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United Nations Documents in the Penn State University Libraries

The Collections | Indexes | UN call numbers | Statistical Resources | Internet Resources | Research Guides
The United Nations and the U.S. Congress

The Collections

The Penn State University Libraries have a large collection of United Nations documents from the main bodies of the United Nations including the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International court of Justice, and the Secretariat. Materials include:

Pre-1986 UN documents and publications can be identified through specialized print indexes in the Social Sciences Library Reference Collection. Some publications may also be identified through electronic indexes. Ask at the Social Sciences Library Reference Desk (2nd Floor Paterno Library) for assistance.

The paper collection is supplemented by the United Nations Documents and Publications collection from the READEX Microprint Corporation, filed in the Social Sciences Library Microforms Collections, 2nd Floor Paterno Library. This is a comprehensive collection of United Nations documents, including restricted and limited distribution documents. For the years 1946-1981 the collection is in microcard format. Since 1982 the documents have been received in microfiche. Consult with the Social Sciences Library staff for location and filing information.

While some United Nations documents are cataloged and accessible through the CAT the majority of the collection is accessible only through the specialized indexes and abstracts available in the Social Sciences Library.

Indexes

In addition, each of the major UN bodies produces print indexes as part of the Official Records series. These indexes are shelved in the International Documents section of 2nd Floor Paterno Library Stacks. The Subject Index and Corporate Index sections allow access by country name and topic and will refer to letters and speeches from specific countries.

United Nations Call Numbers

The working documents and many sales publications are filed by United Nations Series Symbol, an agency-based classification system. The United Nations series symbols reflect both the body which produces the document as well as the type of publication it is. The symbols are composed of capitol letters, combined with Arabic numerals. Roman numerals when used designate the number of the session. A slash (/) separates the components of the symbol.

The first letter(s) indicates the main organ of the United Nations to which the document was submitted:
A/ - General Assembly
E/ - Economic and Social Council
S/ - Security Council
T/ - Trusteeship Council
ST/ - Secretariat

Special symbols have also been designed for certain subsidiary organs of the United Nations, for instance:
CCPR/ - Human Rights Committee
TD/ - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNEP/ - United Nations Environment Programme

After the first slash, the second series of symbols indicates the sub-body within the main organ which produced the document:
...AC./ - Ad Hoc Committee or similar body
.../C./ - Standing, permanent, main committee
.../CN./ - Commission
.../CONF./ - Conference
.../GC./ - Governing Council
.../PC./ - Preparatory Committee
.../SC./ - Subcommittee
.../Sub./ - Subcommission
.../WG./ - Working Group
.../WP./ - Working Party

Subsidiary bodies are given an Arabic numeral which usually is assigned in order of their establishment. The General Assembly main committees, for example, may be identified by the following symbols:
A/C.1/ - First Committee (political and security)
A/C.2/ - Second Committee (economic and financial)
A/C.3/ - Third Committee (social, humanitarian and cultural)
A/C.4/ - Fourth Committee (trusteeship)
A/C.5/ - Fifth Committee (administrative and budgetary)
A/C.6/ - Sixth Committee (legal)
A/SPC/ - Special Political Committee

The following letters are added to the basic series symbols to denote the nature of the document. Examples:
.../INF/ - information series
.../L. - limited distribution documents
.../MIN. - minutes
.../NGO/ - statements by nongovernmental organizations
.../PC/ - preparatory committee
.../PET/ - petitions
.../PV./ - verbatim records
.../RES./ - mimeographed texts of adopted resolutions
.../SR./ - summary records of meetings
.../WG./ - working group
.../WP./ - working paper

For more detailed information, see United Nations Documentation : Research Guide

Statistical Publications

The United Nations produces many statistical publications. The most notable are:

The Index to International Statistics provides detailed indexing and abstracting of the full range of UN statistical publications as well as the statistical publications of other intergovernmental organizations. Current issues available via LexisNexis Statistical.

Internet Resources

Internet Resources are important for locating information from the United Nations. Resources include the full text of press releases; resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, and Economic and Social Council; key documents from UN agencies and major conferences; and speeches of UN officials and Heads of State. Check the following sites for the most current information on United Nations activities:

In addition, other colleges and universities provide access to United Nations information. Two of the most useful are:

United Nations
There are many UN and UN-related Web sites. This is a selected list of the key sites.

Research Guides

Other useful guides are prepared by librarians at other universities. While these are geared toward research at their respective institutions, much of the information is applicable to research at the Penn State Libraries. Four of the most useful guides are:

The United Nations and the U.S. Congress

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Organization Affairs prepares annual Reports for Congress that speak to U.S. views of UN performance:

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