UNIC Reference Library

INTRODUCTION

The Reference Library at the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) started operating in 1951 in Karachi and then moved in 1971 to the present premises in Islamabad.

 The UNIC Library has a collection of over 30,000 volumes of UN publications, yearbooks, international treaties, conventions and latest reports.

 For the past couple of years, the Reference Library has resolutely embraced information technology with a view to enhance the services to its beneficiaries in Pakistan. A window for databases of the Dag Hammarskjold Library of United Nations and other UN offices and agencies through using UN Homepage is opened here under the UNIC Website http://www.un.org/unic/pk for electronic reference services.

 The library also extends its support to UN Depository Libraries located at the Universities of Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Jamshoro and the Library of the National Assembly in Islamabad.

COLLECTIONS & REFERENCES

The books, reports and other reading materials kept in the Reference Library at UNIC are divided into various sections according to their specific nature or the special requirements of the library users.

1.                   The General Collection:  comprises more than 30,000 volumes. Weekly inflow comprises 15 to 20  items received from UN Secretariat and UN Agencies, and UN Regional Commissions. Material on ‘Teaching about the United Nations’ includes booklets and leaflets for students and the general public, to enable them learn about the United Nations work and scope.

2.                   The Reference Section: is a rich collection of reference sources. It covers the complete history of UN activities regarding all issues on its agenda; as well as all international conventions, declarations and treaties deposited with the UN Secretary-General. Official Records of the General Assembly and its Committees along with official records of the Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, and International Court of Justice (ICJ) are also available. 

3.         The Political Section: covers documentation on all the political issues and international disputes on the UN Agenda. Resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, the States participation in UN meetings, deliberations and speeches by State delegates in the Security Council, General Assembly and in other UN platforms are available in this section. All kinds of print material on peace, security, disarmament, international law, nuclear energy, refugees and related issues can be found. Annual reports of the Security Council and the Secretary-General, United Nations Yearbook and Disarmament Yearbook are the main source publications for all such issues.

 4.                   The Trade and Development Section: contains publications on the environment, international trade, population, natural resources, social development, natural disasters, human rights, education, urbanization and foreign investment as well as economic surveys and development planning. In addition, important reports and surveys of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on trade and socio-economic issues are available. The regular arrival of more than 50 periodicals, bulletins from UN Agencies is a permanent feature. These periodicals are displayed in the premises for the users.

 5.         The Statistics Section: This is a very rich information resource kept up-to-date with the latest publications. It comprises statistical yearbooks on energy, industry, population, trade, food, forest, fisheries, labour, health, education, national accounts, economic and social issues, and human settlements

              In addition, the Library receives ‘vacancy bulletins for professional category’, and promotional material from UN Headquarters and regional commissions on different subjects and themes such as posters, wallsheets and brochures, which are offered free of cost, on request, to the concerned organizations, NGOs, academic institutions and Library visitors.

SERVICES

Visitors:

Visitors are provided with a reading room, a reference service and information literature. UN information material is also disseminated and mailed, free of cost, in response to ‘written requests’ from all over the country. Inquiries about activities of the United Nations are also responded to through email, phone and fascimile.

The main users at the library are: research scholars, professors and students of universities and colleges, media, government officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations and the diplomatic community.

Loans:

A limited loan service is available for  researchers and academicians. The library is basically a reference library, however, interlibrary loan is encouraged to make the required information available to our users.

Inquiry Service:  

This service can be exploited either by visiting the library or writing letters, or through e-mail or over the phone. Every possible effort is made to satisfy the enquiries and required material is mailed, free of cost.

Public Access to UN Information Resources on Internet:  

This service can be used to obtain the Internet-based information of the UN documentation, by reaching UNBISNET through UN homepage.

 Audio-visual material (for detail, see “UN Films”)

 Databases and Publications

• United Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBIS)
• UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM – a quarterly product of Dag Hammarskjold Library. It contains backfiles since 1975 on UN resolutions and documents.
• Index to Proceedings of the UN main organs (General Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC, ICJ, Trusteeship Council).

LOCATION AND SERVICE HOURS

              The United Nations Information Centre is located at House 26, Street 88, G-6/3, Islamabad. It is open to the public Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. It can also be reached by Phone: 92-51-2821012, 2270610, Fax 92-51-2271856, and Email: unic.islamabad@unic.org