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 Research Guides

This provides a list of the many online guides to researching the United Nations. While many are composed by universities with UN archival collections, the guides contain very helpful information about catalogs, online resources for researching the UN, and the classification and organization of UN materials. Most of these universities have made many of their depository documents available online. They offer a helpful starting point for researchers anywhere in the world who wish to investigate the rich physical and online materials available on the history of the United Nations.

Official UN Research Guide This guide is designed for researchers and information professionals with an interest in United Nations documentation. It presents an overview of the various types of documents and publications issued by the Organization (e.g., reports, resolutions, meeting records, sales publications, press releases) and gives guidance on how to work with them. The Research Guide also provides information on actions taken by the General Assembly as well as the Security Council and introduces researchers to major fields of UN activities: environment, human rights, international law and peacekeeping.

UNESCO Guide to the Archives of International Organizations This guide supplies extensive information on the various archives that house UN materials.

United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library The library has subject guides to many aspects of the UN, along with a very useful bibliography in French on the United Nations. Further, it has research guides on the special topics of disarmament, environment, human rights, international law, peacekeeping, and the UN budget.

UN List of Depository Libraries Receiving UN Materials This page provides information on the 368 depository libraries in over 135 countries that the UN has designated to receive United Nations materials. The depository library system began in 1946. Visitors may consult these materials for free at any depository library.

American Society of International Law Reports on International Organizations These detailed reports are an excellent starting point for more information on present-day international organizations. Each report is written by members, many of whom cooperate with or have worked in the organization they detail.

Centre for History and Economics Guide to UN Archives Harvard/Cambridge Centre's guide to using archives to research the UN in various countries. Holger Nehring’s guide to UN sources on Germany is particularly detailed.

Columbia Law Library Research Guide This guides contains particularly useful links for research on the most recent history of the UN.

Duke Law Library Research Guide This provides a summary of the six principal organs of the UN and good explanations of the types of UN documents and how to find them.

Duke University Guide to NGOs This guide incudes a useful essay by Peter Willetts on what an NGO is, its structure and operation.

Georgetown Law Library Research Guide Comprehensive research guide on both where to start research on the UN and more detailed print and online resources.

League of Nations at Harvard Harvard holds a vast collection of League of Nations documents and publications. This guide lists useful research tools related to League of Nations material and notes their location.

United Nations at Harvard The research guide provides an excellent overview of starting points for research on the UN, not just at Harvard.

FAO at Harvard The following guide lists some of the most useful research tools related to FAO material whether received on deposit, supplemented by purchase, or found online.

Heidelberg University’s Bibliography on the League of Nations and International Organizations This site provides detailed bibliographies on the League of Nations and International Organizations both before and after World War II.

Indiana University Guide to League of Nations Documents Indiana's guide also contains a timeline, along with lists of primary and secondary sources on the League of Nations.

Mississippi State University Research Guide This is a selective guide designed to assist researchers and students in gaining access to United Nations materials available within the library’s collections and databases, and via the Internet.

Northwestern University Guide to IGOs and NGOs Northwestern houses the publications of approximately 25 intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), a few non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and supporting materials from private publishers.

NYU Guide to Researching the UN on the Internet This guide suggests search techniques for several standard types of queries and organizes the U.N.'s many diverse search tools into resource types. The guide includes an overview of classifications of UN documents and a list of useful links to UN documents available online.

Oxford University Guide to Resources on the United Nations Oxford’s Bodleian Library holds an extensive collection of UN materials, as it has been a depository library for UN materials since 1950.

Stanford Guide to UN Documents Stanford's basic guide outlines well the UN's organizational structure and explains UN document numbers and notations. It also has a guide on UN specialized agencies.

United Nations Intellectual History Project This project seeks to address the UN's intellectual history through a series of books and oral interviews. Details on the website.

Yale Guide to UN Documents Yale's guide provides a good overview of print catalogs and indices, along with online resources to find UN documents and collections.