Hamilton Library's renovated ground floor unveiled at dedication ceremony

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Aug 19, 2010

The completion of Hamilton Library’s renovated 57,000-square-foot ground floor—which was destroyed by a Mānoa Stream flood some half dozen years ago—was celebrated with a dedication ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Among those in attendance were legislators, donors and other notable supporters who were instrumental in the Library’s flood relief and recovery.  
The flood, which destroyed 230,000 rare maps and aerial photographs, more than a hundred computers, thousands of government documents and books, staff workrooms and Library Information Science Program facilities, resulted in $39 million worth of damage.
The newly reconstructed ground floor is the new home of the Government Documents and Maps Collections and Collections Services, maps, aerial photographs, and GIS services (MAGIS), and the Department of Information and Computer Science's Library and Information Sciences program.
“The devastation caused by the flash flood was unprecedented. Staff members, literally, have come out of the chaos and mud into beautiful new facilities and a new future,” said Paula Mochida, University Librarian.
Added Chancellor Virginia S. Hinshaw, “This long-anticipated makeover of Hamilton Library is a true testament that after disaster can come rejuvenation.  The outpouring of support that we have received has strengthened our ability to serve as a destination of choice for great students, faculty, staff, and citizens of Hawai‘i and beyond.”
 
A free, family-friendly open house will be held at Hamilton Library on Sunday, August 22, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Tours will be held every 15 minutes, and commence at the Circulation Desk. On-campus parking is free.
 
Hamilton Library, one of two buildings of the UH Mānoa Library system, is the research library of the University, and the only academic research library within 2,500 miles. See http://library.manoa.hawaii.edu/ or view a virtual tour of the renovation at http://library.manoa.hawaii.edu/about/tour/.