The fourth and final volume of the Hawaiian National Bibliography, 1780-1900, records the most volatile period in Hawaii's history. American business interests and the desire for a constitutional monarchy were pitted against the desire of the monarchs, King Kaläkaua and Queen Liliuokalani, to strengthen the power of the throne. The convulsions of the 1887 and 1889 revolutions were succeeded by the overthrow of the monarchy on January 17, 1893.

Documents revealing the struggle over annexation, beginning in 1893, and the counterrevolution of 1895 are an important component of this volume. Annexation in 1898 was followed by a two-year period during which functions of government and laws were altered to conform to those of the United States. After the organic act became effective in 1900, vestiges of monarchical Hawaii disappeared and the history of the Territory of Hawaii unfolded.

As with the previous volumes, Volume 4 is a record of printed works touching on some aspect of the political, religious, cultural, or social history of the Hawaiian Islands. A valuable component of this series is the inclusion of newspaper and periodical accounts, and single-sheet publications such as broadsides, circulars, playbills, and handbills. Entries are extensively annotated, and also provided for each are exact title, date of publication, size of volume, collation of pages, number and type of plates and maps, references, and location of copies.