In 1998 the Hawaii Library Association (HLA) and the Pacific Islands Association of Libraries and Archives (PIALA) were inspired to form an international partnership by American Library Association (ALA) president Barbara J. Ford, who had set the theme "Global Reach, Local Touch." Ford called on ALA chapters to form partnerships with international library associations in neighboring regions. HLA and PIALA were both located in the Pacific and shared common concerns.

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HLA was founded in 1922 and became a chapter of ALA in 1924. The organization promotes library service and the profession of librarianship in Hawaii and the continued improvement of Hawaii libraries. HLA supports Hawaii librarians in their professional roles, and promotes the participation of Hawaii librarians and libraries in regional, national, and global arenas.

PIALA was founded in 1991 and is a member of IFLA. It fosters, promotes and develops information access and resource sharing in the region. Members come from the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Marshall Islands, Guam, Kiribati, and other countries in the Pacific.

 

The two associations agreed to exchange newsletters, link homepages, attend each other's conferences, discuss common issues, and share ideas and expertise. The ALA Chapter Relations Office was informed of the partnership and formal presentations of the establishing resolutions were made at annual conferences in November 1998 in Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, and in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Arlene Cohen, Joanne Crotts, and Irene Lovas contributed a chapter "Developing Library and Information Services in Micronesia: Cooperation Across Vast Distances" to Libraries: Global Reach, Local Touch (ALA Editions, 1998) by Kathleen De La Pena McCook and Barbara J. Ford.

 

Hawaii had a long-standing involvement with PIALA, as University of Hawaii Library Pacific Curator Karen Peacock was part of the move to establish PIALA in 1991, and has frequently been a speaker and provided workshops. University of Hawaii science librarians Kris Anderson and Eileen Herring have worked through federally funded programs to travel to the region and offer reference assistance to Pacific Islands researchers--Anderson through the Pacific Aquaculture Information Services for Education (PRAISE) and Herring with Agricultural Development in the American Pacific (ADAP). HLA vice president and University of Hawaii Library catalog librarian Ruth Horie attended the 1998 PIALA annual conference, presented a session on "Pacific Partnerships," and visited several libraries in Kosrae.

In 2004 PIALA president Carmina Lihpai attended the HLA annual conference, presented a session on "The Birth of the Pohnpei Pubic Library," and visited several libraries, archives and museums in Hawaii.

Also in 2004, HLA pledged its support and offered implementation assistance to the non-profit organization Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) in Honolulu as it applied to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for a grant for matching funds for the Pacific Library Training Institute. The Institute is designed to address the continuing education needs of library staff in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific: American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

 

The grant will fund summer institutes for library employees in academic, public, school and special libraries. Over a three-year period beginning in 2006, faculty at the University of Hawaii and the University of Guam will provide classroom instruction and arrange a practicum in an appropriate library for up to 54 library employees from remote Pacific Islands.

 

In the first session in summer 2006, Dr. Karen Peacock of the University of Hawaii Library will offer a three-week training course for academic and public librarians to be held in Honolulu. Peacock and PREL specialist Sonja Evensen co-presented information on the IMLS grant program and the application process at the 2005 PIALA annual conference in Kosrae. The three training opportunities will be supplemented by interaction through an email list to enable continued communication with instructors and fellow participants, as well as follow-up workshops at the PIALA annual conferences.

 

http://www.hlaweb.org/

 

http://piala.org.googlepages.com

 

Ruth Horie and Karen Peacock