New library during construction

Libraries in Hawaii are alive and well, and engaging their constituents over a mile’s worth of them, standing shoulder to shoulder. Hawaii News Now reported that a “Book Brigade” of over one thousand people moved library books more than a mile:

Well over 1,000 volunteers formed a human chain stretching more than a mile to move thousands of books from the old Bond Memorial Public Library to the new North Kohala Public Library on the Big Island.

It took two hours for the Huki Puke, or passing of the books. The event transported about half of the old library’s 17,000 books and other materials, according to HNN.

The North Kohala Public Library branch manager Janet Lam told HNN that the remaining books will be trucked to the library later, and noted “historical and archival materials were moved last week to ensure no damage happened to the irreplaceable items.”

The new library is scheduled to open for November 8. And it should be a well-attended opening party!