By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

Ever since the financial woes of the Kapolei Public Library went public, the state library system has been getting offers from local bookworms.

It seems that people have an astonishing number of old books stashed around the house.

Plenty of well-intentioned people are willing to offer up old dictionaries, outdated encyclopedias and dog-eared copies of "To Kill a Mockingbird" to get the new library going.

State Librarian Virginia Lowell isn't quite sure how to respond to the offers. Some people have told her she should just hold a book drive to fill the library shelves.

But a library isn't supposed to resemble a flea market or a bookstore bargain table.

"We don't want your outdated college textbooks," Lowell said. "I'm sorry. And we don't want the unabridged copy of the state statutes.

"We don't want to discourage people, but the collection is what makes a library a library instead of a warehouse or a museum."

The new library in Kapolei deserves to have its shelves filled with the same type of collection you may find at other branches, Lowell said.

Instead it looks like it will be a library without books for now.

So far the Kapolei community has a very nice $6.5 million, 30,000-square-foot building with nothing in it. And there's no chance that anyone will be able to check out a book there for at least another year because the state has not been able to afford to buy the collection.

Librarians are hoping to at least use the new library as a training site for themselves and a meeting place for the community. They want to hold children's story hours there and other events so that at least the building gets some type of use.

"This is the best compromise that we can see," Lowell said. "We feel we need to be in the library for security purposes and to show the community that we continue to be committed to the project."

Lowell had asked for $1.7 million to pay for staff, books, and furniture and other equipment for the new library.

Facing a $350 million state budget shortfall, the Legislature approved $267,000 — enough to pay for five staff members but no books.

Then Gov. Ben Cayetano and Sen. Brian Kanno, D-20th ('Ewa Beach, Makakilo, Kapolei), worked to release an additional $212,000 for the purchase of books and materials.

It's something to get the library started, but far from what is needed to fill a library branch.

And even the $212,000 in materials will take a year to arrive in Hawai'i. It takes time to build a library collection.

"It's not that one book takes a year to reach us," Lowell said. "But 60,000 titles ordered over a period of time take 12 to 18 months to arrive. There's no way we can speed up that process."

Unfortunately, Kapolei residents and generous donors can't speed up the process either.

Even if the library did accept donations, librarians would have to spend time going through the books to make sure they were appropriate, Lowell said.

So hang on to your complete works of Shakespeare, that stack of mystery novels piling up in the corner of your room and your already-highlighted college textbooks.

If Lowell gets desperate, she'll let you know.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at 525-8084 or jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.