United Nations Documents in the Penn State University Libraries
The Collections | Indexes | UN call numbers | Statistical Resources | Internet Resources | Research Guides
The United Nations and the U.S. Congress
The Collections
The Penn State University Libraries have a large collection of United Nations documents from the main bodies of the United Nations including the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International court of Justice, and the Secretariat. Materials include:
- Masthead Documents
records of the main working sessions. Avaiilable on microfiche in the Social Sciences Library Microforms Collection. To locate specific documents in the collection, use the Web-based database AccessUN (available to persons with a Penn State Access Account) - Official Records
available in paper format in the International Documents section of 2nd Floor Paterno Library Stacks. - sales publications
from the Secretariat and many UN agencies. Since 1986, these documents have been cataloged and can be located using the CAT.
Pre-1986 UN documents and publications can be identified through specialized print indexes in the Social Sciences Library Reference Collection. Some publications may also be identified through electronic indexes. Ask at the Social Sciences Library Reference Desk (2nd Floor Paterno Library) for assistance.
The paper collection is supplemented by the United Nations Documents and Publications collection from the READEX Microprint Corporation, filed in the Social Sciences Library Microforms Collections, 2nd Floor Paterno Library. This is a comprehensive collection of United Nations documents, including restricted and limited distribution documents. For the years 1946-1981 the collection is in microcard format. Since 1982 the documents have been received in microfiche. Consult with the Social Sciences Library staff for location and filing information.
While some United Nations documents are cataloged and accessible through the CAT the majority of the collection is accessible only through the specialized indexes and abstracts available in the Social Sciences Library.
Indexes
- AccessUN
Web-based index to UN documents from 1966 to the present. Contains some full-text resolutions and links to official UN web resources. Available to researchers with a Penn State Access Account. - Index to United Nations Documents and Publications [CD-ROM]
This index is produced by the Readex Corporation and is designed to correspond to their microfiche collection. It covers materials from 1983 to the present. - UNDOC : current index : United Nations documents index
The print index to all publications from the United Nations from 1979-1996.
In addition, each of the major UN bodies produces print indexes as part of the Official Records series. These indexes are shelved in the International Documents section of 2nd Floor Paterno Library Stacks. The Subject Index and Corporate Index sections allow access by country name and topic and will refer to letters and speeches from specific countries.
- Economic and Social Council Official Records. Supplement
- Official Records. Supplement (United Nations General Assembly)
- Official Records / Proces-verbaux officiels / Nations unies, Conseil de Sécurité (United Nations Security Council)
- Index to Proceedings of the Trusteeship Council
United Nations Call Numbers
The working documents and many sales publications are filed by United Nations Series Symbol, an agency-based classification system. The United Nations series symbols reflect both the body which produces the document as well as the type of publication it is. The symbols are composed of capitol letters, combined with Arabic numerals. Roman numerals when used designate the number of the session. A slash (/) separates the components of the symbol.
The first letter(s) indicates the main organ of the United Nations to which the document was submitted:
A/ - General Assembly
E/ - Economic and Social Council
S/ - Security Council
T/ - Trusteeship Council
ST/ - Secretariat
Special symbols have also been designed for certain subsidiary organs of the United Nations, for instance:
CCPR/ - Human Rights Committee
TD/ - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNEP/ - United Nations Environment Programme
After the first slash, the second series of symbols indicates the sub-body within the main organ which produced the document:
...AC./ - Ad Hoc Committee or similar body
.../C./ - Standing, permanent, main committee
.../CN./ - Commission
.../CONF./ - Conference
.../GC./ - Governing Council
.../PC./ - Preparatory Committee
.../SC./ - Subcommittee
.../Sub./ - Subcommission
.../WG./ - Working Group
.../WP./ - Working Party
Subsidiary bodies are given an Arabic numeral which usually is assigned in order of their establishment. The General Assembly main committees, for example, may be identified by the following symbols:
A/C.1/ - First Committee (political and security)
A/C.2/ - Second Committee (economic and financial)
A/C.3/ - Third Committee (social, humanitarian and cultural)
A/C.4/ - Fourth Committee (trusteeship)
A/C.5/ - Fifth Committee (administrative and budgetary)
A/C.6/ - Sixth Committee (legal)
A/SPC/ - Special Political Committee
The following letters are added to the basic series symbols to denote the nature of the document. Examples:
.../INF/ - information series
.../L. - limited distribution documents
.../MIN. - minutes
.../NGO/ - statements by nongovernmental organizations
.../PC/ - preparatory committee
.../PET/ - petitions
.../PV./ - verbatim records
.../RES./ - mimeographed texts of adopted resolutions
.../SR./ - summary records of meetings
.../WG./ - working group
.../WP./ - working paper
For more detailed information, see United Nations Documentation : Research Guide
Statistical Publications
The United Nations produces many statistical publications. The most notable are:
- Statistical Yearbook / Annuaire statistique (United Nations Statistical Division)
Contains a wide range of data, by country, on population, education, industry, finance, energy, environment, and forestry. - Demographic yearbook / Annuaire démographique (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Statistical Office)
Contains a wide range of social and economic data, by country. - UN Statistical Division
Web site offers online publications and some free access to statistical databases. - UNSTATS
UNSTATS provides data on a wide range of social and economic data series from 30 specialized international intergovernmental agencies including POPIN, World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, UNICEF, and WHO. Data can be displayed in HTML or downloaded in Excel or CSV format.
The Index to International Statistics provides detailed indexing and abstracting of the full range of UN statistical publications as well as the statistical publications of other intergovernmental organizations. Current issues available via LexisNexis Statistical.
Internet Resources
Internet Resources are important for locating information from the United Nations. Resources include the full text of press releases; resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, and Economic and Social Council; key documents from UN agencies and major conferences; and speeches of UN officials and Heads of State. Check the following sites for the most current information on United Nations activities:
- The United Nations Web site home page
- The United Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBISNET)
provides access to documentation published by the United Nations and about the United Nations from 1979 to the present. - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
provides access to a wide range of up-to-date information from and about the United Nations. - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
maintains one of the most comprehensive set of links to United Nations agencies on the Internet as well as other sites related to international affairs. - The UN International Computing Centre
also maintains a comprehensive list of UN Internet Servers.
In addition, other colleges and universities provide access to information on United Nations information. Two of the most useful are:
- The United Nations Scholar's Workstation at Yale University has a well organized collection of links to United Nations materials.
- United Nations Documents, Stanford University Library.
United Nations
There are many UN and UN-related Web sites. This is a selected list of the key sites.
- UN System Sites
one of the most comprehensive set of links to UN information. - International Computing Centre
the ICC keeps another list of UN and UN-related Internet sites. - Numeric Data for UN Information
via the Yale University Library, MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies - International Court of Justice
the Supreme Judicial Body of the UN - The Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations
maintains a web site that includes Subject Guides to a growing number of topics of interest to United Nations researchers including peacekeeping, UN Reform, and major UN conferences. - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
"UNDP is the United Nations' global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life." - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
"UNEP, established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator, and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment."
Research Guides
- United Nations Research : A Guide
While specifically designed to help Model UN participants, it describes in detail the Libraries' United Nations collections, indexes, and useful secondary source materials and may be useful to general UN research.
Other useful guides are prepared by librarians at other universities. While these are geared toward research at their respective institutions, much of the information is applicable to research at the Penn State Libraries. Four of the most useful guides are:
- United Nations Documents
at the Jonsson Library of Government Documents, Stanford University. - Library Resources and Finding Aids for UN Information
Yale University Libraries, MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, United Nations Scholars Workstation - EISIL (Eletronic Information System for International Law) : United Nations ASIL (American Society for International Law)
"provides an overview of resources for performing UN-related research" - Research Guide : The United Nations
written by Silke Sahl, International, Foreign, and Comparative Law Librarian at the Arthur W. Diamond Law Library, Columbia University School of Law
The United Nations and the U.S. Congress
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Organization Affairs prepares annual Reports for Congress that speak to U.S. views of UN performance:
- Voting Practices in the United Nations
1991-1999 in 2nd Floor Paterno Library Stacks. For reports after 1999, view online at U.S. Department of State. - U.S. Participation in the United Nations
