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The Human Rights Centre at the University of Sarajevo focuses on improving access to information among human rights advocates.  They built a strong information system and central role for an information specialist or librarian.  The utilization of this information system and information specialist’s skills allowed other staff to better, and more productively, focus on their core programmatic missions.

Establishing a library or documentation unit within human rights organizations can facilitate the flow of information, manage confidential documents, chronicle the history of the organization, and improve day-to-day operations.  Key elements of this tactic include the involvement of a skilled librarian or information specialist, an organized physical space, a core collection of materials, and appropriate software and other information technology.  

Human rights librarians have particular skills to offer a human rights organization.  They have sufficient knowledge in the field of human rights information and documentation as well as technology.  The role of the librarian is to acquire and evaluate materials in relation to the core mission of the organization, organize the materials for efficient use, and disseminate the materials within the organization.  This last role involves working closely with staff to sort and prioritize information.

In addition to the involvement of a qualified human rights librarian, it is important to have sufficient space to organize materials and provide for interaction between staff and the librarian.  At a minimum, a documentation center includes space for the librarian’s office needs, including a networked computer, as well as shelving and file units to organize materials.  The core collection of books and other resources depends on the mission and scale of the organization.  In general, an organization will try to include information essential to its present and future programs.

Finally, an efficient documentation center will have appropriate software and an internet connection to allow the librarian to freely access information.  In order to effectively access information and monitor use of information within the organization, the librarian should minimally have software that allows for cataloguing, classification, indexing and generating bibliographies.  

The experience of the Human Rights Centre at the University of Sarajevo demonstrates that institutional strengthening tactics applied inside an organization improve the way human rights practitioners do their work and what they can do.  Organizations that use their resources effectively can more effectively advance human rights work. The Human Rights Centre works nationally and internationally in cooperation with similar institutes to contribute to the realization of human rights through information and documentation.  Although the Human Rights Centre is now a fairly large and relatively well-funded organization, nearly any group doing human rights work could apply this organizational strengthening tactic.