Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 4, 1 May 1984 — Native Hawaiians Now Eligible for Library Grant Assistance [ARTICLE]

Native Hawaiians Now Eligible for Library Grant Assistance

Native Hawaiians would be eligible for grant assistance for mobile library services, as well as building and renovating libraries, in their neighborhoods under a new program to help special populations gain greater access to libraries, announced Thomas Kaulukukui, Trustee from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. This is a result of a unanimous record vote by the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee May 2 on an amendment by Hawaii Sen. Spark M. Matsunaga to add native Hawaiians to the program. Native Hawaiians, along with Ameriean lndians and Alaskan natives, will now be included in the Library Services and Construction Act Indian Program. The bill next goes before the U.S. Conference Committee this summer for further action. OHA gathered statistics and information for Sen. Matsunaga to present to the committee in support of his amendment adding native Hawaiians to the program. "OHA found that over half of the Hawaiian Home Lands areas have no library nearby," said Kaululukui. "And our public libraries report that book circulation is lowest in areas of high Hawaiian concentration." "Studies show that rural areas laek the educational and training resources that

are available in the more urbanized areas," noted Kaulukului, "and our native Hawaiian population is eoneentrated in rural areas where access to libraries and other educational facilities is most difficult." Sen. Matsunaga strongly feels that adequate support from the Federal government is important to ensure that the goal of self-sufficiency for native Hawaiians is realized. "With the Native Hawaiian community placing a high priority on improving educational achievement as an important step towards complete self-sufficiency, 1 am confident that improving their access to library services will help meet this goal," said Matsunaga.