Locating Un Docs In Print And Online United Nations Documents

Leo Migdal

-Dec 3, 2025, 5:43 AM

locating un docs in print and online united nations documents

If the full text is not available from these two sources, continue to locating documents by symbol number, below. *Please Note: Sales publications are generally not part of the depository collection, however, we may have selected a sales publication individually. To find sales publications, search the library catalog or Worldcat by title. The information below concerns finding UN documents from the depository system. Documents are organized by major UN body and document symbol number Please note: For documents that do not appear to have come from one of the main bodies listed above, see Documents from other UN Bodies/Agencies.

Can't find a UN document at GU? Try the Library of Congress, the closest official UN Depository Library. The United Nations Information Centre in Washington also has copies of official records. The Dag Hammarskjöld Library in New York has the most extensive collection of UN documents in the nation (and possibly the world). If you're trying to track down an elusive UN document, try their AskDAG service. UN documents often have a unique document symbol:

For more information about interpreting document symbols, see theDag Hammarskjöld Library's Document Symbols Research Guide. If you have a United Nations Document Symbol, the easiest way to download a document is to add the symbol after the following url: https://undocs.org/ In some cases the document may not download. To double check if the document is available, search the Official Document System (ODS) or the UN Digital Library. Sometimes, you will find that your desired document is not available. Generally, this is because the document is older and has not been scanned.

If you do not know the document symbol of a UN document or you want to look for documents based on a topic or a type of document, the UN Digital Library is the... The video below explains how to find documents such as Security Council meeting records or Secretariat documents using the simple search of the UN Digital Library. The same strategies can be used to find resolutions, draft resolutions or reports in the various bodies of the UN. The advanced search of the UN Digital Library allows you to do a more precise search for particular types of documents. The video below shows you how you can use the advanced search to find letters by member states or reports of the Secretary-General. You can also use the advanced search to look for sponsors of draft resolutions, search the full text of a particular document series and other types of precise searching.

If you know a document's symbol, usually the fastest way to retrieve it is to add the document symbol after www.undocs.org. For example, to retrieve E/C.12/GMB/1, type in www.undocs.org/E/C.12/GMB/1 This strategy will not work for all documents and, in many cases, you may not have a specific document symbol in mind. In those cases, you'll need to use one of the search engines for UN documents. Over the years, the UN has developed a wide variety of tools for searching its documents. Each database has overlapping but slightly different content and search features.

If you don't find what you're looking for in one database, try another. The following three database are the best starting points for searching UN documents: The document symbol appears in the upper right hand corner of the retrieved document. AccessUN is a commercially produced online index covering UN documents and publications issued from 1946 to the present. It is produced by the Readex corporation as a finding aid for UN documents in the READEX microfiche collection. It is the only online index that covers older UN documents not yet incorporated by UNBISnet.

AccessUn indexes masthead documents, official records, sales publications, limited and restricted documents, and documents emanating from sessional and standing committees, functional commissions, conferences and regional bodies. It also indexes UN periodicals, and bilateral and multilateral treaties contained in the United Nations Treaty Series. (Beginning with vol. 925, treaty records include subsequent treaty action instruments, e.g. ratifications.) Some full text documents are appended to their respective bibliographic records, including SC resolutions (1974 -) and GA and ECOSOC resolutions (1983 -).

AccessUN permits the user to search in a variety of fields, including subject, title, text, author, session/agenda, document number, sales number, and country. Searches can combine fields with AND, OR, and NOT operators, and can be limited by document type, date, and whether or not records include links to full text. UN documents are produced primarily for internal use to support the day-to-day operations of the UN's principle organs and bodies, whereas publications are produced primarily for external use by individuals and organizations outside the... A second key distinction is that each document is assigned a document number under the UN's classification system, which serves as a unique identifier. These numbers are not assigned to publications. Many of the UN's internal working documents are of interest to a wider audience, and some types of documents are routinely made available to the public.

Bear in mind, however, that significant time lags may occur before certain types of internal documents are released to the public, and some documents are not publicly disclosed. There are two broad categories of UN documents, which are described below. Each of the UN's principle organs publishes an Official Record, in which are compiled the final versions of the documents that record its most significant activities and initiatives. All such documents are designated as "official records" on the title page, making them easy to identify. "Parliamentary documents" is a catchall term that encompasses all other internal documents not designated as official records, including "working documents," "mimeodocuments," "sessional documents," and "masthead documents." This guide provides instructions for locating United Nations documents in Olin Library.

For more in-depth information on UN Documents, see United Nations Documentation: Research Guide, a guide prepared and maintained by the Department of Public Information (DPI), Dag Hammarskjöld Library (DHL) . For current UN documents, and many older ones, see the United Nations Digital Library and/or United Nations Official Document System (ODS) For older documents not found on the UN digital sites, see: Locating UN Documents in Olin Library

Locating Un Docs In Print And Online United Nations Documents

People Also Search

If The Full Text Is Not Available From These Two

Can't Find A UN Document At GU? Try The Library

For More Information About Interpreting Document Symbols, See TheDag Hammarskjöld

If You Do Not Know The Document Symbol Of A

If You Know A Document's Symbol, Usually The Fastest Way