ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi

We’re happy to introduce our first Roselani Media Preservation Intern at ‘Ulu‘ulu! April Rodriguez is from Selma, California. April earned a BA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Technical & Design  from Cal State Hayward in 2005 and a MA in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2015. During her 6 week internship here at the archive, April will mainly be cataloging videotapes and assisting with other processing responsibilities.

Continue reading below to learn more about April and what she hopes to learn during her internship at ‘Ulu‘ulu.

Roselani Media Preservation Intern April Rodriguez

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

How do I begin to answer this question… ‘Ulu‘ulu has been on my radar for a while as one of those archives I needed to work at some day. ‘Ulu‘ulu is so appealing to me as an archivist because of its mission to preserve cultural material and because it is a moving image archive. Those working at the archive are about preserving the materials first and respectfully providing access second. There has been much discourse about access and about the duty of the library or archive as a public good to serve their community. I have been taught about protocols guiding accessibility to cultural materials and so I appreciate the sensitivity with which the people here at ‘Ulu‘ulu apply to the donors and the materials in the archive.

Also ‘Ulu‘ulu collection is mostly video and as a freshly minted grad student we learned that this type of format is in danger of being lost due to decay of the tape or the numerous parts within it.  Thus, I’m fascinated about how a fairly new archive on an island deals with this kind of dilemma?

Could you please share a little about the film preservation project you worked on with the Oneida Nation?

The Oneida Nation Film Preservation project involved collaboration between a federally recognized sovereign nation, the Oneida, of Wisconsin and graduate students in the Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums (TLAM) course at the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Libraries and Information Studies. Oneida Nation has hundreds of boxes of film in their archive from a mid-1970s educational show called “Forest Spirits​.” Members from the Oneida Community such as their tribal historian and historical archivist wanted to digitize portions of the film in order to provide access. This included assistance with gathering the technology to view the film and a framework for prioritizing which films to digitize.

This project is just one example of the kind of sharing and learning that goes on in the TLAM course. I hope someday that a similar TLAM course based on Native Hawaiians will be offered by UH Mānoa’s library program.

What are you working on at ‘Ulu‘ulu ?

My days at the archive have been all about MAVIS. Merged Audio Visual Information System (MAVIS) is a program built specifically for audiovisual materials to be cataloged. Before I go more into MAVIS I should point out that
there is a lot of behind the scenes work that isn’t pretty that goes on at libraries and archives. Just like when I use Netflix or shop at Foodland, I search for what I want without giving it another thought as to how all this stuff was organized.

My job is to use MAVIS to organize parts of the collection so that it can be found when searched for.

What are your career goals?

Much like the ‘Ulu‘ulu moving image archive, I want to work for an archive that is affiliated with a creative entity. My focus is audiovisual material and I enjoy handling both the analog and the digital media.

I strive to develop into an excellent audiovisual archivist so that I can one day help underserved communities, be it indigenous peoples or performing artists, preserve their stories. In essence I want to be an archivist without borders.

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

I look at this island as a person not from here and I see beauty in the sky, in the ocean, in the green mountains, and in the sunsets. I love the ocean and any chance I get I catch Bus 40 to the water.

On Aug. 12, 1898, the United States flag was hoisted over Hawai‘i in a ceremony at ‘Iolani Palace to formally recognize the annexation of Hawai‘i by the United States. In observance of the centennial of this occasion, the Hawaiian community held a march and vigil at ‘Iolani Palace. The Kūʻē Petitions were on display for public viewing and performances included historical re-enactments and music by Hawaiian rap group Sudden Rush.

We’ve recently digitized raw footage captured by Chris Skapik which documents these centennial events. Contact us to view the full videos!

We’ve got a LibGuide! A LibGuide is a library guide used to share information about any subject, course, or topic. LibGuides are used by the University of Hawai‘i libraries and thousands of other libraries worldwide to curate and share knowledge.

The ‘Ulu‘ulu LibGuide provides an introduction to researching our collections. It explains how to search for content on our website and how to request full-length videos once you’ve found a video you’re interested in. A few of our collections are also highlighted (on the “Collections” tab) with direct links to each and to the complete list of collections for your convenience. We’ve even included answers to some of our frequently asked questions, including important information about copyright and how to cite videos. And, just in case you might need further assistance, our contact information is listed along with a reminder that you can send us a message at any time by clicking the “Ask An Archivist” button located at the bottom of every page on our website.

We’re hoping this guide will assist students and others to get started with researching ‘Ulu‘ulu’s collections. Explore our LibGuide at: http://guides.westoahu.hawaii.edu/uluulu 

‘Ulu‘ulu is pleased to announce the completion of our vault with its newly installed Spacesaver High Density Eclipse Powered Mobile System.

As Hawai‘i’s official state archive for moving images, our mission is to preserve, protect, and make accessible our state’s moving image heritage that is recorded on the tens of thousands of videotapes and motion picture film reels in our care. Our Spacesaver System is currently the largest powered mobile system in the state of Hawai‘i with over 5,189 linear filing feet, or as we like to call it – a mile of shelves!

Vault under construction

Vault w/ temporary shelving

Vault before shelving installation

Vault complete, w/ compact shelving!

Along with the temperature and humidity controlled environment and waterless fire suppression system in our vault, the new shelving ensures that we can fulfill our mission and provide secure, safe and efficient long-term storage of our archival collections.

This major effort was a five-year project that began in 2010 with initial consultation and design, followed by technical specifications and procurement and finally the delivery, installation and staff training in May of 2015.

Several people who worked with us on this project deserve special mahalo: ACM System’s fiscal officers; UH West O‘ahu’s Facilities; and especially the entire team at The Systemcenter, Inc. who worked diligently, professionally, and cleanly each day to make sure that not only was the installation completed on time but also two weeks ahead of schedule.

Our Spacesaver System is truly a state-of-the-art campus showcase, beautifully designed and engineered, and we are all extremely proud of it!

Here’s a timelapse video of the ‘Ulu‘ulu vault construction, enjoy!

During this spring 2015 semester, UHWO Academy for Creative Media student Hugh Fleming was as an intern here at ʻUluʻulu. As the semester has just ended, we’d like to thank Hugh for his hard work and dedication! We’d also like to share with you our blog readers (and potential future interns!) Hugh’s reflections on his experience here… Hugh shares:

Hard to believe that the end of the semester is here. Like others this semester flew by; with that being said there was and still is a lot of work being done behind doors in ‘Ulu‘ulu. I feel that a lot of the UHWO Student body is unaware of ‘Ulu‘ulu and what they are all about.  The Henry Ku‘ualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawai‘i is not just an Archive it is a place where the staff continues to preserve Hawai‘i history.

I had the opportunity to see first hand how massive the collection of Hawaiian History is in ‘Ulu‘ulu. Equipment such as 16mm cameras to Film Reels, then came the cataloging of specific collections such as KGMB, KITV, OHA, AKANA. I remember looking at footage of the construction of the H1 near NIMITZ Hwy and hearing what I hear today. It is funny how 30 years have passed and we are repeating history. I was able to see footage in which I studied in Hawaiian studies about prior to working with the ‘Ulu‘ulu staff. I enjoyed working with the staff at ‘Ulu‘ulu. Most of all they all taught me how to take care of and preserve the media that is received daily. I was taught and re-learned a lot of the different formats of media; being I grew up with a lot of this media such as 8mm, Super 8mm, large 3/4″ 1/2″ open reel, Hi8, Digital 8mm, Betamax, large & small Betacam, miniDV, LP 12″ the list of media received during the Internship goes on. Just getting down the tape formats was key to cataloging in ‘Ulu‘ulu.

I struck an interest with the Akana collection. Keith Kalanai Akana captured the Ho‘omau Concert. This was the first concert produced in 1996 to support the first Hawaiian language Immersion school on Oahu, Punana Leo o Honolulu. Since then, Hawaiian Language immersion education has grown to include 4 more Punana Leo and 9 Kula Kaiapuni throughout Oahu. The concert continues, just this past February 2015 the Ho’omau Concert was the 32nd year since the establishment of ‘Aha Punana Leo. So just seeing the growth continue is amazing.

I feel that if I never ever went through Hawaiian Studies, and other courses in college I would not appreciate what I have experienced as much as I did this past 5 months in ‘Ulu‘ulu. I would of not known how important the Hawaiian Language is, and what occurred in the early days of Hawaiian people. Let alone to see other footage from the 70′s and 80′s that are still effecting to this very day.

… Yes I would really like to work more in this industry around the archives and preserving media. I just completed a 10 minute short documentary about Ford Island here on Oahu. Some of the footage I used was from the actual day of December 7, 1941.  Being into documentary film making; ‘Ulu‘ulu can be used by anyone as a reference for footage, let alone use it for college course work. ‘Ulu‘ulu is a vital tool, and we all of an opportunity to utilize their resources and their experiences.

For future CM [Creative Media] Students, dive in, pay attention, take your time, don’t get overwhelmed but most of all JUST HAVE FUN. One item of concern go look over the ‘Ulu‘ulu website and pick a specific collection you would like to learn more about.  Maybe this topic came up in Hawaiian studies or other courses that you have taken in the past or will be taking in the future. Look at their website and tell the staff at ‘Ulu‘ulu that you would like to research more of that footage.

For more of Hugh’s internship reflections, check out his tumblr at http://hugh-fleming.tumblr.com/

Our staff would like to thank Hugh for choosing to intern with us and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors!

We celebrated Earth Day by hosting a screening of episode 1 of the Showtime series “Years of Living Dangerously.” About 20 students joined us for the showing and participated in a lively discussion about climate change. Students shared their perspectives on the drivers of climate change not only in terms of the science of global warming but also in regard to political and social agents. In addition, they discussed the possible local effects on Hawai‘i and the Pacific and how we could make personal and widespread changes in order to slow or counteract climate change.

The screening was organized in collaboration with UHWO biology professor Dr. Kimberly Carl who also moderated the after showing discussion. We hope to continue to partner with our awesome UHWO faculty to host screenings on campus.

If you’re interested in partnering with ‘Ulu’ulu to host a screening at UH or in your community, please don’t hesitate to contact us!