The bishop museum will preserve and digitize approximately 15,000 pages of fragile hawaiian language newspapers published between 1834 and 1948

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded Bishop Museum $538,774 on September 1, 2026, under the Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program (CFDA 45.308) to preserve and digitize approximately 15,000 pages of fragile Hawaiian-language newspapers published between 1834 and 1948. The recipient will inventory, digitize, and preserve the newspapers using high-resolution imaging and optical character recognition to create a fully searchable online database, with materials currently stewarded by the Hawaiian Historical Society. The project builds on a successful multi-year initiative and commemorates the semiquincentennial by demonstrating how global intellectual exchange shaped the Hawaiian Kingdom into one of the world's most literate nations. Performance occurs in Honolulu, Hawaii, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028. The Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program supports organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians in sustaining heritage, culture, and knowledge through collections stewardship, educational services, professional development, and community engagement.

Project activities will include inventorying, digitizing, preserving, and publicly disseminating the newspapers, utilizing high-resolution imaging and accurate optical character recognition to make the records fully searchable via an online database. The project builds on a successful multi-year initiative and will involve the digitization of materials that are currently stewarded by the hawaiian historical society. This expanded initiative commemorates the semiquincentennial by highlighting how the global exchange of ideas shaped the hawaiian kingdom into one of the most literate nations in the world, ensuring that the diverse intellectual traditions and voices of hawai'i's past remain a vibrant part of the national narrative.