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Tuesday, March 11, 2014         

KOKUA LINE


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City reference center open to public by appointment

By June Watanabe

POSTED:



Question: The city's reference center next to Mission Auditorium has been closed to the public for some time. Will it reopen? What will happen to the materials and archives if it doesn't reopen? Where should the public go if they need access to these records?

Answer: The Municipal Reference Center and Bookstore closed at the end of last year because of "staffing issues and a major indexing project in progress," the city said.

However, all materials, archives and records can be accessed by making an appointment, said Gail Haraguchi, director of the city Department of Customer Services.

Call 768-3765 and leave contact information. Someone will call you back to verify your request and set up an appointment.

When we went to the building after receiving your query, the doors were locked, but there was no notice of closure.

Since then the sign on the door has been replaced and the city website updated, Haraguchi said.

Although the center is authorized to have five full-time equivalent positions, there is only one person working in the Records Management and Archives Center and one providing reader services for the Reference Center, by appointment only.

Haraguchi said, "Due to technology and our ongoing effort to improve efficiency," bookstore sales, news clippings and circulations have been eliminated.

However, her department is looking to hire someone to handle technical services, such as cataloging, indexing and classifying reference center materials.

While the bookstore has been eliminated, some municipal books that were previously sold there are now available for free online at www1.honolulu.gov/csd/lrmb/pricelist.htm.

Haraguchi said that is "in keeping with the city's commitment to a green workplace."

She said the Reference Center was never a "library," in which materials are kept for public use.

Instead, as set forth in the City Charter, the Customer Services Department set up the reference center to "fulfill the research and information needs of the city, coordinate a city government records management program and supervise the city archive of documents and materials," Haraguchi said.

Q: About five or six street lights on Kalanianaole Highway and Keahole Street have been out for a month or two. When will they be fixed?

A: It's "anticipated" that the lights will back on by the end of November, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Power for the lights was lost after recent construction widening the westbound side of Kalanianaole Highway between Keahole Street and Hawaii Kai Drive, a spokesman said.

During electrical system modifications, power was transferred from an old electrical transformer to a new one. Because of "compatibility malfunctions," however, power was lost during the transfer, the spokesman said.

"DOT is currently working with (Hawaiian Electric Co.) to modify the new transformer to accept this circuit and to restore power to the lighting as soon as possible," he said.

The age of the street lights was not the problem as it was at the other end of Kalanianaole Highway, near Kalani High School, when the lights went out last year.

AUWE

To the woman driving a Honda Pilot at 7:55 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Not only was she speeding down Beretania Street, she kept blasting her horn at a bicyclist in front of her who was riding his bike properly in the lane. She kept honking until she sped into the Olivet Baptist Church parking lot. She needs to learn to abide by the speed limit, as well as learn the laws on cycling. -- Former Roadie


Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.






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monjuromosquito wrote:
A public resource available only by appointment!?!
on November 8,2011 | 06:38AM
livinginhawaii wrote:
Auwe to auwe for not reporting this person to the police. The person who comitted these crimes will not read your complaint nor will they change their behavior. You should have taken the time to call 911 as opposed to writing this ..
on November 8,2011 | 07:03AM
cojef wrote:
You are probably right. If the person could take the time to write to "KOKUA LINE", that person, should have taken the time to get the license plate numbers and then report or call 911. As you can see, that person was probably late for some church activities. Charitable activities, maybe, but when an individual gets behind the wheel of an auto, all bets are off. That person dramatically changes like the infamous Jekyl and Hyde character. Yes, "the devil made me do it". gotta go the church to be betta.
on November 8,2011 | 11:39AM
KekoaBradshaw wrote:
Gail Haraguchi is the Director of the C&C Department of Customer Services, huh? Somebody needs to tell her what "customer services" means. What is DOESN'T mean is clsing an office which had previously been available to the public, locking the door, and not even having the courtesy to post a sign saying "Office Closed until further notice. Please call 768-3765 for futher information". What kind of experience does Ms. Haraguchi bring to her job? How much is she being paid? Sounds like she lacks the basic skills in dealing with customers.
on November 8,2011 | 07:44AM
Oye_Como_Va wrote:
Oh, you are so correct. However, the C&C is still learning, as they normally say.
on November 9,2011 | 01:54AM
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