LIHUE — Makanaokalani Waiamau’s quiet demeanor is perfectly suited for the silence typically found in a public library. And the 20-year-old assistant at the Lihue Public Library wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. The book sanctuary has always been a
LIHUE — Makanaokalani Waiamau’s quiet demeanor is perfectly suited for the silence typically found in a public library.
And the 20-year-old assistant at the Lihue Public Library wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
The book sanctuary has always been a part of her life. It sits across the street from Wilcox Elementary School, which Waiamau attended and where her grandmother taught. Inside the building are life-sized statues of her favorite “Winnie the Pooh” characters, which doesn’t hurt.
More importantly, it’s filled with books — pages and pages of stories, settings and characters bound together for everyone’s imagination.
She inherited her love for everything book-related from her late father, and she has no intention of letting it go.
“He used to make me breakfast and we’d sit around and talk story,” said Waiamau, who works as a substitute library assistant processing new books, checking out patron’s books and checking in books from the book drop.
Her father’s passing coincided with her departure to attend Kamehameha School in Oahu. Knowing how she would miss him, Waiamau’s aunts stitched a quilt created out of squares cut from her father’s T-shirts. It comforted her while living in a private dorm room. She returned home to Kauai after graduation in 2007.
She was planning to attend the University of Hawaii Manoa but decided she’d already had a “college-like” lifestyle while attending high school and preferred to return home to Kauai.
Shortly later, she got her job inside the world of books.
“I always thought since eighth grade that I would be a school teacher,” Waiamau said. “But I could see myself here at the library for five years. I really like my job.”
Part of the work is, not critic, but book reviewer. Often, children ask her for a recommendation and the avid reader will reply, “Magic tree house,” or “A to Z Mysteries.”
She is appreciated at the library, too, said Carolyn Larson, Lihue library branch manager.
“We like having a neighborhood Hawaiian girl, who represents the Lihue town, working here,” said Larson. “She exudes a unique Hawaiian way, a calming, quiet presence. We love her.”
Keeping up on all the books, requires extra work as well. Waiamau is re-reading the Laura Ingles Wilder “Little House on the Prairie” series.
“I really like the family structure in the stories,” Waiamau said.
The series is a contrast to the 20-year-old’s upbringing as an only child. Another favorite book of hers, “The Little Old Man,” is about companionship.
“It’s a story of a really lonely man,” Waiamau said. “A storm came in and washed away the home. After the storm, a boat came ashore. Inside the boat was a cat and her kittens. They became his new family.”
It struck a chord with Waiamau because of its uplifting ending when the old man found somebody to spend time with and help him with his chores.
“I was raised to always be generous and whenever anybody needs something, you offer help,” Waiamau said.
She’s taken a few psychology courses at Kauai Community College and is considering a career as a psychologist.
Yet, library science is a real possibility when she resumes her college studies and gets ready to select a career. Either way, she plans to stay close to home. And in the meantime, she’ll stick close to the library, too.
“I like the atmosphere in Kauai and the cool trade winds and the people,” Waiamau said. “Going to Oahu was more city-like. It was a transformation for me.”
• This is an ongoing weekly feature in The Garden Island. It focuses on everyday people who reflect the spirit that makes Kauai the place it is today. If you know of somebody you’d like to see featured, email features and education reporter Lisa Ann Capozzi at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.
