When Westerners first landed in Hawaii the islands were pre-literate, relying on oral traditions to maintain the culture. Within a few decades, however, Hawaiians achieved one of the highest literacy rates in history, printing scores of newspapers and journals in the Hawaiian language. Few examples have survived, and fewer still have been translated or indexed or archived.

At 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 28 — the date in 1843 that Hawaii was recognized as a sovereign kingdom by European countries — dozens, perhaps hundreds of Hawaiians and cultural supporters are expected to gather on the grounds of Iolani Palace to kick off the "’Ike Ku’oko’a Initiative," which seeks 3,000 volunteers from around the globe to archive some 60,000 pages of Hawaiian-language newspapers on the Internet. The idea is that many hands make light work.

The nonprofit educational organization Awaiaulu is organizing the effort. Volunteers will be sent reproductions of Hawaiian-language newspaper pages to retype into text files. At the Monday event, participants are urged to bring their laptops, and Sprint Hawaii will provide Wi-Fi access. The first couple of hundred volunteers will be asked to pose for a commemorative photo at the palace.

"The importance of this volunteer effort cannot be understated," said Hawaiian scholar and musician Kealii Reichel in a prepared statement. "This project will shed further light on the thoughts, emotions and ‘ike of our kupuna, and provide another connective thread past and present."

Funding is provided by Pu’a Foundation, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools, Hawai’i-nuiakea: Center for Hawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawaii Sea Grants Hawai’i and other organizations. Project directors include scholars Puakea Nogelmeier and Kaui Sai-Dudoit.

Volunteer to transcribe pages at www.awaiaulu.org. Contact Kaui Sai-Dudoit at 953-9217 or kaui@awaiaulu.org.