Steel guitar has its roots in Hawaiʻi, so it's only fitting that the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame would announce that it would be turning its collection of instruments, recordings and records over to the Hawaiʻi State Public Archives.
The steel guitar collection will be joining vintage ukuleles and music albums dating to Hawaiʻi's territorial days as part of the state's archives, and it will also help broaden the facility's depth of music and culture.
October also happens to be American Archives month. HPR spoke with state archivist Adam Jansen to learn more about what the archives have in store.
“We're very excited,” he told HPR. “We chose a theme this year based on a very historic milestone. The Moana Surfrider is 125. Royal Hawaiian is 100. And so because of that, we chose Waikīkī as our theme, because we're all familiar with it today, but what was it 100 years ago?”
Each week, the archives will be featuring different pieces of art and media focusing on Waikīkī's land, development and historic land and culture.
Jansen hopes that the event can raise awareness for the vital services and historical preservation that the state archive provides for the public.
“Yes, we are the government's archives, but first and foremost, we are the public archives. We are here for the people.”
More information about the upcoming plans for Archives Month 2026 can be found here.
This story aired on The Conversation on Oct. 14, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
