The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Law Library celebrated its 175th anniversary with an open house on October 21, 2026, recognizing 175 years of providing legal information and research resources to Hawaiʻi’s courts, legal community, and the public.

Hosted by State Law Librarian Jenny Foster and the Law Library staff, the celebration brought together Hawaiʻi Supreme Court justices, judges, Judiciary employees, Hawaiʻi State Bar Association members, attorneys, librarians from the Hawaiʻi Library Association, and representatives from the William S. Richardson School of Law.

Chief Justice Vladimir P. Devens joined the celebration and highlighted the Law Library’s important role in supporting the Judiciary’s mission of providing access to justice.

Citing Rule 12 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaiʻi, Chief Justice Devens noted that “The law library of the supreme court is a legal reference library and shall be available to all who have need of its resources for legal research and study.”

Today, the Hawaiʻi State Law Library System houses more than 295,000 volumes of legal materials related to Hawaiʻi, the United States, and foreign countries, along with electronic databases and other resources for legal research.

“We are so proud to celebrate 175 years of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Law Library,” Foster said. “Our roots reach back to the laws of King Kamehameha III, and since our founding in 1851 we have served the legal community through the monarchy, the territory, and statehood.”

The library began with the purchase of law books for what was then known as the Hawaiʻi Government Library. By 1874, its collection had grown to approximately 3,000 law books and 2,000 scientific and miscellaneous publications. Renamed the Law Library of Hawaiʻi in 1885, it moved into Aliʻiōlani Hale the following year.

The library continued expanding over the decades, doubling its space in 1927 and 1928. In 1943, it hired its first professional librarian, Mary Helen McCrea-Pitts. Its space doubled again in 1966.

A major milestone came in 1969, when Chief Justice William S. Richardson unified law library operations across Hawaiʻi, establishing the Hawaiʻi State Law Library System and the position of State Law Librarian. Today, the system includes branch law libraries in each of the state’s four judicial circuits.

The Law Library continued evolving with advances in technology, introducing internet access in 1996 and expanding public access to electronic legal research tools in the early 2000s. In 2019, the library became a satellite location for the Ronald T. Y. Moon Judiciary Complex’s Kapolei Access to Justice Room (KAJR), a program launched in 2012 in partnership with the Family Law Section of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association, where volunteer attorneys provide free legal advice to people representing themselves in family law matters. Today, the Law Library is the permanent host of KAJR, offering virtual sessions twice a month and in-person sessions once a month.

“Our rules say the law library is available to all who have need of its resources, and my staff and I take that to heart,” Foster said. “Whether you are a judge, an attorney, or a neighbor trying to navigate the legal system on your own, meaningful access to legal information is what makes access to justice possible, and we are dedicated to providing it.”

After 175 years, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Law Library continues to honor its history while embracing new technologies and evolving to better serve its users, helping ensure that legal information and research resources remain available to those who need them.