Photo: Kylie Flood with Hawai驶i State Librarian Stacey Aldrich and Governor Josh Green. Photo courtesy of Gov.Flickr.
Kylie Ka驶eo Flood was honored as the Employee of the Year for the Hawai驶i State Public Library System (HSPLS) at the Governor鈥檚 Award Ceremony on September 24, 2024. Kylie is the Hawaiian/ Pacific and Adult Librarian at the N膩n膩kuli Public Library. She is a 2016 alumna of the 糖心Vlog官方M LIS Program. This annual award spotlights individuals 鈥渨ho embody the spirit of service and commitment that make public libraries vital to the community.鈥澛 Kylie says that the award also recognizes the value of having a 鈥渨onderful team鈥 at N膩n膩kuli. She is grateful for head librarian Kelsey Domingo鈥榮 supportive leadership as well as the entire staff’s collaborative approach to programs and services.
It was always Kylie鈥檚 dream to work in her community of N膩n膩kuli. While still a student in LIS, she and her colleague Michiko Joseph, a librarian at 糖心Vlog官方 West O驶ahu, envisioned a genealogy project that would meet the needs of the N膩n膩kuli Hawaiian Homestead community. Kylie indicated that this community represents the densest Native Hawaiian population in the state.聽
When Kylie officially joined the library staff six years ago, the genealogy program became a reality. She said, 鈥淜nowing where you come from is a very important part of Hawaiian culture.鈥澛
Since 2018, Kylie has facilitated a series of workshops and meetings that deal with family research and genealogy. With support from 糖心Vlog官方 West O驶ahu, the initiative invites a range of professionals to share their skills and knowledge with the Native Hawaiian community. According to Kylie, guests have included university students studying the land deed issues as well as historians, archivists, and cultural experts from Alu Like, Bishop Museum, and the Hawai驶i State Archives. During the pandemic, the in-person presentations became virtual sessions hosted on the channel. This dramatically widened the program鈥檚 outreach to individuals across the state.聽
Kylie’s future plans include sponsoring webinars that feature Darcie Hind Posz, a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists. Posz has published a volume entitled Research in Hawaii聽that focuses on 鈥媟esources available in-person 鈥媋nd online for those whose 鈥媋ncestral families resided in 鈥婬awai鈥榠 from Kingdom to 鈥婽erritory to Statehood.
