The International Documents Collection & Ten Essential IGO Resources

The International Documents Collection is one of the five collections that make up Northwestern University Library's Government and Geographic Information and Data Services Department. The collection contains the publications of approximately 25 intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), a few non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and supporting materials from private publishers. These materials are books, CD-ROMs, documents, microfiche, pamphlets, periodicals, posters, and online resources. The collection spans the WWI era to the present. Gov Info has been a depository library of the United Nations since 1946, the European Union since 1970, and became a depository library of the World Tourism Organization in 2002. The international documents librarian manages the collection and is available to provide instruction or assistance with international resources to groups or individuals. Please contact Gov Info by email (govinfo@northwestern.edu) or phone (847-491-3130) for more information.

Contents

Why use the international documents collection?

The International Document Collection contains useful material for researchers of global issues. National governments often overlook or do not have the resources necessary to evaluate issues that affect themselves and their neighbors. Issues that transcend borders include: development, globalization, finance, health, labor, migration, refugees, trade and war. IGOs also work to promote human rights and issues relating to women and children.

IGOs and NGOs whose publications are included in the International Documents Collection

  1. Asian Development Bank
  2. Center for UN Reform (this is a NGO)
  3. Commonwealth of Independent States
  4. Council of Europe
  5. European Union (depository since 1970)
  6. Food and Agriculture Organization
  7. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (this is a NGO)
  8. International Chamber of Commerce (this is a NGO)
  9. International Labour Organization
  10. International Monetary Fund
  11. International Maritime Organization - only the basic documents, the Transportation Library purchases IMO publications
  12. International Organization for Migration
  13. League of Nations (depository)
  14. Organization of American States (quasi-depository since 1962)
  1. Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
  2. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  3. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
  4. Pan American Health Organization
  5. United Nations documents (depository since 1946)
  6. United Nations sales publications
  7. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Innocenti Research Centre
  8. United Nations University Press
  9. World Health Organization
  10. World Bank
  11. World Meteorological Organization
  12. World Peace Foundation (this is a NGO)
  13. World Trade Organization
  14. World Tourism Organization (depository since 2002)
 
This is not a complete list, especially with regard to United Nations agencies. Please search NUcat and ask for assistance.

Access and Reference Assistance

Access to the collection

Gov Info welcomes members of the Northwestern community and the public. The department is located on the first floor of Northwestern University Library. It has its own reference collection and reference desk. The desk is staffed during all the hours the department is open.

To find publications in the International Documents Collection, search NUcat. Some IGO publications are not cataloged; most IGO documents are not cataloged. To find documents, please contact the department. There are guides to the International Documents Collection on the collection's web page, at http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/index.html. The International Documents Collection's reference section includes essential sources and statistical compilations. Statistical methodologies are shelved in Supplemental Reference.

Walk-in reference assistance

Reference desk staff provide assistance for all the department's collections. If a patron has a question pertaining to the International Documents Collection and the person on reference duty cannot answer the question, he or she will immediately get the international documents librarian.. If she is not available, he or she will exchange the librarian's and patron's contact information. All e-mails sent to govinfo@northwestern.edu regarding the International Documents Collection are forwarded to and answered by the international documents librarian.

Contact the Department for reference assistance.

The department does not have a fax machine. For photocopy requests, please follow the instructions on the Interlibrary Loan Department's Borrowing and Lending web site.

IGOs and NGOs, but not foreign governments

An intergovernmental organization (IGO) is a structure based on a formal instrument of agreement between nations (e.g. the United Nations). A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a group whose members are individuals or associations (e.g. the International Committee of the Red Cross). There are thousands of IGOs and NGOs. The Union of International Associations (an NGO itself) edits the annual publication Yearbook of International Organizations. The Yearbook is a comprehensive directory of IGOs and NGOs, and provides contact information and a description of the work of the organization. It indexes organizations by subject. The Yearbook is available in the Main Reference department and in Gov Info Reference. The call number is 341.05 Y38.
The International Documents Collection contains the publications of approximately 25 IGOs and a few NGOs. The international documents assistant maintains a web site that is a comprehensive list of links to IGO web sites. Although the international documents assistant maintains a web site that links to foreign government web sites, the collection does not contain the publications or documents of foreign governments.

Documents, publications, and depository library status

The international collection can be divided into 3 types of materials: documents, publications and statistics.

  • IGO documents, like those of the UN, EU, and OAS are not cataloged. Documents can be located using different print and online indexes unique to each organization. IGO documents deal with the internal workings of the organization, for example, a debate of the UN Security Council.
  • IGO publications are produced for the public. IGOs publish information about their work or the work they intend to do. IGO publications (like those of the WTO, IMF, and World Bank) are cataloged in NUcat. They can describe and evaluate problems and offer policy suggestions. Often these publications offer case studies of nations who are members of the organization. An example of an IGO publication is China and the WTO : Accession, Policy Reform, and Poverty Reduction Strategies.
  • IGOs produce comparable international statistics. Statistical publications can be found in NUcat and are either in print or online. IGOs publish statistics on a wide variety of topics. An example of an IGO statistical publication is World Development Indicators, an annual publication of the World Bank

A depository library receives the information produced by an organization as part of a formal agreement. Gov Info has been a depository of the United Nations since 1946, the Organization of the American States since 1962, the European Union since 1970, and the World Tourism Organization since 2002. In addition, the department purchases sales publications from those organizations and over twenty other IGOs.

10 Essential IGO Resources

  1. European Union
    Eurostat
    Why is this essential? The EU is an example of an IGO with a geographic focus. Eurostat is fantasticly rich source for statistical information for all of Europe.

  2. International Labour Organization
    Yearbook of Labour Statistics
    Govt. Ref. 331.06 I612y (1935/1936 - present)
    Why is this essential? The ILO is the authoritative source for labour information and comparative statistics about labour. It is an historic IGO, well represented in our collection.

  3. International Monetary Fund
    International Financial Statistics (IFS)
    Govt. Ref. 332.05 I621i
    Online access is available to members of the Northwestern community. Why is this essential? The IMF is an authoritative IGO for international finance and an example of an IGO with an economic focus. IFS is a standard source for all aspects of international and domestic finance.

  4. International Organization for Migration
    World Migration Report 2006
    Govt. Ref. 325.09045 W927 2006
    Why is this essential? The IOM is another historic IGO and an example of an IGO with a humanitarian mission.

  5. League of Nations
    Statistical Yearbook of the League of Nations
    Govt. Ref. 310.5 I61 (1926-1944)
    Why is this essential? The League provides an example of the historic scope of our collection as well as some of the department's initiatives; see the cooperative digitization project. The yearbook is the only source for some statistics; it provides historic comparable data.

  6. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
    The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective by Angus Maddison.
    Govt. Ref. 330.9 M1798wo and also SourceOECD
    Why is this essential? The OECD is a rich source for statistics and information about the economies of its 30 member countries as well as . This book is a comprehensive view of "growth and levels of world population since the year 1000." Wow!

  7. United Nations
    The Yearbook of the United Nations
    Govt. Ref. 341.1305 U58y (1946/47-2004)
    Why is this essential? Each year's issue collects the essential documents of the United Nations and is only available in print or through a networked CD-ROM.

  8. United Nations Population Fund
    The State of World Population
    Govt. Ref. 305.42 S797
    The UNFP represents an UN program, and an IGO affected by some controversy. It is an important source of information regarding population, women, and family issues.

  9. World Bank
    World Development Indicators
    Govt. Ref. 330.05 W9721 2006
    in print and on a networked CD-ROM
    Why is this essential? This is the first place for to look for reputable international time-series statistics.

  10. World Tourism Organization
    International Tourism: A Global Perspective
    Govt. Supplemental Ref. 338.4791 I613
    The WTO represents an IGO devoted to a subject with commercial importance.

last revised 11/2006 by LT

 

govinfo@northwestern.edu