6. Descriptions of the Collections


merged into the Hawai'i Cooperative Extension Service. Publications of the Extension Service reflected
the changing interests and research needs in Hawai'i's agricultural industries. The recent closing of sugar
and pineapple plantations, as well as a renewed interest in crop diversity, has created a demand for early
publications of the Extension Service, such as the Press Bulletin (1903-1919) and the Hawai'i
Cooperative Extension Service (1929-1964). Increased use of these research resources has highlighted
the need for their preservation.

Pineapple, grown commercially on a small scale up to 1900, became a significant crop during the
territorial period. After annexation, the 35% duty on Hawai'i canned pineapple was removed and it was
feasible for island pineapple to compete in the American market. Pineapple cultivation developed along
the sugar model; it was grown on large tracts and workers were housed in plantation communities. In
1912, the Hawaiian Pineapple Packers' Association formed its own research station, eventually becoming
the Pineapple Research Institute and publishing Pineapple Quarterly (1931-1937) and the Pineapple
Men's Conference Proceedings (1927-1928).

In the early 20th century, Hawai'i developed a new crop--tourism. Travel literature from the period
provides an interesting perspective on rural life and agriculture prior to World War II. In the 1930s,
agriculture teamed up with the tourist industry to promote Hawai'i and its products. Their advertising
agency hired well-known American artists, including Georgia O'Keefe, to come to the islands and create
images. Advertising campaigns culminated in a flurry of travel publications such as Hawai'i U.S.A. by
Bob Davis and George T. Armitage (1941).

While sugar and pineapple dominated, and "paradise" was being promoted, Native Hawaiians were
increasingly destitute and separated from the land. By the turn-of-the-century, many lived in tenements
in Honolulu. In 1921, the U.S. Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Act and set aside 200,000 acres for
Native Hawaiians. While there were many controversial aspects to the legislation, the intention was to
rehabilitate Hawaiians by granting them leases to land for homesteading. However, most of the available
land was rocky, had no access to water, or was otherwise unsuitable for agriculture. The Report of the
Hawaiian Homes Commission to the Legislature (1921-1959) provides insight into the program and the
political, social, and economic concept of agricultural homesteads for native peoples.

As part of the current cultural and political renaissance, Native Hawaiians are again interested in
cultivating their traditional crops. Agricultural practices have largely been reconstructed from oral
tradition--since there are few published sources. Hawaiian historians Samuel Kamakau and John Papa Ii
were published in English in the 1950s. Native Planters in Old Hawai'i (1940) by anthropologist E.S.
Craighill Handy was based on interviews with "the older generation of country natives (who) still had an
extraordinarily intimate and thorough knowledge of many varieties of taro, sweet potato, sugar cane, and
banana still cultivated."

Over the course of the project the University of Hawai'i at Manoa Library, in cooperation with other
libraries in the state, will develop a comprehensive bibliography important to the study of agriculture and
rural life in Hawai'i. The project will employ a four-person scholarly review panel to rank titles
according to their priority as research resources for humanities studies. The Library will preserve access
to the most important 25% of the estimated universe of materials, or approximately 560 titles in 875
volumes. Details of the Library's project staffing and costs are found in Section 5.5 of the proposal's
Plan of Work.