1. The Humanity Information / Libraries Project 2. A model to release essential information 3. Humanity Libraries/ Human Info NGO and its history 4. Collaboration to create CD-ROMS, Contact

The Humanity Libraries Project of the Human Info NGO is a network project of more than 100 partners. Its aim is to provide universal free or low-cost information access through co-operation between UN Agencies, Universities and NGO. 

Enormous amounts of solutions and technical documents are available in many organizations. Some bottlenecks make it difficult for UN agencies or NGO to start dissemination through low cost cd-rom libraries or online libraries. Following resources and solutions are now available to all : 

1. The hybrid cd-rom/server Greenstone software will be made available free or at very low cost to NGO and agencies via our partner the New Zealand Digital Library research centre. Each cd-rom library is a powerful, user-friendly and Internet compatible search system. It allows simple and instant retrieval of multidisciplinary information

2. The very important problem of copyright restrictions can be solved through a copyleft system

3. The distribution problem can be tackled through co-operation in an open non-profit network between donors, UN agencies, Universities and NGO

4. Peer review, feedback mechanisms and regular updating guarantee editorial quality

5. Documents must be made available in digital form. A low cost logistic unit to digitize information at 1/3 of commercial cost is available,

UN Agencies and NGO are invited to join the Humanity Libraries Project, to share information and publications, to support cd-rom creation and free distribution to developing countries, or to copy us and to use our know-how. Please contact us for more information.

It can be fairly estimated that 1/3, or about 20 million pages of UN, and as much University and NGO material are very useful. Those 20 million pages useful UN publications probably contain about 50% of solutions for major World problems. This information must be released in digital format for non-profit redistribution in all countries.

This is technically feasable within 12 to 18 months. The Humanity Development Library for Sustainable Development and Basic Human Needs edited by the Human Info NGO/ Humanity Libraries Project contains +/- 0.5 to 1% of this -mainly NGO- material or the equivalent of 1.230 publications/ 160.000 pages / 340 kg of useful books and newsletters on a single CD-ROM of 25 grammes. It is available free online on http://media.payson.tulane.edu:8083 and soon on many servers in developed and developing countries. It is also available free or at very low cost (2.5 to 6 US$ per cd-rom) for redistribution in developing countries. 

Thus the HDL is a model for a collaborative non-profit information resource developed at low cost and made available to all. We invite UN agencies, NGO and Universities to copy this concept and to disseminate their information in a similar way to developing countries. 

Once a critical distribution mass is reached and copyrights restrictions lifted, this knowledge will be partially translated, reviewed, transformed and complemented by local universities and interpreters. This will help many people to access solutions to meet their basic human needs.

The goal of this project is to help as many people as possible access essential information to help themselves and to help other people. The core is an attitude of caring and sharing, and love and solidarity beyond borders and beliefs.

Please visit the details page to learn more about the history and other details about this project. The Humanity Libraries Project was an independent department within NGO Global Help Projects till 2000. In order to fulfill our goal of helping and serving our fellow humanitarian and social entrepreneurs around the world better, the need arose to become a separate NGO: Humanity Libraries/ Human Info NGO under the direction of Dr Michel Loots, MD. We are now exclusively focused on humanitarian projects of which this information dissemination project.

Our sprit and leading principle is the same which leads and inspires the millions of social and humanitarian entrepreneurs around the world (already since countless generations) and with whom we feel intensively connected. We want to empower and link those persons who are lead by the heart and who try to help achieve a better world as efficiently and kindly as possible for themselves and others, whilst naturally (as an inner ethical attitude) preserving the rights and liberties of every being.

Thus this Humanity Libraries/ Human Info NGO project is providing networking and the best information and knowledge via humanitarian libraries, amongst others to those many persons and organisations with a high social and humanitarian leverage effect. Our trust is that if this happens on a sufficiently large scale, empowerment of the dispersed and under-activated goodwill energy around the world via appropriate information will become a main factor for the survival, development and happiness of Humanity.

We entered in cooperation agreements with tens of UN organisations and NGO, with as main partners the Payson Center of Tulane University, and World Informatin Transfer NGO, through which we are part of CONGO (Conference of NGO's associated with the United Nations) and NGO's in consultative status with ECOSOC.

4. Collaboration to create CD-ROMS, Contacts and Web Site