Welcome to the team, Kimo!

As we announced earlier, our newest team-mate is Kimo Nichols. Kimo is our Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellow. We’ve asked Kimo to fill out our introductory interview so you all get to know him a little better. Dive in below!

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I grew up on Oʻahu, attended local public schools and graduated from UH-Mānoa with a B.A. in American Studies and a Certificate in Ethnic Studies in 1993. I currently work in the Serials Department at Hamilton Library and am now working on my MLIS degree. In my spare time, I do a reggae show on KTUH FM and enjoy collecting vinyl, listening to music, watching football, hiking and spending time with my family.

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

I’ve been interested in audio/visual related archives for a while now and had the great fortune to previously work in one at UH-Manoa: The Wong Audiovisual Center located at the former Sinclair Library. I was brought to ʻUluʻulu through the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s MLIS program, where I learned about the Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellowship that was available through the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. I was extremely fortunate to be awarded a fellowship for the current academic year and placed at ‘Uluʻulu to serve my internship.

While at ‘Uluʻulu I look forward to learning as much as I can about video digitization and archival descriptive cataloging practices.

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

At the moment, I am working on digitizing and writing cataloging metadata descriptions for raw video footage of episodes in the Biography Hawaii series. So far I have digitized Betacam SP tapes and written metadata for episodes focusing on kumu hula Maʻiki Aiu Lake and union/civil rights attorney Harriet Bouslog.

Is there anything about the items you are working with that is surprising or unexpected?

Actually, quite a lot of what I’m working on has been unexpected, due mostly to my own ignorance of the historical subject matter.  I had never heard of Harriet Bouslog before working with the Biography Hawaii footage, let alone Hawaiʻi labor movement icon Ah Quon McElrath, the main interview source for the episodes on Bouslog. Similarly, although I have a bit more knowledge on the subject of hula, the many hours of footage and interviews I’ve digitized on the life and impact of Maʻiki Aiu Lake have been completely revelatory. Getting to hear the expertise and candor of hula and Hawaiian cultural authorities such as Robert Cazimero, Kalena Silva and Puakea Nogelmeier reminisce about Maʻiki and break down her hallowed place in the Hawaiian renaissance has been both fascinating and entertaining.

Now that  you’ve been at the archive for a little while now, have you found a favorite aspect?

Apart from being fortunate enough to benefit daily from the kindness, patience and amazing expertise of the staff, I’d say my favorite aspect of interning at ʻUluʻulu is being able to soak up as much as I can of all the incredible stories, history and images available in its archives. I’m being allowed to work with materials that really broaden and further my perspective of Hawaiʻi and its peoples .

Do you have any advice for future ‘Uluʻulu interns or fellows?

My advice would be to really just soak it all in and enjoy every moment of the learning experience.  I think that if future interns keep an open mind, love learning and show respect to the materials, interning at ‘Uluʻulu is an incredibly rewarding opportunity to work with an amazing group of people all committed to helping make sure Hawaiʻi’s story is told through the preservation of moving images.