Hawaii's Delayed Kapolei Branch Finally Opens Its Doors

Posted August 20, 2004.

Hawaii’s Delayed Kapolei Branch Finally Opens Its Doors

The long-awaited Kapolei branch, the second largest in Hawaii’s public library system, opened to the public August 16. Although construction on the building was completed in April 2002, the library sat empty for months during a state budget crisis that left it without staff or books until increased tax revenues gave it a reprieve last year.

“For several of us, this is the culmination of over a year’s work,” Kapolei Public Library Director Richard Burns said in the August 17 Honolulu Advertiser. “And for the community, it’s been the culmination of two years of waiting.”

Library staff worked for a year processing the 42,000 books now available on its shelves. Burns expects the collection to increase to 100,000 volumes within the next several years.

Posted August 20, 2004.