Janet E. Bell Papers
Collection — Box: 1-2
Identifier: MANUSCRIPT-UA?????
The Janet E. Bell Papers are divided into three series: Scrapbooks, Personal Papers, and Professional Papers. Materials include correspondence, employment forms, photographs, ticket stubs, contact records, news clippings, Hawai'i Library Association periodicals, awards, and reports.
The records document Bell's management of the UH Library's Hawaiian Collection, her collection development and bibliographic activities related to Hawaiian and Pacific materials, her career trajectory and professional network, the recognition she gained for her work, and her social and community activities.
The records document Bell's management of the UH Library's Hawaiian Collection, her collection development and bibliographic activities related to Hawaiian and Pacific materials, her career trajectory and professional network, the recognition she gained for her work, and her social and community activities.
Dates
- 1919 - 1978
Creator
- Bell, Janet E., 1910- (Creator, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in this collection, their descendants, or the repository if copyright has been signed over, as stipulated by United States copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user to determine any copyright restrictions, obtain written permission, and pay any fees necessary for the reproduction or proposed use of the materials.
All requests for permission to reproduce manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Hawaii Library as the owner of the physical items.
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet (2 record center boxes)
Biographical / Historical
In 1935, Janet E. Bell (1910-1983) became the first full-time librarian for the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's Hawaiian Collection. Bell served in that capacity until her retirement in December 1970. Bell also served as librarian and curator of Pacific materials until the Pacific Collection was established as a separate entity in 1968. Her work laid the groundwork for what has become the world's pre-eminent collection on the cultural regions of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Bell was also a key player in the establishment of a University Archivist position to care for the history and records of the university. Prior to joining the staff of the UH lbrary, Bell attended UH as an undergraduate and the University of Washington as a graduate student in the library school.
Bell was recognized for her efforts to build a comprehensive collection of every published item, and many unpublished materials, on Hawai'i; her commitment to making the collection accessible to all; and her creation of essential resources such as the Hawaiian Collection's printed catalog, the periodical bibliography Current Hawaiiana, and the Union Catalog of Hawaiiana. In 1972, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Hawai'i Library Association, the organization presented its inaugural Distinguished Librarian Award to Bell.
Bell was recognized for her efforts to build a comprehensive collection of every published item, and many unpublished materials, on Hawai'i; her commitment to making the collection accessible to all; and her creation of essential resources such as the Hawaiian Collection's printed catalog, the periodical bibliography Current Hawaiiana, and the Union Catalog of Hawaiiana. In 1972, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Hawai'i Library Association, the organization presented its inaugural Distinguished Librarian Award to Bell.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
University Archives accession logs indicate that Bell donated her papers in several transactions that took place around December 1978 and January 1979. Known accession identifiers for Bell materials are A1978:026a-d and A1979:003.
Separated Materials
Accession records show that the following items were originally donated by Bell along with the papers now in the collection: a UH letterman sweater, a doily, a World War II–era blackout bulb and piece of barbed wire, a pair of "National Defense Binoculars" (records suggest these came with the "Eyes for the Navy" certificate found in box 2, folder 3), and photographs of UH football.
The present location of these items is unknown. Notes on the accession forms suggest the football photographs were moved to an unspecified photo collection and the World War II items may have been placed with HWRD materials. The remaining three-dimensional artifacts may have been deemed out of scope and deaccessioned at some point between 1979 and 2016.
The present location of these items is unknown. Notes on the accession forms suggest the football photographs were moved to an unspecified photo collection and the World War II items may have been placed with HWRD materials. The remaining three-dimensional artifacts may have been deemed out of scope and deaccessioned at some point between 1979 and 2016.
Processing Information
The original order of the materials is not known, nor are the details of any weeding, rearrangement, or other processing that took place immediately after acquisition. Some artifacts appearing in the original accession records and associated catalog cards are no longer part of the collection (see note on separated materials). In 2016, the papers were fully processed and described in a finding aid for the first time.
- Title
- Janet E. Bell Papers
- Author
- Kuuleilani Reyes, revised by Katherine Fisher
- Date
- December 2016, revised March 2017
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- English
Repository Details
Part of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Libraries Repository
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