HANAPEPE — What was originally intended to be a police station has been serving the community as a library for 60 years. June Ikemoto, librarian at the Hanapepe Public Library, relayed that account during the dedication ceremony for the library’s
HANAPEPE — What was originally intended to be a police station has been serving the community as a library for 60 years.
June Ikemoto, librarian at the Hanapepe Public Library, relayed that account during the dedication ceremony for the library’s new meeting room, the ceremony coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the library Thursday morning.
Construction on the original building, which serves as the core of the expanded library facility, started in 1947 at a cost of $29,000, Ikemoto said.
The building was built under the Kaua‘i Public Library Association, with Thelma Hadley spearheading the project, handling a multitude of tasks including budgeting and projections for the new facility, which opened on Feb. 9, 1950.
In 1975, the original 3,600-square-foot building was expanded to include a reading room covering 1,750 square feet. That brought the library to cover 5,350 square feet, the work being done by Kenneth Shioi at a cost of $79,800.
Sadie Doi, serving as the mistress of ceremony during the dedication, was approached by then-state Rep. Bertha Kawakami to serve on the state library board in 1989.
“I didn’t know anything about libraries,” Doi said. “But one of the first things they tasked us with was the formation of a Friends of the Library chapter for Hanapepe Library.”
Takeshi Fujita, spearhead behind the oshibana mementos given away during the Thursday festivities, was one of the first people she approached for help.
Together, the pair spearheaded a drive for the meeting room back in 1989, gathering more than 1,300 signatures on a petition.
“We had the reading room, the expansion was done,” Doi said. “Now we needed air conditioning.”
The new meeting room, 1,740 square feet in size, is air conditioned. Beyond that fact, the new facility which was added to the existing building, incorporates a covered lanai bringing its footprint to 2,210 square feet.
“An auditorium was needed to accommodate the large number of programs and activities conducted at the library,” Ikemoto said in a release from Hawai‘i State Libraries.
Handicap-accessible restrooms and a meeting area with a seating capacity for 60 people was tested following the dedication as guests streamed into the new room to enjoy refreshments and entertainment.
Ikemoto said that, in addition to the meeting-room facility, there were site improvements which included the repaving and realignment of the parking lot, adding more parking spaces, and the landscaping of the entire grounds with a new irrigation system installed.
With the completed new addition, the Hanapepe Public Library now has 7,090 square feet under-roof.
Barbara McAllister, who designed a special new flier touting the availability of services at Hanapepe Public Library including the new meeting room, described the new site as being “super sized.”
The total cost of the package is $1.7 million, funds being released in March 2007 by Gov. Linda Lingle following a visit from a contingent from the state Legislature in 2005, led by Kawakami.
Pacific Blue Construction was selected as the contractor. Work started Sept. 23, 2008, and the project completed on Oct. 29, 2009.
“The new auditorium will serve as an excellent place for the public to conduct meetings and programs in an area which does not have adequate meeting-room space,” Ikemoto said.
The dedication ceremony, officiated by the Rev. Kauilani Kahalekai of the Church of Universal Light, also served to highlight the library’s history in the Hanapepe community as well as tout its achievements, as staff member Margie Akita was announced as one of three recipients of the 2009 Excellence in Service awards presented by the Friends of the Library statewide.
“There was one librarian and three staff members selected by the Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i,” Akita said.
Presentation of Akita’s award was done on Feb. 11 at the Hawai‘i State Library. She joined Barbara Gambsky and Lorna Lau for the awards.
Gabrielle Casart, branch manager of Laupahoehoe Public and School Library on the Big Island, was the honored librarian.
For her honor, Akita accepted a clock and a $500 award for the library. Native Books Na Mea Hawai‘i also awarded the Hanapepe Library with a $500 gift certificate on behalf of Akita.
Hours at the Hanapepe Public Library are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, noon to 8 p.m. Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The library is closed Sunday and Monday.
