Hello Tactical Bloggers,

I would like to thank to Phillipe for excellent summary of tactical notebook on libraries and human rights. Think about librarain as you will think about your dentist, shoemaker, baker...They are solving your needs. Librarians are here to solve information needs of users. Phillipe excerpted seven ways of assistance that librarians can offer. I would like to give you an example that really illustrates that enormous need.

"A company librarian was told by a chemist in a steel rolling mill about an xperiment which had solved a problem at a cost of $10,000. The librarian told him that the Germans had previously conducted the same experiment, arriving at the same conclusions, and that their report was on file. This report on shelf probably cost less than $5 when purchased; it brought the total cost of data to $10,005." (Janet Ahrensfeld, 1986)

This colorful example demonstrates savings. Not only money savings, but also time savings, workload...

And as Olivia Crosby said "Sorting data, finding answers, understanding what we need to know — these professionals are on the cutting edge. They use technology to manage knowledge."

It is time to get one librarian...

Some people like to hoard power AND information. But sharing information means that it grows and gains in power. (of course, so does power if the power is benign, democratic and participatory). 

There is so much information around nowadays that the challenge is HOW to organize it and HOW  to ensure that the people who can best use it, get it.  New Tactics notebooks do a wonderful job of sharing information in a way that makes it useful to human rights activists globally. Librarians are crucial to this work - and they can inspire young people - my daughter's elementary school librarian encouraged her innate love of books and sent her in all the right directions. Now she knows how to ask for information, who to ask and, hopefully, how to use it effectively.

The Human Rights center in Sarajevo does fabulous work that is part of the healing process in Bosnia. Let's train and fund more librarians! 

Philippe's comments about his memories of librarians as a youth are very similar to my own memories as a child. But I always had a tremendous passion for books - being able to dive into another time, reality, and really feel that I am in that world. Books continue to be one of my choice avenues for rest and regeneration.

I am also of an age when research meant having to go to the library and search about a topic through the card catelogues. I certainly needed the wonderful assistance of librarians to help me understand how to interpret the information on the cards and then to go find the actual document or information I was looking for in the book stacks in the library. But this provided me with a sense of power too, that I knew how to find the information I needed.

Sasa's concluding quote about libriarians "use technology to manage knowledge" got me thinking about the many kinds of "technology experts" we have today. Although there is access to so much information on the world-wide web, it can, in fact, make finding the information you really need more difficult. I find myself drowning in information and much of it not relevant to what I'm really looking for.

This makes me think of a great organization in India, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), which pioneered and worked together with a broad coalition of organizations in “right to information” work. They have used the simple, "Right to Know is the Right to Live" slogan to help grassroots illiterate populations as well as the educated to win remarkable victories against corruption at the village and national levels. (to read more about their work, visit the New Tactics Database (http://database.newtactics.org/NewTactics/CaseList.aspx ) or use this link to read an article about their work: http://www.freedominfo.org/features/20040630.htm

Human rights organizations serve a tremendous role in ensuring that the gap between the have's and have not's in terms of access to information does not grow wider. Human rights organizations and librarians may be finding even more pressing demands upon their time and resources to provide the bridge to those who don't have access to computers, the internet and even basic education. This may be especially the case as more people, institutions, governments, etc believe that libraries - and therefore librarians - are becoming obsolete because people can just access information, news, and communications via the internet. How can we use technology, and those with expertise in the information fields, to provide this bridge more effectively?

I really like Phillipe’s opening words as well! They remind me that in a 2003 speech given by Canadian author and activist Naomi Klein (who wrote NO LOGO and THE SCHOCK DOCTRINE) at the Joint American Library Association/Canadian Library Association Conference [the year of SARS - remember that], she talked about “Why Being a Librarian is a Radical Choice”. She said: “When I look out at this room I see people who represent values that are distinctly different from the ones that currently govern the globe.  These values are, in no particular order: Knowledge (as opposed to mere information gathering); Public Space (as opposed to commercial or private space); and Sharing (as opposed to buying and selling). It so happens that those are three of the most endangered and embattled values you could have chosen to represent.  If you decided to represent “profit” or “global competitiveness” your lives would be easy.  But you didn’t and the very notion that that some things that are so important that cannot be fully owned and contained is under siege around the world.” Full speech is found here: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles7/Klein_Librarian.htm

To date, individuals in more than 30 different countries have accessed the online abstract posted for my new book on Librarianship and Human Rights - posted on E-LIS (an open access archive for scientific or technical documents, published or unpublished, on Librarianship, Information Science and Technology, and related areas). The book is forthcoming out of Buenos Aires in 2008 in a special Latin American edition in Spanish translation. Even just one library and info worker in one country at a time can make a difference. And I think there is a momentum building each day for the human rights pushes worldwide within the LIS community.  The numerous strategies at play for social action connect to elements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) that relate particularly to core library values, information ethics, and global information justice.  These elements include (but are not limited to): Respect for the dignity of human beings (Art. 1); Confidentiality (Art. 1, 2, 3, 6); Equality of opportunity (Art. 2, 7); Privacy (Art. 3, 12); Right to be protected from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Art. 5); Right to own property (Art. 17); Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Art. 18); Right to freedom of opinion and expression (Art. 19); Right to peaceful assembly and association (Art. 20); Right to economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for dignity and the free development of personality (Art. 22); Right to education (Art. 26); Right to participate in the cultural life of the community (Art. 27); Right to the protection of the moral and material interests concerning any scientific, literary or artistic production (Art. 27).Not to mention, we need to think about pushes for action on the right to communicate, to natural resources, and to participation in humankind’s heritage.See: http://eprints.rclis.org/es/index.php?action=show_detail_eprint&id=9208

Human Rights Archives and Documentation: Meeting the Needs of Research, Teaching, Advocacy and Social Justice. October 4-6, 2007. Columbia University, New York, New York, USA. Sponsored by the Centre for Human Rights Documentation and Research and Center for the Study of Humans Rights @ Columbia University, The Center for Research Libraries/Global Resources Network, and the University of Texas Libraries. This conference includes sessions concerning Human Rights Documentation including current approaches, grassroots activities and new forms of documentation, legal uses of documentation, and academic approaches.Keynote Address: A conversation with Juan Méndez, President of the International Center for Transitional Justice; former UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. Attendance at the conference is free but registration is required. More Information

Thanks for all of your very interesting comments.

As databases, applications and resources are created it is extremely important to involve librarians and people trained in the library sciences. These are the folks who understand knowledge management, taxonomy, categories, indexing and similar concepts. For instance, Google is a great search engine. And it's even better if you know the right search words and how to put them together to find what you need. It's the librarians who are going to help up index, catalog, search and retrieve the vast amounts of information quickly becoming available at the click of a mouse.

Many years ago there was a phrase that was often repeated in business management -- Information is Power Now, in the twenty-first century, the saying has changed into -- Sharing Information is Power

I think the new saying is absolutely true. That's why it's very exciting to see the worlds of Human Rights, Information Technology and Library Science working together. There are so many ways in which these groups can be enriched and empowered by sharing resources and information.

One of the emerging technologies that can help make this possible is the Open Source movement. The open source community has recently developed software for use in library management, called Koha. It is the first open-source Integrated Library System (ILS). In use worldwide, Koha's development is steered by a growing community of libraries collaborating to achieve their technology goals. It's impressive feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its user base. [ http://www.koha.org ]

If you have not heard of Open Source before, here's a bit about it from the Wikipedia website:  Open source is a set of principles and practices that promote access to the design and production of goods and knowledge. The term is most commonly applied to the source code of software that is available to the general public with relaxed or non-existent intellectual property restrictions. This allows users to create software content through incremental individual effort or through collaboration.  [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source ]

There are also many exciting databases that are going online as websites that can be searched by anyone. One of these is TANDIS, the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System. This databases serves as a collection point for information related to tolerance and non-discrimination on the basis of information received from the participating States, civil society and intergovernmental organizations. The purpose is to share and promote practical initiatives and to provide information and raise awareness on issues related to tolerance and non-discrimination this website has been made available to the public. [ http://tandis.odihr.pl ]

Denise Dreher Information Systems Administrator Center for Victims of Torture

If you have time, check out the Information for Social Change (ISC) website and the journal of the same name. The last ISC journal issue addressed  libraries and information in the World Social Forum context and the upcoming issue (about to be published any day now) is on the theme of library and information work in conflict situations. Creative contributions acome from many corners of the world!See: http://libr.org/isc/

I would like to reccommend book: (it is little bit old :) but still usefull! And its free...

Redesigning Library Services: A Manifesto Michael Buckland Published in 1992 by the American Library Association. ISBN 0-8389-0590-0.

"This is a useful book because it is practical and an important book because it will color the way in which we see libraries. It is a wonderful antidote to the nihilism that has been induced in some by technological change. It affirms the importance of libraries and shows us how we can have faith in the future of libraries without taking refuge in nostalgia. It is, in the very best sense of the terms, progressive and forward-looking." - From the Foreword by Michael Gorman.

"Libraries for All :  How to Start and Run a Small Library" is a practical, hands-on guide to establishing and managing a library in a developing country. It is intended to be used by community leaders, librarians, library committees, aid workers and anyone who is interested in the practical aspect of starting and maintaining a successful library.

Many of these often have no formal training in library science and must overcome enormous difficulties in compiling collections of resources that enrich their communities. The manual focuses on issues that the community and the library founder need to address before establishing a library as well as providing practical information on getting established and managing the library. It contains a list of "action steps" at the end of each part summarizing what needs to be done at each stage of planning and running a library. To ensure its relevance in developing countries, it has been reviewed and field tested in eleven countries.

The document was made possible by funding within the framework of the UNESCO Network of Associated Libraries (UNAL), which is dedicated to promoting international co-operation and understanding between libraries and was prepared by one its members the World Library Partnerships (WLP). An HTML version is available from the WLP website at http://RTPnet.org/~wlp/lfa/1cover.htm

Libraries for all: how to start and run a basic library / prepared by Laura Wendell [for the General Information Programme and UNISIST]. - Paris : UNESCO, 1998. - v, 108p.; 30 cm. -(CII/INF-98/WS/08) (Full text in RTF)

How to set-up and run a Documentation / Resource Centre

Excerpt from the website of ALADIN (Adult Learning Documentation and Information Network), UNESCO Institute of Education.

Below you will find some of the links, and full list is available here 

While there are no specific how-to-do manuals for adult education centres available online, we have listed several sources that can be useful to NGOs planning to run their own resource or documentation center. This section includes also links to training materials and courses in library and information technology.

For Starters…Guidelines on Library Management, UN Library Network www.un.org/Depts/dhl/sflib/libmgnt/starters/starters.htm

A manual on the management of UN document collections. Maintained by the UN Small and Field Libraries Network includes descriptions of the UN documentation, indexes to it, and guidelines and procedures on classification, organizing of publications and documents, retention, loans etc. There are also sections with suggestions on answering to reference queries, and sections dealing with documentation in other forms (CDs, films, radio programmes, photographs).

Resource Centre Manual : How to set up and manage a resource centre  www.healthlink.org.uk/PDFs/resource-centre-manual.pdf Resource Centre Manual : How to set up and manage a resource centre. – London : Healthlink Worldwide, 2003. – 266p.

This manual contains practical information on all aspects of setting up and managing a resource centre, from planning, fundraising and finding a suitable location, to collecting and organising materials, developing information services, managing databases and websites, and monitoring and evaluating the work of the resource centre.

Sharing Knowledge for Community Development and Transformation www.oxfam.qc.ca/html_en/publications_en/sharing_knoledge.html (full text)

Mchombu, Kingo J.: Sharing Knowledge for Community Development and Transformation. 2nd ed. – Ottawa: Oxfam Canada, 2004. – 104 p.

This handbook is designed for men and women who don´t have any information management skills. It is for those who don´t have experiences in library work, for people who want to learn about information, knowledge and development. You will learn how to identify, collect and provide access to the information that assists and supports community transformation. The handbook is the product of training and discussion, of questions and answers, shared by those working in development. It is also a statement of confidence in and support for rural people. But it not only tries to provide some ideas on “how to do it”. It first discusses some theories and ideas in a language aimed at ordinary people.

Contact for a copy: Oxfam Canada, 880 Wellington Street Suite 400, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7, Canada Tel: (613) 237-5236 or Fax: (613) 237 0524 or e-mail: info [at] oxfam [dot] ca

Where there is no Librarian: An Information Management Manual Maya, E. W. and Macharia, D.: Where there is no Librarian : an Information Management Manual. – Nairobi : Environmental Liaison Centre International, 1992. – 92p.

Information management manual that describes in detail everything from how to classify and catalogue materials and store them properly to how to write project proposals to get the funding to do it.

Contact for a copy: Environmental Liaison Centre International, PO Box 72461, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254-2-576114/576779 or Fax: +254-2-576125 or e-mail: herineo [at] elci [dot] org%20or

Falls Brook Centre, 125 South Knowlesville Road, Knowlesville, New Brunswick E7L 1B1, Canada Tel: 506-375-8143 or 375-4310 or Fax: 506-375-4221 or e-mail: ja [at] fallsbrookcentre [dot] ca

Hello Sasa,

Thanks for your inputs and resources.

Certainly after we have now convinced them that appointing a librarian can actually save money, all managers that subscribe to the list will jump to appoint a librarian, or an additional librarian. Maybe we can help them on the way and list the main characteristics of the ideal librarian?

I will make a start - the ideal librarian:

- has knowledge about the contents of the topics that her or his library covers

- follows ongoing technological developments which could be used in the library

- is service-oriented and takes initiatives in contacting present and potential users of the library

- has the necessary practical skills to carry out the daily tasks: cataloguing, classification, ordering of publications, management of loans

- monitors and evaluates the use made of the libary.

Of course, others can contribute as well!

Bert

www.huridocs.org

Being a librarian can at times be a lonely job. Fortunately, in various countries there exists platforms and meetings where librarians can exchange experiences and learn from best practices.

For librarians and documentation workers working in human rights organisations and institutes in Europe, there is the annual meeting of the European Coordination Committee on Human Rights Documentation. The meeting consists of presentations of new tools and techniques for information and documentation work. There is sufficient space for thematic groups and informal gathering.

It usually takes place in spring and is attended by an average of 30-40 persons. Every year, it is hosted by another institution - the most recent meeting was held by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, Sweden, but we have also been from Barcelona to St. Petersburg, from Bucharest to London.

For more information, see http://www2.law.uu.nl/english/sim/library/ecchrd/ecchrd.html

During the 90s, there was a similar network / meeting in North America, but unfortunately it is no longer taking place. There are also networks in other continents, but their meetings are less frequent. See http://www.huridocs.org/involved/networks

Bert

www.huridocs.org

I think both the concept of intellectual freedom and of social responsibility are essential topics to discuss when interviewing a librarian for your organization. 

The below 10 point program reflects some common concerns asserted by  progressive librarians, who often consider the human condition above other professional concerns. A librarian already working within the critical or progressive library movement, is a likely candidate to take on the challenges of library and information work within the context of a human rights organization.

And also see:

Progressive Archivists “Progressive Archivists is a discussion group and caucus for archivists (and anyone else) interested in social responsibility in the context of the archival profession.”

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility “A public-interest alliance concerned about the impact of computer technology on society. Members provide the public and policymakers with realistic assessments of the power, promise, and limitations of computer technology.”

Ten point program presented to the groups which met at the  

Vienna Conference of progressive librarians sponsored by

KRIBIBIE

We shall work towards an international agenda as the basis of common action of librarians everywhere actively committed, as librarians, to social justice, equality, human welfare, and  the development of cultural democracy.

We will unite librarians and information workers in opposition to the marketization of public goods, to privatization of social resources and to outsourcing of services and will oppose international treaties and institutions which advance destructive neo-liberal policies.

3.     We insist upon the equality of access to and inclusiveness of information services, especially extending such services to the poor, marginalized and discriminated against, including the active solidarity-based provision of information assistance to these groups and their advocates in their struggles.

4.       

We shall  encourage the exploration of alternative models of human services; promote and disseminate critical analysis of information technology's  impact on libraries and societies; and support the fundamental democratization of existing institutions of education, culture, communications.

5.     We shall undertake joint, interdisciplinary research into fundamental library issues (e.g. into the political economy of information in the age of neo-liberalism and corporate globalization)  in order to lay the basis for effective action in our spheres of work.

6.       

We will support cooperative collection, organization and preservation of the documents of people's struggles and the making available of alternative materials representing a wide range of progressive viewpoints often excluded as resources  from the debates of our times.

7.     We will investigate and  organize efforts to make the library-as-workplace more democratic and encourage resistance to  the managerialism of the present library culture.

8.       

We will lead in promoting international solidarity among librarians and cooperation between libraries across borders on the basis of  our joint commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related covenants  which create a democratic framework for constructive cooperative endeavours.

9.     We will organize in common with other cultural and educational progressives, to help put issues of social responsibility on the agendas of international bodies such as IFLA and UNESCO.

10.     

        We shall oppose corporate globalization which, despite its claims, reinforces existing social, economic, cultural inequalities, and insist on a democratic globalism and internationalism which respects and cultivates cultural plurality, which recognizes the sovereignty of peoples, which acknowledges the obligations of society to the individual and communities, and which prioritizes  human values and needs over profits.

Source: http://libr.org/plg/10-point.php

Library and information workers, especially those working in isloation, should identify and learn about local, provincial, national, and international library and information groups, from the elite such as the international federation of library associations and institutions (IFLA) www.ifla.org to the  grassroots such as  the Progressive African Library & Information Activists’ Group (PALIACT) http://www.seapn.org.uk/PALIAct-new.html]

This goes back to the sharing ethic mentioned earlier on this blog.

Shiraz Durrani cautions that “while IFLA has done and can do a lot of good work, it remains a representative body of official Library Associations around the world, and most of them are conservative, establishment-orientated bodies.  One cannot expect IFLA to be a radical organisation for change in the interest of working people around the world.  But it is not necessary to have one or the other (IFLA or alternative, progressive organisations).  There is room for both types of organisations.  They may work together sometimes and have contradictions at other times; ­this is a healthy state of affairs.  At the same time, I think there is an urgent need for alternative progressive organisations” if libraries are to become “more relevant to the majority of people.”  Indeed, around the world, critical librarians engage in persuasion and consensus building through a diverse array of measures such as petitions, manifestos, resolutions, rallies, boycotts, alternative conference programs, publishing, lobbying, and daily information exchange to address historical inequities. 

Duranni, Shiraz. Submission to Culture, Media and Sport Committee (Session 2003-04.  26 October 2004. New Inquiry: Public Libraries. 19 November 2004), 1.

Thanks everyone for a wonderful discussion so far! I’d like to add a bit more from the perspective of the Benetech, where we work closely with human rights organizations to help them document human rights situations.

As you read this post, I encourage you to think about information management and security as critical components of the task of documenting human rights violations, and ultimately of librarianship.

The challenge: human rights and social justice groups throughout the world gather and collect large amounts of data, yet these organizations often lack the resources to document human rights violations systematically and securely.

The information gathered by these groups was done so at great risk to themselves and to those whose stories they document, but it remains on paper or in insecure electronic formats. The result is that rich, raw information remains vulnerable to theft and destruction. Often these formats prevent the information from being effectively shared; worse, critical documentation is often lost to viruses, computer theft, neglect and staff turnover.

Lost information is a problem with far-reaching implications. Social justice organizations know that timely, accurate data distribution is one of their most powerful weapons against human rights violations. NGOs gather information to draw attention to the circumstances of victims, pressure perpetrators and encourage judicial accountability. They also use field data to focus media attention and help deliver justice in the form of truth commissions and tribunals. Without the collection and use of such information, human rights campaigns have limited chance of success.

As Ben noted, the Benetech Human Rights program has developed a tool called Martus, a free, secure information management tool. Martus allows users to create a searchable database that is highly customizable. The user can develop standardized, customized templates for data entry, and share information with other Martus users. It is flexible enough to allow sharing between a network of field offices spread around the world, as well as between two co-workers in the same office. Information can be shared securely (so that the information is kept private) or made widespread and publicly viewable via a Martus Search Engine.

Martus is used by a diverse array of organizations, ranging from small NGOs to large archive projects. Each has taken advantage of both the customizability of Martus as well as the high level of security afforded by the tool. We work closely with partners to develop an understanding of the information they have and craft a structure of organization and data management. In this way, not only is the information collection guaranteed a level of consistency and detail, but the information becomes manageable. This also makes it more likely that meaningful human rights data analysis can be done at a later point.

Another key aspect of human rights documentation, as Bert noted, is the highly sensitive nature of the information involved. Increasingly, the computers of human rights organizations are targeted by those who wish to destroy the information. Martus has a high level of security built in. It automatically encrypts all information on the local computer, and backs it up to remote servers each time you connect to the internet. Because of this, even if your computer is stolen by people who hope to access your data, all they get is encrypted 'bits and bytes', and because Martus has backed up your data, it's not lost to your organization. As an example, one of our partners in Colombia had her laptop stolen at gunpoint. Martus worked in two ways: first, she could be sure that the thieves were unable to access the sensitive information on her laptop, and second, her organization was able to retrieve her data from the servers where it had been backed up.

An example of a large Martus project is the Guatemala National Police Archives project. In 2005, the archives of the (now disbanded) Guatemalan National Police were discovered in an abandoned warehouse. The warehouse was packed with over 80 million pages of documentation, including papers, books, photographs and floppy disks. Some of the content dated back to the 1880s. The archives were damaged by years of exposure to rainwater, animal droppings and decay. As the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman’s office works to clean the documents and understand their contents, they are using Martus as a customizable database that allows the data to be structured in multiple ways, in preparation for later data analysis. The Martus team at Benetech has worked closely with the archive team to develop the customization structure and plan for analysis. To date, they have have created over 30, 000 bulletins and backed them up over the internet to secure servers outside of the country.

Each human rights organization is unique, and has a unique collection of information. Our goal is to help them collect, organize and manage their data, while ensuring that it won’t be destroyed, whether by neglect, malicious intent, or any number of other causes.

Read more about the Guatemala National Police Archives project here: http://www.hrdag.org/about/guatemala-police_arch_project.shtml

You can download Martus for free here: www.martus.org

Since Martus is based on open source technology, each improvement to the software benefits all users who can download the latest release for free. Our partners and programmers in the open source community are welcome to examine the Martus software code to ensure trust and transparency.