Typical questions

• • Which countries voted for this resolution?

• • I need to find ST/LIB/SER.B/5/Rev.5.

Starting points

• • A common problem is the large number of UN organisations and the complexity of their websites. A good tip is to get as much information as possible about what is needed. Then consult the Study guides for further advice.

• • Increasing amounts of official UN materials are being made available via official websites; however, older materials may not yet be online. The Study guides provide guidance on UN deposit libraries which will hold printed copies.

• • The main UN website can be found at www.un.org and should be explored to get access to the latest press releases and social media content. The resources listed in this chapter provide additional advice.

• • Students may also be interested in consulting the journal indexes in the International Relations, International Security and International Organisations chapters.

Recommended resources

Key organisations - scholarly

These bodies aim to encourage support of the United Nations. Their websites include news, analysis and briefings on UN activities.

United Nations Association (UK)

www.una.org.uk

Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS)

www.acuns.org

Maintains an annotated bibliography of books and articles on the United Nations Security Council.

World Federation of United Nations Associations

www.wfuna.org

Study guides

Directory of UN System Organizations

unsceb.org/directory

Compiled by the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination. Includes links to websites.

Index to Proceedings

library.un.org/index-proceedings

Annual publication containing a subject index to all the documents, questions and speeches delivered by UN bodies.

United Nations Yearbook

unyearbook.un.org

Official source of information on the activities of the UN. Free access to all editions since 1946. Lists resolutions and key publications. Includes pre-press supplements.

United Nations Research Guides [Basic]

research.un.org

A collection of great guides to researching all aspects of the work of the UN and its publications, prepared by staff at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library. Topics covered include understanding document symbols and finding resolutions. Links are provided to key online resources.

Finding documents

United Nations Digital Library

digitallibrary.un.org

Free access to the official online library of the UN that contains a growing collection of full text UN documents, voting data, speeches, maps and other publications. In the future it aims to be a single access point for tracing online content; however, at present, full text older materials are not all accessible.