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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 1:20 a.m., Friday, December 29, 2006

Map Collection back in service after 2004 Manoa flood

Advertiser Staff

The Map Collection at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa Hamilton Library is resuming reference service for maps and aerial photographs.

The collection had been unavailable to patrons since the October 2004 flash flood on the Manoa campus, during which approximately 65 percent of the maps and all of its aerial photographs were destroyed.

Many of the maps salvaged from the flood were since cleaned by a document restoration firm and are once again available. The remaining maps are in the process of being cleaned and restored by the library's Preservation Department.

A significant number of maps also have been replaced with purchased or donated copies.

In addition, the library has also acquired digital images of aerial photographs of Hawai'i from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Ocean Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. Efforts are currently underway to obtain additional Hawai'i aerial photographs and to replace photos of the Pacific area.

Maps or aerial photographs may be viewed in the library's Special Collections reading room by appointment only. Patrons can make an appointment by calling 808-956-6199 or e-mail mapcoll@hawaii.edu.

Library staff can also suggest other options for viewing maps that are not yet available in the collection.

Rebuilding of the basement of Hamilton Library is still in the planning stages, and construction is expected to begin in 2007. The Map Collection will return to its former location in the basement in early 2009.