Preserving Legacy and Building Connections
Article supplied by Alison Barnett | Northern Regional Manager | NZMS
Punahou School’s Archive Outreach: Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou School has a rich history dating back to before its founding in 1841. The school recognises the intangible value of their historical archives and the importance of sharing these records in the context of a wider narrative celebrating connection, shared history and belonging.
Punahou School is a prestigious independent school serving more than 3,750 students and an alumni network of 36,000 people, including (among many other notable graduates) former US President Barack Obama.
The success of the school’s alumni programme is testament to their guiding value of Ka ’Ohana, the family. Every aspect of school activity supports a joined-up strategy that builds a sense of belonging. Archivist Kylee Mar explains that all communication and engagement decisions must address the fundamental question: ‘how do we connect alumni to campus, to each other and to our students?’
So, when, in 2017, the school received a grant from a local business, along with support from a Class of 1957 fund, to establish an archival digitisation project, the advancement, communication, IT and archives teams worked together to ensure the project supported this commitment to building connection. Three years later, Punahou Archives was launched, with Recollect the chosen platform.
Recollect’s community engagement collection management platform links historical archives with contemporary identity-building content. Within this environment, visitors to a Recollect site typically start with a search for records related to their own school or university days and surface again (often much later) feeling enriched and reconnected as reflected in Punahou Archives landing page, inviting visitors to:
Relive memories of your own time at Punahou and throughout the School’s 180-year history. Our collection of primary source material offers a rich look back at milestone events and those who have played a role in shaping the School, Hawai‘i and the larger world.
Every year, the school invites selected alumni to return for a week-long reunion. Last year, guests of honour were classes with years ending in 3 and 8 and more than 1,900 attended, from the most recent graduating class of 2023, to the 75th class of 1948. There is an annual competition during the week to see which year can raise the most money for the school. Later, at the annual awards, distinguished alumni are honoured for their contribution to ‘the school, their communities and the world,’ mirroring the message attendees see when they visit their online archives.
Punahou’s online presence shows the impact of working seamlessly across all communication channels. Their Recollect site is part of an integrated environment that connects their archival repository to website pages highlighting the school’s history, special projects, commemorative events and donation opportunities. Their Donations and Gifts page provides a master class in articulating a framework for donations, helping visitors understand how they can contribute – from ‘gifts-in-kind’ to gifts of money.
Prior to the annual reunion weeks, advancement events planners are trained to use Recollect so they can encourage attendees to engage with Punahou Archives and enrich the content with their own recollections. Behind the scenes, Kylee works closely with selected apprentice archivist students, who gain valuable skills in collection and archives management along the way. Other students are currently 3-D scanning objects featured in the ’50 Objects’ Collection , which Kylee intends to relocate from the school’s website to Recollect for display via Recollect’s 3-D viewer once scanning is completed. Apart from the opportunity to play with these objects in 3D, visitors to this integrated environment may not realise the collection has moved!
Punahou School demonstrates the power of an archive to engage alumni as part of a wider communications strategy. We hope you enjoy exploring their site.
Please contact NZMS if you would like to discuss how Recollect could benefit your school community and/or alumni relationships.
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