30 Years of the Hawaiian-Pacific Chapter
of the Special Libraries Association

By Gwen Sinclair

According to the records of the national association, our Chapter celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2002. We've been digging through our archives to learn a little about our beginnings and history.

How did we start?
I'm a little hazy about the exact birth date of our Chapter. The first bylaws were adopted in June 1971. I wasn't able to locate a copy of those original bylaws, but the 1976 revision states that the geographical boundaries of the Chapter include "Hawai'i and all countries west of Hawai'i bordering on the Pacific Ocean, or who elect to affiliate with the Chapter." Past directories list members in the following locations: Hawai'i, California, Japan, Australia, Colombia, Philippines, South Korea, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Guam. A membership roster from 1975 showed 40 members, almost all of whom were located in Hawai'i. Our current membership stands at 83.

Who were some of the original members?
Although many have retired or moved away, a number of the founding members of our chapter are still active and working in special libraries. Some of their names: Eleanor Au, Michelle Pommer, Barbara Bird, Doris Hayashikawa, Tony Oliver, Kathleen Kudo, Ann Saiki, Ann Marsteller, Sally Campbell, Robin Kenny, Mary Matsuoka, Christine Tomoyasu, Dorothy Ramsay, Frances Enos. Although I wasn't able to locate board directories for 1971-1976, here is a list of Chapter presidents from 1976 to the present:

1976/1977 Barbara Bird
1977/1978 Doris Hayashikawa
1978/1979 Eleanor Chong Au
1979/1980 Michelle Pommer
1980/1981 Robin Kenny
1981/1982 Ann Marsteller
1982/1983 Alice Harris
1983/1984 Sally Campbell
1984/1985 Viola Furumoto
1985/1986 Ginny Tanji
1986/1987 Patricia Price
1987/1988 Paula Szilard
1988/1989 David Coleman
1989/1990 Cheryl Goody
1990/1991 Deborah Uchida
1991/1992 Frances Enos
1992/1993 Cheryl Zebrowski
1993/1994 Kathleen Robertson
1994/1995 Paul Wermager
1995/1996 Kate Jonsson
1996/1997 Terese Leber
1997/1998 Eileen Herring
1998/1999 Kris Anderson
1999/2000 Jenifer Winter
2000/2001 Di Henderson
2001/2002 Gwen Sinclair
2002/2003 David Coleman
2003/2004 Susan Johnson

Highlights of our Chapter's history:
1979: The SLA Annual Conference was held in Honolulu. I've heard that the hotel workers' union was on strike at the time.
1984: The Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon at the Pacific Club celebrated SLA's 75th anniversary and HPC's 12th.
1988: SLA took a position against the appointment of a non-librarian as the Deputy State Librarian of Hawai'i.
1992: The Chapter began selling ads in the newsletter due to a lack of funds.
1994: SLA president Didi Pancake visited the Chapter.
1994: Membership hit an all-time high of 134.
1998: SLA president Suzi Hayes visited the Chapter.
1999: Our Chapter's membership declined due to the formation of the Asian chapter.
2002: SLA president Hope Tillman visited the Chapter.

Reading over past newsletters and meeting minutes, it's clear that some things never change:
· Travel funding to attend conferences has been a chronic problem.
· Library budget cuts and downsizing are nothing new. Remember the 50% cut at East-West Center?
· Library tours involving food and drink, from wine and cheese to pizza, are eternally popular.
· SLA has maintained liaison relationships with a variety of library organizations over the years, including the University of Hawai'i library school/program, Hawai'i Library Association, the Hawai'i Chapter of the Association of Architectural Librarians, and ALOHA (Astronomy Librarians of Hawai'i), and the Medical Library Association.
· Library renovations and relocations have affected almost all of us.
· Many of the companies and institutions in which our members worked no longer have librarians, and some of them no longer exist. Some examples: Dillingham Corporation, Belt Collins, Bank of Hawai'i, Legal Aid Society, Alexander & Baldwin, and Hemmeter Design Group.

I'm sure there are many other noteworthy events in our history. Won't you help us to document our past by sharing your stories?