The work of BYU–Hawaii’s University Archives is a balance between historical preservation and access, staff members say
The present holds the responsibility to safeguard the past, and that’s the very reason BYU–Hawaii’s University Archives exists. “That’s fundamentally why we’re here: to preserve history and support future generations through the preservation of records,” explained Abegail Perez, a senior in social work from the Philippines. Fading photographs, 70-year-old brochures, brittle newspaper clippings, hand-inked manuscripts, rusted artifacts—patrons of the Archives, she said, can stumble upon such surprising fragments of history and map connections with the present.
The University Archives serves as the official repository for the university’s historical records, along with those of the surrounding community. “Our scope covers anything related to BYU–Hawaii, the Polynesian Cultural Center and, more broadly, churches of the Pacific. Geographically, anything from Kualoa Ranch to Waimea Bay,” explained Archives lead Tateana Le Brun, a sophomore in communication, media and culture from Wisconsin. She said the collection ranges widely, from academic materials like dissertations to cultural artifacts such as instruments from the ‘80s and ancient Polynesian tools.
Ties with the past
The University Archives, Le Brun emphasized, is deeply committed to upholding BYU–Hawaii’s mission. “There are many stories of sacrifice throughout the history of the Pacific that we can learn from. The school itself was built on the sacrifices of the Saints who came before us. Appreciating and engaging with that history can genuinely shape who we become,” she explained. Le Brun said historical knowledge creates great leaders, and the Archives offers the community precisely that—an extended memory; access to hard lessons they didn’t have to experience firsthand.
Perez echoed Le Brun’s sentiment: “Our core mission is to support the institution itself. We want people to know that if they’re looking for their own history in the future, they can come here to find it. It could be for research, genealogy—anything.” She said diving into history could change people’s lives like it did hers. “It has helped me personally appreciate my own culture and where I came from. And another important part of it is the desire it creates to go back home and share what I’ve learned. That’s how the Archives helps students become better disciples,” she shared.
For Archives lead Paula Graciella Butones, a senior in psychology from the Philippines, the department’s purpose is deeply spiritual. “Some of the most significant moments I’ve had here have come from helping people with their genealogy,” she shared. She said the Archives’ extensive genealogical resources have impacted their patrons’ lives in meaningful ways. “Many people come here hoping to learn about their ancestors, and when they find something, it’s remarkable. They start to see how they personally connect to the past.”
Le Brun said making those connections is what the Archives exists for. “Our resources are meant to make the past accessible, whether through direct links to people’s families or a simple connection to an object—something like, ‘This is an item my ancestors would have used,’” she said.
The labor of memory
The scope of archival work does not end at storing items, Butones said. The department’s mission begins with preservation, but beyond that, it’s all about making precious records available for public use. “We are actively working on connecting the community with our materials. We don’t focus only on storage; we want people to actually engage with what we have,” she shared.
Butones said a busy day at the University Archives consists of thoroughly organizing the collections, especially when many items still remain uncatalogued in drawers and unlabeled boxes. “We want to know exactly what we have, so that when patrons come in with specific requests, we know how to help them,” she said. The department, she shared, is dedicated to “making sense of the materials, connecting people with them and digitizing everything for broader access.”
We are actively working on connecting the community with our materials. We don’t focus only on storage; we want people to actually engage with what we have.
Staff members also emphasized how every item on their shelves is irreplaceable. “Everything we have has been donated; we don’t go out and purchase items. It’s simply whatever people donate to us that falls within our scope,” Le Brun shared. They said that’s precisely what makes their job both special and challenging. “There are no replicas out there. Many of the manuscripts and journals we hold are the only existing copies of that particular piece of history,” Butones said.
Among the Archives’ notable collections are audio files of Hawaiian educator Clinton Kanahele’s interviews; instruments of Alice Nāmakelua, a Hawaiian composer and performer from the early 1900s; over 100,000 individual records of Filipino plantation workers in Hawaii from 1906 to 1949; and a first edition copy of “Ka Buke a Moramona,” the Hawaiian Book of Mormon. “Everything in here is one of a kind. Once something is damaged, that’s a fragment of history gone,” Butones said.
Painstaking effort is required in caring for these precious records and artifacts, said Butones. “We have to monitor temperature carefully, since fluctuations can be harmful to the materials. Natural aging is also a challenge as items can deteriorate over time, so we take precautions such as using protective sleeves and limiting how often certain items are handled,” she shared. Some objects, she added, have already grown too fragile for direct viewing. “Our main goal is to preserve these materials while still making them accessible to the community, but for some items, that balance isn’t always possible.”
Perez said the department’s response to that imbalance is digitization. “Digitization allows us to preserve the physical materials while still giving patrons a way to view them without repeated handling. It’s much easier and safer for people to view digitized materials online,” she explained. Butones said this effort is a testament to the University Archives’ commitment to making their materials accessible.
Archival work as an act of storytelling
Beyond preservation and accessibility, Le Brun said she is fascinated by the storytelling aspect of their work at the University Archives. “I’ve learned so much from the small pieces of history I come across along the way. I don’t always get the full story immediately, but it’s always rewarding to make connections between different pieces of information,” she shared.
Similarly, Butones described the archives as an endless revelation of stories from the past. “You can look at an object and imagine the thought process behind it—why someone made it a certain way. Something like a carved item makes you imagine the person sitting there, carving it, using charcoal, and it helps me appreciate how resourceful and skilled people were throughout history.”
Both said these sentiments drive their desire to extend the same experiences not only to BYU–Hawaii students, but also to the surrounding community. “We serve as the intermediary between patrons and the artifacts,” said Le Brun.
Le Brun said patrons can either visit the University Archives’ website to browse collections online or visit their office in person to ask for items directly from the vault. “You can do this by walking in or by appointment. Visitors can’t browse the vault by themselves, but we have what’s called a patron index, which lists everything in our holdings, searchable by keyword. And once you find something you’re interested in, just let us know and we’ll bring it out for you,” she explained.
According to Butones, the department can also host scheduled tours where they can display a curated selection of artifacts and walk visitors through them. “If patrons come in with a specific request, we can arrange a tour or viewing for them. Someone once wanted to see all of Auntie Alice’s guitars, so we set them out and gave a short tour explaining each item,” Butones shared. Although not all requests can be accommodated due to restrictions, the University Archives treats every encounter as an opportunity to bring stories of old to light.