One for the books

by Eve Warburton

Dr. Pamela Graham directs Columbia’s Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research, one of the largest in the country. / Eve Wharburton

Columbia University’s Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research (CHRDR) is home to a critical mass of human rights documents. Much of the collection consists of archives dating back to the 1970s from leading international organizations, including Amnesty International-USA, Human Rights Watch and, most recently, the Committee to Protect Journalists. At 7,000 linear feet, this is among the largest human rights archives in the country.

Over the past two years Dr. Pamela Graham, Director of Area Studies and CHRDR, and her team have managed the processing of over 1,000 linear feet of documents and created new finding aids for interested researchers. The result is that a unique collection, once hidden away in warehouses, has now become a heavily utilized archive in Columbia’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Usage rates are on the rise, which Dr. Graham attributes to online finding aids that enable researchers to grasp the nature and density of the data stored within the collection.

According to Dr. Graham, “research in the human rights field has become increasingly focused on studying human rights organizations and the efficacy of advocacy, rather than looking at particular events or abuses.” This interest in how human rights organizations function has also meant a larger focus on their tools of communication and the Internet as a key space for advocacy. “As the Internet ages, librarians and researchers are more and more aware of the need to preserve web material and websites as objects of research, both in this field and beyond,” she said.

Under the leadership of Dr. Graham and Robert Wolven, Associate University Librarian for Bibliographic Services and Collection Development, CHRDR is currently undertaking a unique project to archive human rights websites from around the world, with a particular emphasis on sites considered “at risk” of disappearing. With support from the Mellon Foundation, the Human Rights Web Archive project is being launched and developed in partnership with the Internet Archive, an organization that works to preserve Internet sources and sites. In order to “capture” relevant websites, the project draws upon the expertise and language skills of librarians from across a range of disciplines at Columbia. However, Dr. Graham also emphasizes the important role of researchers, scholars, students and advocates in identifying useful and relevant websites for the archive. “The project uses a combination of Columbia and external expertise” says Dr. Graham, “and we welcome nominations of websites from the public.”

To date, the project has harvested the content from 285 web sites, with contributions from over 150 organizations. The information collected thus far is accessible through Internet Archive at http://www.archive-it.org/public/collection.html?id=1068. The project is still in the early stages of what will be an ongoing process, and Columbia Library is currently exploring an alternative interface with more powerful search options.

This archive will complement Columbia’s expertise in the field of human rights, but the need to preserve web materials is important across many disciplines, and according to Dr. Graham, “This initiative is the beginning of a broader plan for Columbia Libraries.”

Published in RightsNews Volume 29, no. 1, October, 2010.
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