United Nations Common Library

Like its counter parts all over the world, the UN System in Pakistan produces a huge amount of information during its day-to-day operations and disseminates it through the medium of publishing. However, in various UN Agencies, the persons responsible for producing these publications, vary in terms of responsibilities, age, education and experience and publishing expertise. So, the resulting publications vary in their presentation, style and format. In many cases, important technical information has been found missing which gives a touch of novice work, not matching with the seriousness of the UN work.

Ideally the publishing work should be handled centrally by skilled professionals. But, in the absence of such a system, adopting a set of mutually agreed guidelines for publishing the UN information items, may be equally effective. Following which, each person trying to publish a report or a document, can at least achieve a bare minimum level of technical expertise to give his/her publication, a proper and prestigious shape to be recognized as a UN publication.

Another objective of this effort is to bring all publications of the UN System in Pakistan, under a bibliographic control so that the valuable experience and knowledge can be preserved and passed on to the coming generations of the UN workers, in a systematic way.

The third and final objective is to introduce a uniform look to all publications produced by UN system in Pakistan to give them a distinct personality so that they are known, identified and readily noticed as a UN Pakistan publication, at first sight.

The publishing guidelines presented in this document are based on the UN Editorial Manual of 1983. Special care has been taken to provide basic standards of uniformity for the UN publications in Pakistan and at the same time, to keep them flexible enough to accommodate the individual agency's preferences. Mostly, they serve as a checklist of standard elements of a publication and provide suggestions for the standard way of presentation for each element. The status of use of each element has been marked along with the description of each element, as follows:

Essential: means that the element must be essentially present in all publications and in all cases regardless of the type of publication
Required: means that the element must be present if it applies to the publication in hand
Optional: means that the issuing Agency may decide whether this element applies to their situation or not.

(Please see the annexes for Samples, Examples and further details)

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Size / dimension of your Publication:

The size that is chosen for any publication, has direct implications on:

(a) The shape and outlook of the publication
(b) The ease and convenience to use and carry the publication, and
(c) The cost of production of the publication and distribution by mail.

The last one, however, is the most crucial. In order to provide the best options, a survey of the paper and printing market of Pakistan was made to understand the paper sizes available in Pakistan and the paper cutting and folding behaviors of the local printing industry. Also, the formats commonly used by UN Headquarter and the UN Agencies were studied. The following sizes, which are being commonly used for UN publications, are recommended for use, as these are the most economical in Pakistan:

Reports and documents: 28 x 21.2 cm. Or11 x 8-1/2 inches. (An acceptable and commonly-used format in UN system in Pakistan, as well as suitable for photocopying)

Bulletins / journals: 21.2 x 14 cm Or 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches

Brochures / leaflets: 21.2 x 9.5 cm Or 8-1/2 x 3-3/4 inches (according to envelope size)

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Presentation and Layout:

All Publications are commonly presented with the following three parts:

A - Front matter or Preliminary Pages
B - Body of the text
C - End matter

In the following paragraphs, description and details of the various elements in these parts has been given. The guidelines must be followed strictly for the order and availability of the information elements which are marked as "Essential" or "required". The use of color, fonts, style, alignment and truncation of these elements depends on the aesthetic preferences of the issuing Agency or the person responsible.

PART - A. Front matter or Preliminary Pages

The front (or preliminary) matter of the United Nations Publications, must contain some or all of the following elements, normally in the order shown:

1. The Cover (Front Cover , back cover and Spine)
2. The Title Page (Title Page and Reverse of Title Page)
3. Foreword or Preface
4. Acknowledgements
5. Table of Contents
6. Errata list
7. Explanatory notes (includes disclaimers and list of abbreviations)
8. Summary, conclusions and recommendations

Pagination of the preliminary pages:

The Front Matter Pages or Preliminay Pages should be paginated in bold lower-case Roman Numerals at the bottom of the page, the Title page being counted as page (i), although no numbers should actually appear on the title page or its verso.

Please note that this special pagination is in addition to the consecutive pagination of the entire text referred to as Body of the Text in the Part B, below.

Description of information to be given in the various elements of front matter, is as follows:

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1. THE COVER

1. a. Front Cover :

(Please see Annex - A for Example of a typical Front Cover)

The Front Cover elements may be the same as recommended for Title Page below. However, in order to accommodate the art work needs, it is not necessary to give all the information listed, taking care that the following elements marked are "Essential" and must be present. Selection of any other element is discretionary. The essential information elements are:

a) The Name and logo of the Issuing Agency (Essential)
Should be given in a prominently colored box, on top right corner of the page with less typographical prominence than the name "United Nations System in Pakistan" appearing at the bottom.

b) The document identification number / symbol or Publication series no. ( Essential)

May appear on the top right-hand corner. This element may be given under the box for the above element or when a publication bears an art cover, it may be desirable for aesthetic reasons, to omit the symbol on the cover but then it must appear in the tagline on the outside back cover

c) The Title of the work (Essential)

d) The Subtitle, Part Number, Volume Number, if any. (Required)

e) The United Nations emblem (Essential)

f) The series name "United Nations System in Pakistan" in the language of issue (Essential)

Note: The cover may also bear the name of the Author, major Conference or any other body in which the publication originated, in less typographical prominence than the Title as well as the name "UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM in PAKISTAN", given on the Title Page.

1.b. Back Cover

The outside back cover may include the following two elements (Essential):
Please see Annex - B for example of a Back cover

1. A box containing information on how to obtain UN System in Pakistan Publications or How to obtain that particular publication, in the language of publication as well as in English

2. A tagline for the purpose of identification. It contains the words, "Printed in:" and the place of publication, the document number, the date of publication (month and year) and the number of copies printed.

For sales publications the Price (in local currency as well as US Dollars) and the sales number are also given.

Note: In cases where an art cover is used or the outside of the back cover is required for promotional or publicity information, the tagline and box may be moved to either on the inside back cover or on the last page of publication. Please see Annex - B for a sample back cover.

1.c. Spine

United Nations Publications may bear a spine. The spine must include the title of the work (or, if space is limited, a short version of it) on the top of spine, the United Nations emblem in the middle, and the words "United Nations - Pakistan" near the bottom.

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2. THE TITLE PAGE

Title-Page or Official Title
(Please see Annex - C for example of a Title Page)

The Title page and reverse of the Title page carry all information required for library cataloguing purposes. The Title Page must bear the following elements:

a) The Name and logo of the Issuing Agency (Essential)
Should be prominently placed on top of the page with less typographical prominence than the name "United Nations System in Pakistan" appearing at the bottom.

b) Attribution to any Program / Project/ Unit etc. (Required)
Should appear on the upper part of the page with less typographical prominence than the name "United Nations System in Pakistan" appearing at the bottom.

c) The document identification number / symbol (Essential)
May appear on the top right-hand corner.

This number should comprise the following items:
1. The Series symbol i-e, "UN-PAK"
2. The Issuing Agency Acronym enclosed in slash i-e, "/UNESCO/"
3. The current year in slash i-e, "2000/"
4. A serial number of Agency publications issued so far in the series

The complete format of appearance would be the following:

UN-PAK/UNESCO/2000/1

In case the publication is issued collectively about all UN System or the UN Agencies in Pakistan, the Agency Acronym will be omitted. The number in this case would be as follows:

UN-PAK/2000/1

d) The Title of the work (Essential)
This item must be typographically most prominent on the page.

e) The subtitle of the work or Part / volume number etc. (Required)
In case there is a sub-title, it should be given right under the title with less prominence than the title. Where required, the Volume Number, Part number or supplement number may be given in the same way.

f) Name of the Author / Editor (Required)
In case of UN System Publications, where a consultant is hired or a staff member is deputed to work on a publication, authorship should not be attributed to these persons, according to the UN Policy. It may be done in an oblique way as follows:

For example, a statement in a footnote or preface that the publication was prepared by the (Name of UN Agency and Department), with the Assistance of (Name of consultant) or that Mr. Ms. xxxx prepared the original draft that served as the basis for the document. Similar formulas may be used, to indicate the relative degree of participation by the staff members or consultants, in various studies and publications.

When a publication contains component parts attributed to individual authors, the prefatory matter should contain a DISCLAIMER statement indicating the position of the United Nations towards such material, usually in the form of a disclaimer attributing responsibility for such parts to the respective authors. Such a disclaimer might in a typical case read:

"The views expressed in signed articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations."

Please see the United Nations Policy for attribution of Authorship as given in the UN Editorial Manual (pp. 478 - 485) at Annex - E, for further details.

g) Conference name, place, dates (Required)
If the publication has been originated from a Conference, Seminar or meeting, its Name, Place, Number and Dates of the event must be given under the Title, on the Title Page.

h) The United Nations emblem (Essential)

i) The name "United Nations System in Pakistan" or in case of a UN Agency publication, Name of that Agency, Programme or the Fund, in the language of issue (Essential)

j) Place of Publication (Essential)

k) Year of Publication (Essential)

Note: The element h) to k) must be given in the lower part of the Title Page.

2.c. Reverse of the title page
(See Annex - D for an example of reverse of Title-Page)

This part must contain the following elements:

a) Copyright Statement: (Required)

Please see Annex - H for more details.

The copyright notice must appear on the reverse of the Title Page. For the few publications for which the Issuing Agency wants to secure copyright, the following statement must be used:

Copyright © (Year) United Nations System in Pakistan
All rights reserved

In all other cases where free dissemination of the information is intended, the following statement is recommended:

Copyright © (Year) United Nations System in Pakistan
"Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement is requested, together with a copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint"

b) The Publication Series and Publication series no. Or the document identification number / symbol (Essential)

On the reverse of Title page the publication Number must be repeated as follows:

The United Nations System in Pakistan Publication No. UN-PAK/UNESCO/2000/1

If the Publication is part of a series of Publications (other than the UN System in Pakistan Publications Series), the name of that series must be mentioned under the Document Number.

c) Sales No. (Optional)
d) Price: (Required)
e) ISBN/ISSN (optional)
f) Printing information (Essential)

Note: Where appropriate, the customary disclaimer concerning the legal status of countries or territories and the delimitation of their frontiers, must be given on the reverse of the Title-Page.

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3. THE FOREWORD OR PREFACE

The front matter may include a foreword or a preface, sometimes both. A foreword is usually written and signed by a person other than author. The preface, which is prepared by the author, is not signed, except in the circumstances indicated in the following paragraph.

A foreword or preface contains material that does not bear directly on the subject matter and may include acknowledgments of indebtedness. Should it be necessary to include in any publication, prefatory remarks that are not purely formal of explanatory, these should, as appropriate, be signed by the UN Resident Coordinator, or on his instructions, by a Head of UN Agency or other official of comparable authority. Prefaces signed by persons other than UN Resident Coordinator, should be addressed to him/her and should be preceded by an introductory note signed by the UN Resident Coordinator.

4. THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

The table of contents should be headed ''Contents''. It should be prepared in the same way as that described in the article E -1 of the UN Editorial Manual (pp. 201-8) at Annex - F, except that double spacing should be used for copy to be sent for typesetting.)

Lists of tables, figures and maps should be provided. They should be given at the end of the table of contents, under separate headings. (Please note that in United Nations documents the term ''figure" is normally used for photographs and other illustrations, charts, graphs and the like.)

5. ERRATA

Errors detected at a stage of production of publication at which it is not feasible to correct them should be listed in the front matter, under the heading "Errata". The errata list normally appears immediately after the table of contents. If it is not possible to include the list in the front matter, a separate sheet containing the errata may be prepared and attached to the publication at the time of distribution.

The method of presentation of errata is described in article D 8,chapter III, of the UN Editorial Manual (pp.151) at Annex - G.

6. EXPLANATORY NOTES

Explanatory notes should normally be the last element in the front matter, coming after the table of contents and before the text. They may include editorial notes, a list of abbreviations, and disclaimers. At the discretion of the editor / author, these elements may appear under separate headings of may be combined under one headings. In the latter case, they may be separated by asterisks or by extra space.

Detailed instructions for the preparation of explanatory notes are given in article E 6 of the UN Editorial Manual (pp328-40). Please contact the UN Common Library to see the Manual.

7. Summary, conclusions and recommendations

When included in a printed report, the "summary" conclusions and recommendations" may be considered to be part of the front mater and the pages may be numbered with lower-case roman numerals.

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PART - B. Body of the text

The body of the text may, in the case of a study or report, comprise an introduction and the substantive chapters or, in the case of a bulletin or periodical, separate articles or essays, each with its own introduction and substantive chapters.

The introduction may state the subject matter and the authority under which the document has been prepared (for example a resolution of a United Nations organ or the terms of reference of a secretariat unit) and may explain the organization of the material.

In a publication, headings and paragraphs are not normally numbered unless this would serve a useful purpose, as, for example, in the case of a publication that is also a document to which reference may be made in legislative body.

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PART - C. The End matter

The end matter may include any or all of the following elements, normally in the order shown:

1. Annexes

2. Appendices

3. Notes

4. Glossary

5. Bibliography or reference list

6. Index

7. Back cover (including sales notice and tagline)

Note: Each element of the end matter should begin on a separate right-hand page. Further details are as follows:

1. Annexes and appendices

Matter added to the main body of a manuscript should, normally, be identified as an "annex". Matter added to an annex should be identified as an "appendix". The word "Annex" or "Appendix" and the appropriate number, if any, should be centred as a heading above the title of the annex or appendix, in initial capital and lower?case type, underscored in typescript. The title of the annex or appendix should be in full capitals.

Annexes should be numbered consecutively with roman numerals, beginning with I. The word "Annex" should precede the number. A single annex should not be numbered, but should be headed "Annex".

Appendices should be numbered consecutively with roman numerals, beginning with I, within each annex. The word "Appendix" should precede the number. A single appendix should not be numbered, but should be headed "Appendix".

All annexes and appendices should normally be grouped together at the end of the text. In certain cases, however ? for instance, in a publication containing separate articles ? annexes and appendices should follow the relevant part of the text.

2. Notes

Source and other reference notes are normally given at the end of major divisions in United Nations documents and Official Records. The forms to be used are explained in article E 3, chapters I and III, below. Other types of notes are rarely used.

3. Glossary

The form outlined below is prescribed for glossaries in United Nations documents and publications reproduced from typescript. In printed publications, other forms may be followed at the discretion of the editor and copy-preparer.

The words to be defined in the glossary should be listed in alphabetical order unless some other logical order is implied. Each keyword (or lemma) should begin on a separate line and one or two spaces should be left between entries. The keyword should not be capitalized unless it is a proper noun or adjective and would normally require an initial capital letter, nor should it be underlined unless it would normally be underlined (or italicized) in a text.

Each keyword should be followed by a colon. The definitions should be aligned on the left in such a way that the keywords stand out prominently.

If some or all of the definitions consist of more than one sentence, all should be followed by a full stop. Otherwise, no punctuation should be used at the end of the definition.

A uniform style should be followed for the definitions.
For an example, click here to see the glossary.

4. Bibliography or reference list

Information regarding the preparation and presentation of bibliographies and reference lists can be obtained from in-house manuals available in the United Nations Common Library. The Library staff also provides professional assistance for preparing the bibliographies or reference lists to the United Nations staff and consultants working in Pakistan, upon request.

5. Index

In the rare cases in which it is decided to include an index in a United Nations publication, the index should be prepared in co-operation with the United Nations Common Library, making use of the Bibliographic reference tools, particularly the UNBIS Thesaurus for subject analysis.

An index, where required, should be submitted for printing as soon as possible after the manuscript proper has been sent to the Publishing Service. If the text has paragraph numbers, the index should give references to paragraph numbers rather than to page numbers. If agreement has been reached between the editorial services and the submitting department to refer to pages, arrangements must be made with the Publishing Service for the index to be completed when page proofs of the manuscript are received.

6. List of other publications in a series

in certain publications issued in a series on a given subject, a list of other publications in the same series has, occasionally, in the past been included at the end of the text or on the reverse of the front and back covers. The inclusion of such cumulative lists is however discouraged% it is very difficult to give up?to?date information concerning the availability of earlier items in the series and concerning the availability of translations inasmuch as earlier items may be out of print and translations may be at various stages of production.

7. Back cover

The back cover of publications normally carries a sales notice, in the six official languages of the United Nations, explaining how to obtain United Nations publications.

It carries also a tagline in English, showing the place of printing, the price, the job number, the date of printing and the print run, the document symbol if any, and the sales number. Click here to see an example of the back cover.

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