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Northwestern University Libraries has been a Depository for the United Nations since 1947 and also has documents and publications from the League of Nations. Current UN Documents (records of proceedings) are primarily online and available using resources linked to this guide. Publications (e.g. books, journals, and statistical annuals) are frequently online but may also be found using NUSearch. For projects requiring extensive, historical work with UN materials (which NUL has in print, microfiche, and online formats) contact govinfo@northwestern.edu to make an appointment.
The United Nations system of documentation is as complex as the UN system of Organizations. The Regulations for the Control and Limitation of Documentation define documents and publications:
- "A document is a text submitted to a principal organ or a subsidiary organ of the United Nations for consideration by it, usually in connection with item(s) on its agenda."
- "''United Nations publication' refers to any written material which is issued by the United Nations to the general public."
UN Documents are in other words all the papers, meeting records, and official transcipts produced by the UN as it conducts its business. Many other international organizations -- for example the WTO, UNESCO, and the FAO -- also have systems of documentation.
UN Publications are material the UN publishes with the intent of informing the general public and the academic community about its work and issues it wishes to address.
- United Nations YearbookHighly recommended as a starting point for historical research. The Yearbook provides a summary of UN deliberations and actions which include citations to relevant documents.
- United Nations Official Documents System (ODS)Full-text database of United Nations documents since 1993, as well as resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship from 1946.
- United Nations Enterprise SearchSearch across multiple UN content systems including the Official Document System (ODS), Official Administrative System (OAJ), Security Council Repertoire (REP) and UN websites.
- United Nations Digital LibrarySearch & locate official UN documents, speeches, voting records, and open access materials, as well as some maps that in the past were available through UNBISnet and the ODS. Includes materials produced 2004-present.
- UN iLibrary This link opens in a new windowAccess to content through read view only.
The UN iLibrary provides access to books, magazines, and journals published by the UN Secretariat, agencies, funds, and programs dating back to 2013.
- UN Meeting Coverage & Press ReleasesFrom October 1995. Press Releases are not official documents but provide timely information on the current activities of the principal organs and subsidiary bodies, including summaries of meetings.
- UN Member States: On The RecordLinks to standard searches for Member States in UN databases. Searches available for each State include: key documents related to its membership in the UN; statements made before the principal organs; draft resolutions sponsored; periodic reports submitted on Human Rights conventions, and more.
Basic Facts about the United NationsCall Number: ebookPublication Date: 2004This handbook sets forth the structure of the United Nations, how the Organization works, the main issues it deals with and its importance for people worldwide.
Encyclopedia of the United Nations by Call Number: Main Library Reference 341.2303 O83e 2003ISBN: 0415939208Publication Date: 2003, 3rd editionArticles explain essential concepts and philosophies of the UN, peace-keeping activities, along with full coverage of every international treaty since the founding of the League of Nations, with generous quotations or full text for all key treaties, conventions, pacts, protocols, and declarations and every other area of activity the UN addresses.
Great Debates at the United Nations by Call Number: Main Library, 1 East - Reference Section 341.23 G671gISBN: 0313313865Publication Date: 2001The 50 entries are organized in chronological order based on their first appearance on the UN agenda. Each entry consists of four narrative sections: the significance of the issue; the historical, social and economic background of the issue; the history of the UN debate and intervention on the issue and the positions of various nations; and the outcome of the debate. Each entry concludes with a list of suggested further reading. A timeline of events in the history of the UN, a bibliographic essay, a glossary, and a number of appendices including lists of UN world years, UN peacekeeping operations, Secretaries General of the UN and Presidents of the UN General Assembly add reference value to the work.
Historical Dictionary of the United Nations by Call Number: Main Library Reference 341.23 U577ZbISBN: 0810829924Publication Date: 1995-09-12A comprehensive dictionary of the UN's various committees and organizations, its leaders, terms, policies, and major events in which the UN took part.
The United Nations System and Its PredecessorsCall Number: Law Library Law Library: Stacks I,MON JZ5566 .U54 1997ISBN: 0198764480Publication Date: 1997This two-volume set, reproducing key official documents in the history of the UN and League of Nations provides access to the legal bases of international organizations.
Permanent Missions to the United Nations ("Blue Book")Call Number: Available through UN Digital LibraryPublication Date: 1946-presentComprehensive lists of permanent missions of Member States, permanent observer missions, and permanent observer offices accredited to the United Nations.
- Oxford Handbook of the United Nations, 2nd edition
Seventy years of history of the United Nations, written by scholars, analysts, and practitioners on the key topics and debates. - United Nations Handbook
Describes the structure, function, and membership of the United Nations. Mobile app also provided.
Unless noted otherwise created by the Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations in New York.
- United Nations Research GuidesResearch guides on all major topics the UN addresses: from development and peace and security to happiness.
- United Nations Documentation: An OverviewGuide to the documentation system of the United Nations. If you wish to understand the structure, organization, and symbols of UN bodies and their documents look no further.
- United Nations Documentation: A Research GuideOverview of documents and publications of the UN and how to work with them.
- Research Guide: The United NationsFrom the Columbia University Law School. Detailed information about UN documents, symbols, and publishing.
News Sources
The following are Official UN Media and News Sources. This is information the UN publishes about itself and other sources offer different perspectives.
The following magazines and journals cover International Affairs extensively and are good sources for news about the UN and other international organizations.
The Economist. Weekly magazine with reports on international news, world politics, business, finance, science, and technology. Great source for opinion-based articles on current events.
Foreign Affairs. Forum for discussion of American foreign policy and global affairs with analytical articles by notable figures.Published by the Council on Foreign Relations.
International Affairs. A leading journal of international relations that covers the entire IR discipline. From the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).
International Organization. Leading peer-reviewed journal that covers the entire field of international affairs: foreign policies, international relations, international and comparative political economy, security policies, environmental disputes, and more.
Journal of International Affairs. Leading foreign affairs periodical edited by graduate students at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.
Center for UN Reform. Independent non-profit policy research organization working to encourage, generate and sustain discussion of proposals to reform and restructure the United Nations through its website; its monographs, papers and books; and conferences.
Free United Nations Coalition for Access. Aims to hold the UN to its stated purposes, by making it transparent and accessible without discrimination.
Inner City Press. Hard hitting UN investigative reporting news service, led by Matthew Lee. Headquartered in the South Bronx of New York City, it has also investigated human rights, transparency, corporate accountability, community reinvestment, predatory lending, environmental justice, fair housing, social exclusion and related topics.
Security Council Report. Publishes monthly reports on the prospective program of work of the Security Council supplemented by longer published reports and ad hoc reports on key thematic issues on the agenda of the Council.
UN Dispatch. Site providing commentary and coverage on the UN and UN-related issues. Provides factual information about the UN’s work and fact-checks claims and coverage about the UN offered by pundits, journalists, bloggers and others.