Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 5, 1 May 1990 — ALU LIKE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ALU LIKE

(presented by Ka Wai Ola O OHA and Alu Like as a puhlie seruice)

Grad study in library science funded

By Shelah Moody The 1990s and beyond will be an age of information. Dr. Miles Jackson, dean of the University of Hawaii's School of Library and Information Studies, says the information age is going to require people who are attuned to the role of information in society, and its effect on individual lives. The school has adopted the philosophy that information should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their eeonomie status or ethnicity. Through Alu Like's Native Hawaiian Library Program the school has funds available for Hawaiian students who are interested in graduate study in the field. Since 1986, the school has graduated 10 students of Native Hawaiian ancestry with the Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) degree. Jackson has committed himself to recruiting more minorities to the graduate program. He says very few Hawaiians had the opportunity to participate in the program, or take advantage of the dynamic career opportunities in the library and information profession before 1986. Graduates have since taken positions with the state Archives, the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society Library, Aina-Haina Public Library, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, the Native Hawaiian Library and public and private schools on O'ahu. The director of the Alu Like program, Mahealani Merryman, is a graduate of the schooI. Funding for the Alu Like feliowship is possible

through the Library Services and Construction Act Amendment of 1984. When congress amended the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to include Hawaiians as Native Americans, they became eligible for special government assistance. Sen. Daniel Inouye, Jackson says, was responsible for having the Native American Indian Act amended so that Hawaiians could receive special benefits. Alu Like, whieh means "striving" or "working together," was created to manage the resulting funds. The grants are usually awarded to assist Native Hawaiians who are disadvantaged, or have other special needs. "Library and information studies are important, because so mueh activity that takes plaee in our society depends on information flowing from various government services or the public media," Jackson says. "Librarians are gatekeepers. They ean determine how well-informed a community will be — how mueh access it will have to information that is vital to its daily survival." Jackson says it is extremely impoi'lani that members of ethnic groups have representation in the profession of library and information services, to assure that their own communities have full aecess to information. The information professions offer challenging career opportunities for minorities. The Alu Like

fellowship has allowed members of the Hawaiian community to be involved in providing information to a variety of people. "One of the big problems is that all of the people who have graduated from the program have accepted jobs on O'ahu," Jackson says. "There is a big need for Hawaiian librarians to work on the Big Island, for instance, in all levels." The school is looking for neighbor island residents willing to eome to O'ahu to participate in the master's program, and who will make a commitment to return to work in their "home communities." Susan Shaner, an Alu Like Fellowship recipient, said a master's degree in library and information studies helped her gain a promotion. Shaner is head of special collections at the State Archives. She has worked at the State Archives for 13 years. She took a leave of absence to attend graduate school and finished the master's program in 10 months. Caroline Hurley received a partial fellowship. Hurley holds a bachelor's degree in Hawaiian lanouage from the University of Hawai'i. She is in charge of collection development and programming for children at the Aina Haina nublic library. Hurley speaks fluent Hawaiian and sometimes acts as a translator for Oahu's main library and those on the neighbor islands.