Everybody agrees that the Hawaiʻi State Archives, the building that houses the state’s most valuable and irreplaceable historic documents, is a decaying mess. But one proposed solution is raising hackles.

The Hawaiʻi State Archives is the home of many of Hawaiʻi’s oldest relics, including the earliest letter written in the Hawaiian Islands, the correspondence of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, a 10-term U.S. congressman, and vintage photographs that capture unique images of Hawaiʻi’s transformations over the decades. It also includes many tangible items, such as uniforms from the monarchy period and a fast-growing Hawaiian music collection.

Researchers flock to this vital repository of information every day, looking for answers to important questions about Hawaiʻi’s history and heritage, searching for rare documents, ancient government reports and genealogical data. Overworked but diligent librarians juggle their competing demands, monitoring to make sure people get the papers they need and are handling them carefully and that the papers are stored away properly after each use.

“It’s a treasure trove,” said Hawaiʻi historian Ross Stephenson, former Keeper of the Hawaiʻi Registry of Historic Places who uses the archive regularly. “We’re lucky to have a unique archive that goes all the way back to the kingdom. It’s full of wonderful things that define us and helped make us who we are.”

But it’s obvious to almost everyone that the 1950s-era structure is overloaded and crammed to the gills, with boxes stacked precariously high and framed pictures lined up in the corridors for lack of storage.

The building itself is dark, drafty and outdated. The internet doesn’t work properly: Researchers can’t access the internet from their own laptops but must take turns at clunky old-fashioned desktop computers. They share only one scanner, which can lead to testy exchanges.

The building doesn’t have a loading dock, though new arrivals of documents are delivered regularly. The elevator has broken down for months at a time and electrical wiring is dangling from the walls. The security system isn’t up to modern standards.

Recently, an aging, rusted-out lighting fixture crashed more than 12 feet to the ground, smashing down into an upstairs hallway. It could have been much worse: It could have demolished fragile documents stored beneath it. And luckily it happened at night, or it might have landed on a librarian’s head.

“This is not what we want as the most important guardians of Hawaiʻi’s history,” said Adam Jansen, state archivist. “We are one leak, one fire, one disgruntled employee away from losing everything.”

A new legislative proposal that would potentially expand and modernize the structure, however, is raising questions as well.

Senate Bill 758 would create a task force to focus on the archive’s future.

“It’s way too cramped, too constrained and public safety concerns abound,” said Sen. Angus McKelvey, a Democrat who represents West Maui and one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “The feedback we are getting is that they are running out of room. The problems are going to increase over time. It’s time to get the ball rolling toward making improvements that would serve future archival needs for the next 100 years.”

But some local historians are worried because the bill’s specific wording calls for relocating the archive to some place else on the island. It’s been rumored the archive could be shifted far afield to a more distant location in Māpunapuna or Kapolei.

“It would be inconvenient for people who need to use the bus or come from the outer islands,” said Zita Cup Choy, historian for ʻIolani Palace. “Researchers are dependent on the bus.”

“I think the archives need to stay in downtown Honolulu,” Stephenson said.

That’s because the Hawaiʻi State Archives now serves as a vital hub for historic research of all kinds. The archive is located on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace, almost adjacent to the Andrew Carnegie-financed main branch of the Hawaiʻi State Library, which houses federal documents and the Hawaiʻi and Pacific research section.

Across the street is the Judiciary History Center. Two blocks away is the complex that houses of the Hawaiian Historical Society library and the Hawaiian Mission Houses archive. Just a few blocks away is the Bureau of Conveyances, where land and title records are maintained, which are essential in tracking property transfers and trends in ownership. The facilities, taken together, serve as connected spokes on the wheel of understanding Hawaiʻi’s past.

“This is one of the best historic research complexes we have on the island,” said archaeologist Wendy Tolleson.

Local historians and archaeologists have long bemoaned the state’s decision about two decades ago to move the Hawaiʻi State Historic Preservation Division to Kapolei, which has made doing many kinds of property and land research far more difficult and time-consuming, and also made it more difficult for state archaeologists to effectively participate in civic activities on eastern Oahu.

“It ruined SHPD,” Tolleson said. “People don’t want to drive out there.”

But the bill, as drafted, provides no particular role for the historians or researchers — the people who actually use the space — to participate in the planning and to help decide whether the archive should be rebuilt on the same site, moved close by or relocated entirely.

The bill’s wording calls for the task force to include Jansen, the state archivist, as chair; the state comptroller; a state land administrator and two people to be appointed by Gov. Josh Green, one of whom would be an archivist and the other a real estate or construction expert.

McKelvey, who chairs the Senate Government Operations Committee, said lawmakers are still revising the proposal and that the task force’s membership could be expanded to include historians and genealogical researchers or other regular users of the archive who could add their perspectives. He suggested that people who are interested in the issue should submit testimony to lawmakers about it.

But something needs to be done as soon as possible to improve conditions at the archive, everyone agrees. The fire in Lahaina reminded everybody in the state that precious objects need to be better protected.

“Sooner or later, something is going to have to happen,” said Sen. Stanley Chang, a Democrat who represents District 9, which stretches from Kaimukī to Hawaii Kai, another of the bill’s co-sponsors, noting that “site selection will be very important.”