Columbia University Libraries will become the depository institution for the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Archive, an active collection that documents 25 years, to date, of human rights investigations around the world. It includes administrative files, public relations documents, as well as case and country files. With some exceptions for security considerations, Columbia’s community and the public will have access to field notes, taped and transcribed interviews with alleged victims of human rights violations, video and audio tapes, and other materials documenting the organization’s activities since its founding in 1978 as Helsinki Watch.
“Columbia has a long-standing, expansive, and diverse commitment to human rights, through the School of International and Public Affairs, the Law School, the Center for International Conflict Resolution, and the Center for the Study of Human Rights,” said James Neal, vice president for information services and university librarian. “The HRW Archive will be used extensively in expanding our research and teaching mission in these and other areas of the university where human rights issues are a significant focus.” The archive will be transferred from its present location at the Norlin Library at the University of Colorado, Boulder, to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia in the summer of 2004. The papers will be available for public use after cataloging and processing is completed by a specially appointed curatorial staff and after review by a joint committee of Columbia University Library staff and Human Rights Watch personnel.
