Libraries Plus Cloud Computing Equals Human Rights

Governments have an incentive to hide information. Librarians are the defenders of free data. In this presentation, Al Cordle, Faculty Department Chair at Portland Community College Library, and Antony Falco, COO of Basho Technologies, outline a revolutionary architecture for open source software to promote democracy. Corporate and government information is currently hidden due to bureaucratic obstacles and costs. Academics and other librarians can use technology to make human rights documents available to the general public. Traditional database technologies, controlled by three Fortune 50 companies, profit from the retrieval and storage of information. Companies like Basho enable ordinary citizens to share information. As librarians, we can collaborate with open source companies to promote democracy by unlocking previously inaccessible information. We will issue a rallying cry to librarians and open source companies to collaborate and ensure government transparency using free or inexpensive software.