Introduction to United Nations Information Resources:
An Outline with Illustrations for LIS 424
Prof. Mary Mallory
March 2003

Contents

THE IGO CONTEXT
THE SCOPE OF THE UN
UN INFORMATION PACKAGING
    Documents
    Publications
SPECIAL PROBLEMS
UN INFORMATION ACCESS TOOLS
NEEDS OF UN INFORMATION USERS

THE IGO CONTEXT

• Definitions
• The relationship of the UN to other IGOs
• Why IGO information?
  

THE SCOPE OF THE UN

Leading Topics in UN Information:

• Peace and international security
• Economic development
• Human rights 
• Oppressed Peoples
• Environment
• International law

• Humanitarian assistance
  

THE SHAPE OF UN INFORMATION

Documents

Definition

Types of Information

• Meeting records
• Resolutions
• Statistics
• Correspondence
• Studies

Selling Points

• Diverse (both in origin and point of view)

• Accessible

• Authoritative

• Succinct

• Informative

Drawbacks

• Plain

• Trivial
• Obscure

• Multiple titles

• Editorial minimalism
  

Publications

Characteristics

• Intended audience

• Packaging

Selling Points

• Authority

• Scope

• Practicality

SPECIAL PROBLEMS

• Classification

• Media
  

UN INFORMATION ACCESS TOOLS

At this time, I'd like to refer you to the UIUC UN web page.

• AccessUN

• UNBIS

• ODS (Optiical Disc System).

• Index to International Statistics
  

NEEDS OF UN INFORMATION USERS

• Selecting access tools

• Evaluating and selecting resources
  

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