Hawaii State Library

Oh the library! So much things to do in the library. I knew this place existed but never have I ever thought I would end up here ever, especially two days in a row! So you would think I came here to borrow books or audio because it is a library, but no. I came here to apply for a new passport. Because this was the only place that did walk-​ins.
I didn’t realize how massive this place was! I also didn’t know how much people came in and out of this library. So many sections filled with people from all over Oahu, I felt like I was in college again. There is a security guard at the entrance who also serves as a person to ask questions.
She located me to where the passports and other things are for filing. It’s located second floor straight through the doors. You’ll see the sign with the passport on it and you’ve made it. My first visit was with this guy at the information desk. You know, state workers aren’t the nicest but they are very informative. Even though he was being a little rude, I knew if I was nice and listened to what he said he would react nicer. And he did. I was too late so I had to go back the next day. Passport Submission: 10AM-​1PM.
The second day, I was helped by him again. He recognized me and directed me as I should. They gave me a ticket & had me wait. This lady helped me who was again was rude but very helpful. They don’t accept renewals but she helped my mom with her renewal paper work. She didn’t have to, but she did.
I was very pleased with the workers here. I really expected the worst, but I played my cards right and came out a happy camper!

I haven’t stepped foot in here in years. I prefer to go to other libraries since they have parking. This library is pretty much metered street parking. The meters fronting the library is 10 minutes for every quarter. With that being said, this is the nicest and biggest library on the island.
My son likes to look at the books and comics. They also have computers that people can use. I didn’t use them so I’m not sure if there is a charge. There are tables where people were studying. It was so quite you could hear a pin drop.
One of the passport offices is also located here. $ 110 for adults and $ 80 for kids, with a $ 25 service fee for each application turned in.

We are lucky to have so many excellent librarians. They know all the best books, even ones you’ve never heard of and would never find on your own. They can find anything. They’re constantly improving the system with a shoestring budget. They are super dedicated and care deeply about their work. They put together interesting exhibits, educational talks, book clubs, and even host musical and cultural events.
The library is not just for books. You can read popular magazine titles and ebooks online, learn a language online, request movies and music from libraries on other islands, read a newspaper from the 1920s — all for free!
This location has a relatively large collection of movies ($ 1/​week) and CDs (free), current magazine issues (reference only), newspaper archive, and Hawaiiana section. Borders and record stores may be gone, but the dream of the 90s is alive at the library, and it’s awesome. Other locations often have a «magazine swap» table where you can take or leave books and magazines for free.
Support the library by attending one of their book sales, where you can hoard books and other media at bargain prices and possibly find rare gems.
There is metered street parking during certain hours (read the signs) and next to Iolani Palace.
For more info about the library’s history:
In brief, the original structure was financed by Andrew Carnegie as a gift, designed by New York-​based architect Henry Whitfield, and completed in 1913 (1). The building was expanded in later years.
(1) «A Walk Through Old Honolulu: An Illustrated Guide» by O. A. Bushnell (1975).

Had to compile some research and professor suggested this library for the archive. Manoa has a vast selection; however the drive is terrible. I opted to head to this library even though it was still far out for me.

Horrible customer service from the passport workers. They treated me with disrespect because (I feel) am younger than the average library goer. They questioned who the passport was for and if I was using my own checks… (Like I am unable to financially sustain myself). Handed them all the documents and still questioned me for them.
The lady who checked my documents was also in a sour mood. I was already angry with the first worker I talked to (older Asian man). She was only apologetic when I started giving attitude back to them.
I ended up not processing my passport because their financial department does not take starter checks. Something that should be figured out…

I like the volume of material you can find at this library. This place is always buzzing with people from all walk of life. With that being said, there are a lot of homeless that use this library to get out of the heat and to sleep. I have encountered full blown snoring and snorting while trying to work on my personal computer. Even people in the bathrooms trying to freshen up in the stalls.
I like that I can utilize
on their catalog computers for free. I don’t understand why they don’t have
on those same computers when it is a free service and many records on ancestry have to be accessed through familysearch.
I was also a little peeved on my visit here. Why in the world if you are allowed only one computer reservation a week does their system not recognize it and not allow you to sign up for a second time? This happened to me and when I asked the librarian to confirm the one I signed up for once someone was trying to sit there. The librarian told me that next time my reservation would be cancelled and I’d have to just wait even though I had been waiting. She wasn’t too nice about it either. Then when I tried to sign on it didn’t let me yet there were people there earlier in the week who were using these same computers. I was confused and a bit irritated, but I finally got online when I asked the grouchy librarian to check the computer issue which she did from her desk.
I’ll go back her due to the convenience, but it’s not my favorite library on the island.

My first visit purely because I have to submit passport application for a cheaper fee. We scored the spacious table in the waiting area and killed time by reading an arm reached book. The wait only lasted 45 mins, which I think wasn’t that bad, considering the closing is in half an hour! Once called, I dashingly showed up.
Enter passport attendee: old, Asian lady; who can’t seem to get a breather and was in tremendous rush mode! Soon as I had my passport requirements laid on the table, she grabbed my PERSONAL checkbook in a heartbeat, which I found very rude (but moved on very quick since I want it done anyway), to stamp it with payee info.
Moving forward. My husband suggested not to staple my U.S. Citizenship with the DS-​11, but she cut him off right before he can finish the sentence. We both just looked at each other, reading one another’s mind like what’s the deal with this lady! She can’t be interrupted and in a super hurry attitude like she needed to be somewhere else rather than working half day on a weekend.
Well, you are warned & you’re welcome. Have a good one!
PS: the stars aren’t for her, but for the tranquil experience and the book I was reading

This is a great place to work (ask for disinfectant and spray well… Koakapa area), check out movies (more are here that other libraries) or consult ref. materials. The huge building is old and stunning… And beside the ‘lolani palace!
Fiction is near the entrance, so I discover a distraction each time I visit (unfortunately). People in Hawaii don’t seem to read tons, so it’s full of diamonds!
I prefer to hang out in the gorgeous courtyard in the middle of the library. Oddly, there is dust/​spoderwebs (and bad Wi-​Fi reception) inside. This courtyard area is cleaned thoroughly (and with love) by librarians and staff throughout the day on weekends.
It’s relatively quiet on the weekends! My favorite library remains kaimuki’s (less underskydwellers chilling everywhere), but this one is prettier and has tons of resources.

I prefer this library not only because it is the closest to my house, but because it is a historical building.
There is something so comforting about old libraries, they hold so many stories and the building itself tells a story.
The Hawaii State Library has plenty of nooks to settle down in to read a good book, as well as open courtyards if the outdoors is calling.
The library has many free services including free online language courses as well as online Microsoft Office courses.
«Books…check ‘em out!»

When people use the library’s computers, they sometimes make them remove every single personal item from the computer’s area when they renew their library card and get another hour (which is annoying). However, sometimes they don’t, even when people are waiting. This inconsistency is called a double standard and it causes problems.
Visitors shouldn’t have to enforce the rules or be negatively affected by people that break them.
Also, some librarians are rude and show favoritism, like the woman who renewed my card today.

I wandered down to the Hawaii State Library to conduct official business. I needed to apply for a passport.
Passport applications are accepted on a walk in basis only, no appointments. They accept applications M-​F 10am-​1pm, Sat 9am-​12pm and are closed on Sunday’s. They are located on the 2^nd floor and there are signs guiding you to your destination. When you enter the room, check in with the front desk and they will give you a number and direct you to the waiting area around the corner.
Once your number is called, given that you have all the required documents the process takes less than five minutes.
Be sure to have you checkbook to pay for the fees. You can pay the $ 25 processing fee my check or cash though.
* note, they do not accept starter checks from the bank. I learned this the hard way. I had to make a trip to the post office down the street to obtain a money order because they wouldn’t accept my starter check.
The staff was very friendly and helpful. The entire process was seamless aside from the surprise trip to the post office I had to make (totally my fault.)

My family has three libraries that we frequent… the Hawaii State Library is not one of them… purely because of the parking sitch and I often have to walk through second-​hand smoke to enter. However, I took my girls this morning to the State Library because they were presenting a Solar System Activity!
I was very impressed with the 40 minute activity… it was interactive and the kids were engaged by the presenter. We started inside the Children’s room. I don’t really have much memory of the Children’s Room to compare, but it was clean, warm and bright.
Then we moved to the front lawn for a walking activity — so the kids could get a better idea of the distances between planets and the sun.
*plus — visited the restrooms on the first floor, clean and well-​stocked. All I could ask for.

A field trip to the Hawaii State Library happened about once every other month back in the middle school days, since I also visited my home district library weekly. In high school, visits dramatically dropped just because McCully Library was walking distance and I was too lazy to bus it to State.
As a kid, I’d sometimes get creeped out by some of the random homeless people meandering around. No one ever bothered me, though, even as a petite child, so I never felt in danger of anything. And I’m a pretty paranoid person…
I like that there is just such a vast collection here and so many different sections to wander through. I do feel intimidated, even as an adult, since it’s out of my comfort zone and I’m used to traversing the halls of McCully and even Kaimuki Libraries, but not State. State Library always seems to have an air of sterility and less welcome. That said, I still visit and still borrow books! I loved the Young Adult section and still do, even as a woman headed into her 30s.
The public parking is available in meter parking or I believe you can pay for municipal parking. Kind of a pain in the butt, when I’m so used to other libraries having their own lots.

Books books books… this location quite bigger then the others I’ve gone to. Location wise I guess is pretty convenient.
Though there is a couple flaws for me… public parking is available near the iolani palace, unfortunately it’s meter parking, other library’s have their own parking lot. Another flaw is they have a couple homeless people hanging out outside the facility and it’s a bit disturbing with the smell and smoking that they do especially when we bring our children there. And lastly, today especially… the wait for check out was ridiculous. They need to plan a system that when it gets busy they need employees to help.

As my sister said, «I guess this isn’t the Beauty and the Beast library anymore.»
Rated solely as a place to study, this place was pretty bad. Yes, it was quiet, but because it is old, there is no «designated laptop» area with centralized outlets. Yah, I’m being a brat, but I’m being real.
First off, no free parking. I didn’t have to deal with this problem when I went, though, because I walked from my office downtown.
The outlets are scattered around the library. I spent about 10 minutes scoping out the place for a decent outlet location. However, a lot of them are located in the outside lanai-​ish areas and are taken by people (albeit homeless or not) who seemed to be camping out at the outlet in order to charge their phone/​ipod/​ipad/​laptop for the day.
Fortunately, my laptop had enough battery for a couple of hours, so I found a nice table in the arts and humanities (or something along those lines) section on the second floor. I booted up my laptop, unloaded my backpack, and was ready to study. However, my laptop was not connected to the library’s free wifi. I think it was due to where I was sitting. Thus, I had to pack up and walk around looking for a more… centralized location.
FYI, there are questionably homeless people hanging out, but that didn’t bother me – that’s why it’s called a public library, duh.
This is a good place to read a book or study sans electronics. However, for my study purposes, I will not be back.

It’s shameful to admit but I have not stepped foot into a library in over a decade! The age of technology has overtaken my desire to thumb through, browse and take in the smells of a library. Sadly when I lived in town this central library was within walking distance to my home and I never took advantage of it.
Flash forward a few years later and I’m googling how to get to this library! Lucky for us, we arrived at the library early enough to find street parking. We sought to go here because of the weekend passport services they offer.
To make a really long story short, we found out the passport office here has weekend hours of 9 – 12 on Saturday. We arrived at the library and was directed to the second floor to the passport office (there are ample signs all over). We took a number and were pleased to know that it does pay to come early since we third in line and it appeared that each applicant took anywhere from 10 – 15 minutes to process before they emerged from the passport area. We were in an awesome, happy place!
Enter grumpy, older Asian woman who couldn’t find it in her heart to crack a smile or a welcome. She was abrupt, rude and loud! I was mortified that such a person could be that grumpy and rude first thing in the morning (it was 9:45 am)! Not so much as a «please,» «thank you» nor smile came from this woman the entire 15 minutes of exchanges! I could feel my heart racing and my temper flaring inwardly as I sat there enduring her poor and very rude customer service.
It was $ 110.00 application fee to process a new passport application, $ 25.00 library fee to process this application and $ 25.00 additional if you want to expedite the application fee. I wrote a check for $ 110.00 and she told me the $ 25.00 due the library must be in cash. My nice self pushed the cash in front of her but my equally annoyed and upset daughter took the cash and threw the cash in front of her (yes, I know that wasn’t nice). Seriously, I have gotten better service from a toll-​booth operator in the heat of summer as compared to this woman. We left the library speechless and speculated what a miserable life this person must have to dish out that kind of service in the morning.
Back to the library — it is a beautiful place to be even amidst the early morning homeless people already there. A fellow Unilocaler wrote, «it’s a beautiful blend of old and new.» There is nothing more beautiful than being amongst the books and the abundant amount of reading material! (Note to self to come back to explore this beautiful place of knowledge and wonder!)
If not for the rude service at the passport office, roaming homelessness in the library and apparent lack of parking… this could possibly be a 5 star facility but I would be fearful and worrisome of some of the homeless patrons exhibiting some behavioral issues. My love for books outweigh my sensibilities sometimes and despite the aforementioned issues, I would still go and just stay away and be more aware of my surroundings when there.
Thank goodness I don’t have to go back to this passport office for another 10 years and hopefully by then that woman would have retired or gotten fired. But then again, there are many other options other than the library to have your passport application verified and submitted.

PASSPORT application review. thanks for the other reviewers for the tips on doing this.
and here is MY experience applying for a new passport for my child below 16 years old.
collected documents
–applicants birth certificate from dept. of health (office is nearby along punchbowl)
–postal money order $ 80 and $ 25 (they also accept check NO cash /​credit)
–1pc passport photo (had it at Longs ala moana)
–2 parents with ID (if one parent only they require a notarized document)
–DS 11 Form filled up (remember your ssn)
no need appointment. i walked-​in
parking is hard in this busy street. i’m not so familiar with this area, and we end up in a 5 minute stroll in the little strip of foot walk going to the library.(public parking by alapai and beretania st. to) the main entrance of the library is by punchbowl and s. king st.
as we entered there was a sign directing for Federal Documents section is. on your right upstairs we were greeted and assisted nicely. Ticket number was given, then couple minutes later we were attended. gave them ds11form, birth certificate, 1passport photo, money order, id’s, and oath. done and wait for 4−6wks for passport with your submitted birth certificate.

I haven’t been to a state library in ages, but I recently starting tutoring younger kids who don’t work well in Starbucks. I like this state library because it’s so big and offers a variety of seating options. There is both indoor and outdoor seating, both large and small tables.
Since I have long since lost my library card and no longer know how to find books (I know! Gasp!), I’m useless at finding anything in this library. There seems to be a plethora of people working here though, so if I ever needed help, I wouldn’t have trouble finding someone. Come to think of it though, I did ask the woman sitting behind the information desk something once. She wasn’t friendly.
I think the doors are a little confusing. There appear to be three doors, however only one is used as an entrance and another as an exit… Kinda weird. There is also no parking that I know of and I end up paying $ 1.50/ hr for street parking! Crazy!!! There are also a lot of homeless people outside and inside the library. I mean it’s a nice place to hang out. I wouldn’t mind spending all day, err day at the library if I was homeless. Free bathrooms, water fountain and an endless supply of knowledge?! Sign me up.

One of our favorite libraries.
+ Beautiful architecture.
+ Large. If you’re coming here by yourself, there are a lot of places to sit, read, relax, work, people watch, etc.
+ Awesome children’s room. If you’re coming here with kids, the children’s room has enough selection and space to keep your kids entertained indefinitely.
— Parking? What parking?
— The miscellaneous homeless people frequenting the front lawn and entrance puts a real damper on such a beautiful building and great experience.

Dear Hawaii State Library,
There are homeless dudes camped out front and many a weirdo lurk at your tables… but no matter how many creepy folks I run into, you will always have my heart and deepest gratitude.
I just introduced my two older children to Shel Silverstein’s «Where The Sidewalk Ends» and their lives have officially been changed forever. I borrowed this book for them a few weeks ago and they literally fight over who gets to read it. We laugh at all the wonderful poems and they recite them to me verbatim during breakfast. I honestly could not ask for a more inspiring outcome from our monthly visits to the library.
I know they’re growing up so quickly and I only have a few more moments until they’re taken away by the lure of being a teenager and pre-​adulthood. We borrow 30 – 40 books at a time and spend hours on the living room carpet reading all our beautiful library books. It makes me cry just thinking about how special each beautiful story time is and I wish I could freeze that moment in time forever. I just want to let you know library, that even though folks forget about you sometimes, I will always love you and appreciate what you have given me. As a young girl I grew up and learned about the world through your books, and now as an adult, I get to shape my children through your printed words as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you…
Love Always,
Emi H