October 2004 Hamilton Library Flood
UH salvages what's left after Halloween Eve flood
Posted on: Monday, November 1, 2004
By James Gonser and Dan Nakaso; Advertiser Staff Writers
"Manoa residents shoveled mud and debris out of their homes yesterday, while
University of Hawai'i officials canceled today's classes and estimated
damage in the millions after daybreak revealed the full extent of
damage caused by the Halloween Eve flood of 2004. University of
Hawai'i maintenance worker Jorge Ortiz assesses the damage the
flood did to the Hamilton Library basement, which stores government
documents. Some material even floated down to Dole Street..."
Librarians rush to salvage flood-damaged items
Posted on: Tuesday, November 2, 2004
By Mike Leidemann; Advertiser Staff Writer
"All through the University of Hawai'i's Hamilton Library, and all over
the Manoa campus yesterday, students, staff and faculty members scrambled
to salvage precious and priceless documents swept away or damaged in
the Halloween Eve flood. "It's a scene of complete devastation," interim UH President David
McClain said. "It's going to take a long time to recover."
Volunteers worked doggedly to salvage some of the 90,000 maps and tens
of thousands of archival photographs that were drenched when a river
of muddy water roared through the basement of Hamilton Library, tearing
out walls, ripping down bookcases and ruining card catalogs and computer
servers. The basement housed the university's map collection, government
documents room, collections services staff, and the School ofLibrary
and Information Sciences. The flood also knocked out a computerroom
that allows online searching of the library's collections..."
