The Friends of Makiki Community Library
Satellite photo of Makiki Park
The Friends of Makiki Community Library (formerly the Friends of Makiki Library) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit group that manages the Makiki Library, the Fasi F. Citizen Resource Center, and other programs that comprise the Makiki Community Library (MCL). The Friends is overseen by a board of directors that sets overall policies, goals, and management practices for the Learning Center.
Besides operating the Makiki Library, the Friends is working to develop various recreational, educational, and cultural programs to benefit Makiki-area residents of all ages. The Friends envisions activities or programs such as storytelling or book-reading sessions for young children, book discussion groups for teens or adults, poetry slams for teens and young adults, music performances, computer literacy classes, informal language classes, workshops on understanding government and how citizens can engage meaningfully in the political process, programs associated with special days like Earth Day or Martin Luther King Day, sessions of various types for senior citizens, etc. These activities may be either one-time events or a series of classes or workshops.
The Friends need your help, involvement, and financial support!
Volunteers are needed to help with the community programs sponsored or hosted by MCL and the fund-raising efforts upon which the MCL depends. The Friends is seeking community members to initiate and lead suitable programs such as those described above. Interested individuals are invited to complete the MCL program application form and submit it to one of the MCL managers, who will forward the application for board approval.
Volunteers are also needed to: help to plan and market the annual Rediscover Makiki event and other fund-raising events; assist in developing a corporate sponsorship program; research and write grants; plan/write/edit a MCL newsletter; assist in the Art in Public Places program within the library; "adopt-a-plant" (bring a plant to brighten up the library and replace it monthly with a fresh one); help to repair and/or refinish chairs or do other maintenance/handyman tasks as needed; and last, but not least, help to recruit other volunteers!
Anyone interested in volunteering (or donating wish-list items) can contact Norma K. Koenig, president of the Friends of the Makiki Community Library board, by phone at 946-3291 or by e-mail at normakk@juno.com – or just stop in during Makiki Library's open hours and fill out a volunteer application form.
The Friends is dependent entirely on the generous donations of individuals to operatethe Library and all of its programs. Checks made out to “Friends of the Makiki Community Library” or cash donations in any amount can be mailed to the following:
Friends of the Makiki Community Library
Attn: Treasurer
1527 Keeaumoku Street
Honolulu, HI 96822
Photo of the inside of the Makiki Library
Overview of the Makiki Community Library
The Makiki Community Library (MCL) is housed on the first floor and the mezzanine level of the Makiki Library building in Makiki District Park (1527 Ke'eaumoku Street, just mauka of Lunalilo Freeway). MCL encompasses the Makiki Library and the Frank F. Fasi Citizen Resource Center, as well as various programs offered to benefit the Makiki community. The mission of the Makiki Community Library is to provide quality materials and programs that fulfill educational, informational, cultural, and recreational needs of the Makiki community.
Though the MCL is housed within a City and County parks building, it is not a city operation; it is managed by the Friends of Makiki Community Library (formerly the Friends of Makiki Library). The Friends has a Memorandum of Understanding with the City that stipulates that the Friends may use the MCL space it occupies rent-free and may function as an independent non-profit group within the building.
The daily operations of the MCL are overseen by a part-time paid manager hired by the board. In November 2008, two people, Nichelle Morris and Ryan James, were hired to split the manager position.
"a cozy section where young children can read"
Makiki Library
Open hours:
Wednesdays -- 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Nichelle Morris, manager on duty
Saturdays -- noon to 4 p.m.
Nichelle Morris, manager on duty
Sundays -- noon to 4 p.m.
Ryan James, manager on duty
Phone: 522-7076
Makiki Library is a recreational reading room and lending library that relies on book/periodical and financial donations and volunteer help for its operations. It is operated by a nonprofit group (the Friends of Makiki Community Library) and is not part of the Hawaii State Public Library System. The library's collection includes fiction (juvenile, young adult, and adult), nonfiction, biography, Hawaiiana, and reference books as well as periodicals. The library includes a cozy section where young children can read or look at easy reader or picture books. (All children under age six must be accompanied by a parent or designated responsible person while in the library.) The standard loan period for books is four weeks.
Patrons may apply at the library circulation desk to get a library card. Applicants under 13 years of age must have a parent or guardian give their consent on the application form before a new card can be issued.
Books in good condition may be donated to the library only on Sundays between noon and 3 p.m. The manager will accept only those books that are deemed appropriate for the collection and in good enough condition, and reserves the right to refuse to accept books that are not suitable for the library's collection.
Volunteers Are Needed!
Because there is only one paid manager on duty at a time, the Makiki Library depends heavily on committed community volunteers, both to assist during the Makiki Library's open hours and also to help out with some library tasks that can be done from home on the volunteer's own time (e.g., phoning patrons with overdue materials to remind them to return the items).
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Norma K. Koenig, president of the Friends of the Makiki Community Library board, by phone at 946-3291 or by e-mail at normakk@juno.com – or just stop in during Makiki Library's open hours and fill out a volunteer application form.
History of Makiki Library
Makiki District Park was originally home to the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association (HSPA) research laboratory. HSPA’s administration building (fronting Ke`eaumoku Street) was surrounded by greenhouses and test plots. The library, the Arts & Crafts building, and Agee Hall had not yet been built. Around 1946, the three-story HSPA library (with basement) was constructed. During the 1960s drivers passing the facility could see tall tassels of sugar cane waving in the breeze at the corner of Ke`eaumoku Street and Wilder Avenue.
In the 1970s HSPA moved its facility elsewhere and the City obtained the complex.
In 1974, based on a community survey, the Makiki Community Association requested the HSPA library building become a branch of the State library system. The State was reluctant, so the Friends of the Makiki Library was formed to advocate for the facility.
Mayor Frank F. Fasi agreed with the community and committed City resources to open the Makiki Library on September 17, 1976 as an independent, City-sponsored library. The City repainted the building’s interior and provided essential furniture and donated books. Using federal employment funds, the City initially hired Deborah Knowlton as a full-time librarian and within a few years added two paid assistants.
HSPA library in early 1950s
The City’s Municipal Reference and Records Center eventually transferred oversight of the library to the Department of Parks and Recreation. However, City funding gradually diminished, ending in 1996. Around this time the Friends of the Makiki Library formally became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to solicit donations for the library’s continued operation. A generous local resident, Walter Langway, also created an endowment that has helped fund library operations.
The library became a vital and well-used asset to the community. The popular children's section was the only such facility open on Sundays. Besides loaning books, the library became a focal point for various activities answering community needs. Cooking and drama classes were offered. In the late 1970s a computer terminal was obtained for residents to access online government resources, and in more recent years the library acquired two computers with Internet access for public use. A Makiki Day festival was held annually for years to garner community support for the library. Up until its recent closing for renovations, the library, ably overseen by part-time librarian Nancy Nott, boasted a collection of 30,000 books and attracted over 6,000 patrons annually.
Over the years, however, the library’s aging building deteriorated and suffered damage from vandalism. At one time the City contemplated demolishing the building. However, given the building’s solid concrete construction (it was once designated as a civil defense fallout shelter), that would have been a formidable task.
The Hawaii State Legislature appropriated funds periodically over the years for renovations and operations, but few of those funds were released.
In 2001, Representative Brian Schatz obtained a $25,000 grant from the State Legislature to support library activities and purchase two computers with Internet access. In 2005, Congressman Neil Abercombie secured a $100,000 congressional appropriation for library renovations, which will be used soon to upgrade the electrical system and provide new electric outlets within the library.
In November 2005, the City closed the library and embarked on extensive renovations including new windows, a fire escape, an elevator, a special-needs lift to the mezzanine, and extensive work on the deteriorating upper floors. As the work progressed it became apparent that costs would exceed funding. Work stopped in 2007 until additional City funds were appropriated, and finally on March 26, 2008, Mayor Mufi Hanneman formally returned the renovated library to the Friends of the Makiki Library (since renamed Friends of Makiki Community Library), which has been working hard since then, with a great deal of help from community volunteers, to ready the library for public use.
Frank F. Fasi Citizen Resource Center
The Frank F. Fasi Citizen Resource Center (Fasi Citizen Center), housed on the mezzanine level of Makiki Community Library, was established by the Friends of the Makiki Community Library and formally opened on March 25, 2009. The purpose of the Fasi Citizen Center is to promote civic engagement and understanding of democracy, to connect citizens with their community and their government, and to empower citizens with access to community and government resources, services, and programs. This is accomplished through a Citizen Resource Collection and also through a series of seminars and workshops.
The Citizen Resource Collection includes books, pamphlets, and resource guides that empower citizens to learn more about community and government resources, services, and programs. This collection also includes written materials on American and Hawaiian government and civic affairs, including a selection of government documents.
The Citizen Resource Collection will also include a set of bookmarked Internet resources on public computers within the library providing access to Hawaii government and community online resources such as the Websites for the Governor’s Office, the Legislature, the City & County of Honolulu, the Neighborhood Board Commission, and the MakikiCommunity.org Website.
The Fasi Citizen Center offers periodic workshops or seminars that connect citizens with government agencies, services, and/or programs that encourage greater self-reliance and/or positive interaction with government. For example, community meetings might be offered that inform citizens about legislative or council matters through conversations with elected state and county officials, or seminars might be held on topics such the Legislative process, preparing testimony for public hearings, or disaster preparation for condominium living.
On the calendar of events on the home page of this Website, events sponsored by the Fasi Citizen Center are written in orange type.
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