Using UN information resources: a guide for general reference librarians in academic settings
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to help reference librarians in academic institutions to more effectively use UN information resources to meet users' needs.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper outlines the United Nations' structure, addresses the effects of misconceptions regarding the organization's boundaries, describes the categories of UN information resources and their most useful content, identifies and evaluates the most important reference tools by or about the UN, and casts light on little‐known obstacles to intellectual access in the UN information environment.
Findings
Access to UN information is often hindered by the idiosyncrasies of UN documents and their records, misconceptions about the United Nations' relationships with other organizations, and a lack of in‐depth information about UN reference sources. The effects of these problems can be ameliorated, however, through the information, techniques, and strategies presented here.
Originality/value
This article identifies and evaluates the UN reference sources of greatest use to general reference librarians. This is the first publication to demonstrate how indexing policies and common characteristics of UN documents impede access to UN information and to show how these barriers can be circumvented.
Keywords
Citation
Griffiths, D.N. (2008), "Using UN information resources: a guide for general reference librarians in academic settings", Reference Services Review, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 119-146. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907320810873002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited