This year the UHMC Library turned 50.

Originally we were planning a campus-wide event in the library to commemorate its opening in 1970. Considering our options, in this year like no other, we’ve decided to “re-bury” the library time capsule, instead (built in the 1980s near the elevator on the main floor) with artifacts, experiences and memories from 2020.

Nearly every week of 2020 has brought a development that, by itself, would have been a major substantive event in other times—the pandemic crisis, racial injustice issues, environmental tragedies and change, The Big Election… So, what could we pack up and bury that would represent our collective college experience of 2020? What would you like to share with our future academic community, 25 (or 50?) years in the future?

So far we have prepared for the vault a bottle of hand sanitizer, some PPE samples, an anti-racism bestseller, someone’s maiau t-shirt, and library-specific memorabilia. We’d love to include anything you’d like to add (the vault is pretty big). It would be great to share with the future a cache of student coursework or reflections. This New York Times article has some cool ideas for other types of artifacts to consider.

If you or your students would like to contribute to the library time capsule, please let me know (epeterso@hawaii.edu is best). We’d plan to bury it by the end of the year.

Thank you & Cheers,

/ellen