integrated into local signage and phrases. From the bus announcement requesting riders move to the rear with “please kōkua” to the signs on the beach asking visitors to “mālama ‘āina”, itʻs a constant reminder of the rich culture of this area. Although there is still progress to be made, it makes me happy to see Hawaiian ways of knowing being promoted. In fact, I created a theme for the ‘Ulu’ulu website that brings together some of our resources on the language.

Now that you have worked as a Moving Image Archivist and with Hawaiian cultural materials, what is your favorite aspect of the job and why?

I think my favorite part is the storytelling ability of the materials themselves, and knowing that my work helps to keep them available. I’ve always believed in the power of a good book, but reading about an event is completely different than seeing it happen. I find moving images and sound recordings to be incredibly powerful ways of reliving and understanding our history, and equally interesting is how they can be edited to tell the same story in different ways. I’m excited to keep working in this field and grateful that I had my first real taste of it with the staff at ‘Ulu’ulu.