This year is the 100 year anniversary of the Hawaiʻi Library Association and one of our current LIS students, Jessika Ross, designed the centennial logo, which will be used during this year’s HLA conference. Here’s what Jessika had to say about her design:
I knew I wanted to incorporate the existing HLA design featuring the open book and mountain design in order to put the centennial logo in the same conversation. My fellow LIS students, especially those in Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa Hui Haumāna and ALAsc, helped guide me towards the elements of the ʻumeke and kalo as representations of sustaining the mind and body. I knew I wanted to include the ʻohe kapala as a printmaker myself, and because it was integral in native Hawaiian culture, while the stylized water echoes the voyages theme of the 2022 conference.
HLA gives a further description of the logo:
Libraries and librarians are not just built from knowledge, but are of knowledge, and to that end, libraries thrive as communication and language develops, grows, and is nurtured. We hope that this logo captures both in design and in language, a vision of HLA 100 years from where it started.
The centennial logo includes the following elements:
- an ʻumeke, or traditional calabash or bowl
A well-filled bowl is a well-filled mind. Subsequently, an empty bowl is an empty mind. Let us yearn to keep our bowls filled and to help to fill the bowls of the people in our communities.- kalo, or taro
Kalo nourishes the mind and body and also represents the venerated ancestors of the land where we live.- a stylized representation of an ʻohe kapala, or bamboo stamp
The stamp mimics the waves in an ocean, tying it to the theme of the conference (Voyages).Lastly, our logo incorporates ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi with the phrase “He Piha Kenekulia” which translates to “completion of a century.” Mahalo to our HLA friends and colleagues who diligently helped us with this translation. The Hawaiʻi Library Association has supported libraries and librarians in our island home for 100 years and, in our roles of nurturing knowledge, communication and learning, we want to be intentional about including and encouraging our members and the public to learn more about ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, the native language of where we live and breathe, now and into the times to come. If you’re interested in learning Hawaiian language, check out this KSBE article with suggested resources.
Image: HLA Centennial Logo, used with permission from HLA