The records in the Papakilo Database can be retrieved by textual searching and/or with additional options. Three different search screens assist access to the records within the database.

Click Here to watch a webinar on the foundation of the Papakilo Database and a quick tutorial on how to use it.

How the records are displayed:
After conducting your search the results appear on the right side of the screen with your search still visible at the left. The result list will provide information in two columns, Title & Creator and File Formats. The Title & Creator column displays the title and creator of the record as well as a sentence preview with the search term highlighted. The second column presents two icons, one providing a link to the metadata regarding the record and the other icon allowing a direct link to access to the record itself.

Search by Location

Searches can either be conducted by utilizing the interactive map and clicking on a location on the map, or selecting options from the drop down menus on the left hand side of the page.

• Island/Moku/Ahupua'a - This screen contains pull-down menus facilitating hierarchical selection from larger to smaller land divisions. Starting with island, the smaller land divisions specific to each are made available continuing with moku (district), and ahupua'a.
• Search by TMK - Search by the Tax Key Map (TMK) number
• Search Term(s) - Narrow down your search by searching for specific terms(s) (All fields are searched.).  Use double quotes ("This is an example") to search for specific phrases.  Please note that the phrase is not always shown highlighted in the preview summary of each returned result however the phrase will be always exist in the record/document returned.

*Select Format - Narrow down your search by selecting the format by which you want to find

Search by Collection

This screen facilitates searching by selecting the types of databases available in Papakilo and utilizing the Search Term(s) tool described above.  The following is a list of Collections/Databases and their contributing partners:

Aliʻi Letter Collection - Collection of Aliʻi letters/correspondence from 1820-1840. Partner: Awaiaulu

Bishop Museum Collections – Partner: Bishop Museum Archaeology and Archives Departments

• Ethnobotany Database – Index of Native Hawaiian Plants
• Fauna Database – Index of fauna specimen collection from the Bishop Museum's Archaeology Department.
• Government Docs Collection – Collection of documents pertaining to the executive branch of Hawai'i's monarchy.
• Hawaiian Ethnological Notes (HEN) – The Hawaiian Ethnological Notes Collection, commonly called HEN, is comprised of Hawaiian language material, most of which was translated by Mary Kawena Pukui.  This material includes articles which appeared in Hawaiian Language newspapers published between the 1860’s to around 1940. Some articles were translated by Thomas G. Thrum.
• Kekahuna Collection – A collection of sketches and pictures of various archaeological sites.
• Stokes Collection – Collection of maps and illustrations by John F.G. Stokes.
• Sullivan Collection – Collections of portrait photographs from Louis R. Sullivan from 1920-1921.  Includes names, dates and locations.
• Whaling Ship Database – Database of whaling ship records.  Includes names, job descriptions and dates.

Collections Outside of Hawaiʻi

• East Coast Collections – Various collections and documents hosted in Boston, MA & Washington DC.  Partner: Awaiaulu

Genealogy Indexes – Includes indexes that were prepared by Hawai’i State Archives staff, and the information contained therein was extracted from a variety of records with genealogical information preserved by the Archives. These indexes include Marriage records (1826-1929), Court Records (1848-1915), Probate, Wills (1852-1916), Citizenship (Naturalization 1844-1894, Denization 1846-1898, Passports 1845-1874). Partner: Ulukau

Hawaiʻi State Archives

• Land Index – Correspondence records between Minister of the Interior and lessees
• Name Index – Card catalogue of early newspapers recorded groups (English and Hawaiian)

Hawaiian Mission Houses

• Aliʻi Letters – Aliʻi Letters from Digital Archives of Hawaiian Mission Houses exchanged between Aliʻi and Missionaries
• Hawaiian Almanac – Thrumʻs Hawaiian Almanac & Annual from 1875-1936
• Hawaiian Journal of History – First published in 1967, is an annual scholarly journal devoted to original articles on the history of Hawaiʻi, Polynesia, and the Pacific area. Each issue includes articles on a variety of subjects; illustrations; book reviews; notes and queries; and a bibliography of Hawaiiana titles of historical interest.  1967-Present.
• Manuscript Collection Finding Aids – Finding aids of various collections housed at the Mission Houses Archives
• Missionary Herald – Panoplist & Missionary Magazine and Missionary Herald from 1805-1879.
• Missionary Journals – Journals of Missionaries living in Hawaiʻi.
• Missionary Letters – Letters of correspondence between Missionaries in Hawaiʻi and New England.
• Missionary Reports – Reports from various Mission Stations across Hawaiʻi from 1828-1863.
• Negatives, Film – Database of film negatives of various structures, locations and people.
• Others – Various imprints, documents, and materials
• Photographic Portraits – In the mid-nineteenth century, carte de visites or visiting cards grew to popularity as photography became more affordable for the masses. This carte de visite collection ranges from pictures of missionaries, adopted cousins, members of the Hawaiian monarchy, and local scenery.
• Quilt Collection – Collection of quilts and background information.
• The Friend Newspaper – The Friend began as a monthly newspaper for seamen, which included news from both American and English newspapers, and gradually expanded to adding announcements of upcoming events, reprints of sermons, poetry, local news, editorials, ship arrivals and departures and a listing of marriages and deaths from 1843-1910.
• The Polynesian Newspaper – The four-to-eight page Polynesian was published weekly in Honolulu in English and some Hawaiian from June 6, 1840 to December 11, 1841 (first series), and again from May 18, 1844 to February 6, 1864 (second series).
• Wilcox Collection – Collection of correspondences and documents from the Wilcox family from 1829-1922.

Hawaiian National Bibliographies – David Forbes' Hawaiian National Bibliographies Volumes 1-4; 1780-1900. This comprehensive, annotated, multivolume bibliography is a record of all printed works touching on some aspect of the political, religious, cultural, or social history of the Hawaiian Islands-from the first printed notice mentioning the Islands (in a German periodical of January 1780) to the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Islands ceased to be a separate political entity. Extensive annotations provide a brief summary of approximately 760 published works in the first volume of the bibliography. All known editions of each work are listed, together with the exact title, date of publication, size of the volume, collation of pages, number and type of plates and maps, references, and location of copies. The bibliography will be invaluable to scholars, librarians, rare book sellers, and book collectors within the field of Hawaiiana.  Partners: Awaiaulu & David Forbes

Hawaiian Language Newspapers (Nupepa) – This is a digital collection of historic Hawaiian Newspapers, ranging from 1834 to 1980, that is made available through various collaborations and partnerships with the Awaiaulu, Bishop Museum, DL Consulting Ltd. & Ulukau. This database contains 12,642 issues comprising 69,627 pages and 411,719 articles.Partners: Awaiaulu, Bishop Museum & Hoʻolaupaʻi

Hawaiian Place Names Collection – Compiled from the Records of the Boundary Commission and The Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Collected and annotated by Lloyd J. Soehren. Partner:Ulukau

Historic Sites Database – State Historic Preservation Department’s Index of Reports and State Inventory of Historic Places

Hula Preservation Society Collections

• Cooke Family Mele Audio Collection – Hawaiian songs with insights provided from the Cooke Family.
• Finding Aids – Oral Histories – Finding aids of select interviews from the HPS Archives’ Oral History Library.
• Finding Aids – Public Programs – Research guide for select programs in the HPS Archive.
• Hawaiian Room Collection – Photos from the Hawaiian Room Collection at HPS.
• Hula Studio Audio Collection – Audio clips of music from magnetic reels in the Alama Collection.
• James B & Ronny Lipinski Collection – Digital materials from the Lipinski family.
• Kent Gihrard Collection – Photographs from Kent Ghirard.
• Nā Mākua Mahalo Ia – Footage from the five Na Makua concerts (1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1989) that was held in the BYUH Archives in Lāʻie.
• Nona Beamer Collection – Kiʻi (Puppetry) - Photographs associated with Nona Beamer's work with hula kiʻi.
• Nona Beamer Lifetime & Career Papers – Paper materials reflecting Nona Beamer's life and work.
• Nona Beamer Collection – Mele – Music sheets from the collection of Nona Beamer.
• Nona Beamer Collection – Newspaper Clippings – Clippings collected by Nona Beamer throughout her lifetime.
• Various Audio Clips – Clips of Hawaiian music from various sources and under various sets.
• Vivienne Huapala Mader Collections – Photographs & hula routines from Huapala Mader.

Kipuka – OHA's Geographical Information System (GIS) database that utilizes the latest mapping technologies to provide a window into native Hawaiian land, culture, and history.

Māhele ʻĀina Index – The entire collection of the Māhele (including the original registration of, and testimony for claims) indexed, and easily accessible. Previously, the primary indexing of the Māhele focused on those claims which were awarded, and as a result as much as 50% of the total record of native tenant residency and land use has been generally unrecognized. Partner: Kumu Pono Associates

Maps – Collection of maps either complied or created by OHA 

Multi-Media – Collection of multi-media records compiled or created by OHA.

Ulukau Online Databases – Integration of cross-searching capability with the Hawaiian Electronic Library for the use, teaching, and revitalization of the Hawaiian language and for a broader and deeper understanding of Hawaiʻi.  This includes access to the Hawaiian language dictionaries hosted on wehewehe.org.

ʻUluʻulu Online Digital Moving Image Archive

• Juniroa Production Collection – The Juniroa Collection was donated by Juniroa Productions, a video production company incorporated in 1985 for the purpose of producing quality television programming for and about the Native Hawaiian community. The collection entails the old Juniroa video archive, made up of production related materials for past Juniroa projects.
• KGMB Collection – The KGMB Collection contains film, videotapes, and associated materials from the News, Programming, Sports, and Promotional Media departments of KGMB-TV. KGMB was the first television station in Hawaiʻi, debuting in 1952 on analog channel 9.
• Victoria Keith Productions – The Victoria Keith Productions Collection contains materials donated by Victoria Keith Productions, an independent production company that has been making documentaries about Hawaiian culture, environment, and land issues since the mid-1970s.
• HKG Pilot Project – The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Digital Archives Pilot Project was phase 2 of the project to develop an online archive of recently preserved digitized materials. Working with filmmakers, libraries, and archives throughout Hawaiʻi, the HKG Archives digitized a sampling of film, video, and audio.
• Ted Shibuya Collection – The Ted Shibuya Collection contains materials donated by Ted Shibuya. It entails footage, circa 1950s-60s, shot by Shibuya, a cameraperson for KGMB television in Honolulu, HI. Shibuya was the first TV news cameraperson in Hawaiʻi, teaming with first anchor/reporter Wayne Collins in 1953 to do a 15-minute daily newscast on Channel 9, sponsored by Pan American World Airways.

Uncategorized – Material that OHA has not categorized or does not relate to the other available Collections

Washington Place Foundation Collections

• Document Collection – Collection of documents made available by Washington Place
• English Newspaper Collection – Various newspaper clippings of English Newspaper Articles
• Hawaiian Language Newspaper Collection – Various newspaper clippings of Hawaiian Newspaper Articles
• Liliʻuokalani Image Collection – Collection of images of and by Liluʻokalani