LIBRARIES IN PERU AND UNITED STATES DESIGNATED UNITED NATIONS DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES

Press Release
PI/1059

LIBRARIES IN PERU AND UNITED STATES DESIGNATED UNITED NATIONS DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES

NEW YORK, 8 April (Library and Publications Division, DPI) -- Two libraries, located in Peru and the United States, have been designated United Nations depository libraries, becoming part of an international network of 364 libraries in 141 countries and territories that brings United Nations documents and publications to users around the world. They are the Biblioteca Central de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru in Lima, and the Farmington Public Library in Farmington, New Mexico.

The Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru, a private university, was founded in 1917. Several schools, institutes and centres are attached to the University, which has an enrolment of 12,000 students and 1,500 faculty members. The Central Library has a collection of 300,000 volumes and audio- visual items. The Library is equipped with photocopying services; microforms; CD-ROM; has electronic access to external databases; and is in the process of computerizing its operations. It is estimated that 1,500 readers would be interested in the new collection.

The Farmington Public Library was founded in 1921. It provides services to patrons in the greater Four Corners area of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, including the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the United States. The Library has a collection nearing 200,000 volumes and has been a community leader in providing electronic access to documents, publications and other information. It provides full Internet access to library patrons via dedicated computer workstations with full dial-up access to the Internet and other local information via the Internet gateway, Infoway. It subscribes to several dozen CD-ROM products and provides access to these throughout the building on numerous PC- and Macintosh-based workstations.

Since 1946, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library at United Nations Headquarters in New York, which is part of the Department of Public Information (DPI), has arranged for the distribution of United Nations documents and publications to users around the world through its depository library system. At present, there are 364 United Nations depository libraries: 53 are located in Africa, 98 in Asia and the Pacific, 30 in Eastern Europe, 84 in Western Europe, 46 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 53 in North America. These libraries receive United Nations materials, with the understanding that their collections will be maintained in good working order and be available to the public free of charge.

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United Nations Member States, as well as non-members, are entitled to one "free depository", usually the national library in the capital city. In addition, the national parliamentary library, if open to the public, is also entitled to receive material free of charge. Other depository libraries pay a token annual contribution to receive United Nations documentation. Developing countries pay a significantly smaller amount.

The designation of depositories is carried out by the United Nations Publications Board. The degree of development of the requesting libraries and the overall geographic distribution of depository libraries in the countries concerned are among the criteria used.

United Nations professional librarians and information officers make periodic visits to the depository libraries to provide assistance and training in the management of the United Nations collection. In addition, special training seminars for depository librarians are periodically organized by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library in New York and by the Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

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