Bishop Museum in Hawaii

Bishop Museum

Bishop Museum is as stunning as a palace and a must for all ages to see. Besides the ancient relics displayed through several floors, a planetarium, and gardens of native plants overlooking a beautiful view of Honolulu, its library has more than 115,000 publications that tell the story of Hawaii’s history and culture.

The Bishop Museum Library

The Bishop Museum Library is open to the public by appointment only and appointments are scheduled by completing an online form at https://fareharbor.com/bishopmuseum/items/. Call (808) 848-4148 for more information.

According to the Bishop Museum website at https://www.bishopmuseum.org/library-and-archives:

“The Bishop Museum Library contains an incredible variety of publications of and about Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, from examples of the earliest descriptions of the Pacific by western voyagers, to the first texts printed in Hawaiian and Pacific languages, and onward into the present with ever-increasing examples of creativity and scholarship.

“Hawaiian-language materials in the Library are represented in part by the largest existing collection of Hawaiian-language newspapers, covering the full range of their publishing from 1834 to 1948. The Library also holds the most complete collection of Bishop Museum Press titles in their various editions and reprints. These include seminal works published by the Museum beginning in 1892 and includingʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings, compiled by the eminent Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui and first published in 1983.”

The Shop

You can also collect rare scholarly books about Hawaii by purchasing them at the Bishop Museum gift shop. Look for the “Bishop Museum Press” sign inside the shop.

In addition to the books for scholars, we found an unusual children’s book that explains the history and meanings of Hawaiian tattoos.

The Bishop Museum is the first stop on our Hawaii Author Adventures Trail.

Patricia Smart