The Indigenous Peoples Law Interest Group invites anyone working in this area of law, anyone interested in this area of law, or anyone working with materials in this area of law to join the group. We also encourage you to join the FCIL-SIS Indigenous Peoples Law IG Discussion Group in My Communities and become part of our ongoing conversation. If you are unable to attend the annual meeting or if you have any questions about this group, its mission, or how to join, you may also reach out to the interest group chair for additional information.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAWAIIAN LAW CLASSIFICATION PROJECT
Veteran law librarian and FCIL-SIS member Jolande Goldberg, of the United States Library of Congress, has prepared the Library of Congress classification for Hawaiian law. Jolande’s schedule, KVJ Hawaii (to 1900), was posted for review (review period ended on August 31, 2013), vetted by Hawaiian law specialists of the University of Hawaii and by various Hawaiian Libraries, implemented at the Library of Congress, and added in 2016 to the online system ClassificationWeb (a fee based resource). The schedule along with others can be accessed as PDF files on the LC/ABA Home page. Data for these files was selected from the online-system in March 2017 and will be annually updated.
The content of the schedule is primarily based on the comprehensive holdings of the Hawaiian State Archives on the subject. Because these materials include very rare manuscripts and contemporary print editions, the access is limited and distribution is sparse. Jolande was privileged to select the most important law sets and items for a digitization project by the Law Library Microform Consortium-Digital (LLMC), in cooperation with the Hawaiian State Archives and the Law School of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The content is now up on the Hawaiian State Archives and LLMC websites. LLCM-Digital generously agreed to provide free access to these materials through the Indigenous Law Portal of the Law Library of Congress.
The text of KVJ is, as far as possible, bilingual (English/Hawaiian), which was made possible through the work of the official translator of the Archives. This was a critical aspect of the schedule as many of the archival primary law materials are in the Hawaiian language.
Jolande greatly appreciates, as always, any comment from FCIL-SIS members on the work. Please send comments to Jolande Goldberg directly.
Resources
- Library of Congress, Indigenous Law Portal: United States
- FCIL-SIS Indigenous Peoples’ Interest Group 2020 Meeting presenting on Law Library of Congress’s classification system for works on indigenous peoples’ law. Please visit the FCIL-SIS Continuing Education Committee Event page to learn more about this event.