LIBRARIES IN BRAZIL, CHINA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA AND UNITED STATES DESIGNATED UNITED NATIONS DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES

LIBRARIES IN BRAZIL, CHINA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

AND UNITED STATES DESIGNATED UNITED NATIONS DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES

(Reissued as received.)

Six libraries, located in Brazil, China, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the United States, have been designated United Nations depository libraries, becoming part of an international network of 404 libraries in

144 countries and territories that brings United Nations documents and publications to users around the world.  They are the Office of Economic and Social Development, Secretariat of Planning, Science and Technology of the State Government of Bahia (Salvador, Brazil), Fudan University (Shanghai, China), Suzhou University (Suzhou, China), Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (Wuhan, China), SEE University at Tetovo (Tetovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), and the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States).

     The Office of Economic and Social Development (SEI) in Salvador, the state capital of Bahia, becomes the seventh United Nations depository library in Brazil.  SEI Library, which held an earlier United Nations deposit (1964-1984), is open to the general public and hosts more than 500 users monthly.  The Library holds about 18,000 books, over 300 periodicals, and offers access to online information systems.  The United Nations deposit includes printed publications of the United Nations in Spanish, as well as Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) masthead documents.

Fudan University, founded in 1905, currently has about 20,000 students and 4,670 faculty members.  The Library of the Law School, which becomes the third United Nations depository library in Shanghai, holds over 33,000 monographs in Chinese, English and Japanese, and more than 150 serials in Chinese and English; about 650 persons on the campus use the library on a regular basis.  Three librarians are assigned to maintain the United Nations collection, which consists of online access to the full text of parliamentary documents and printed publications in Chinese and English.

The Library of Kenneth Wang Law School at Suzhou University becomes the first United Nations depository library in Suzhou and in Jiangsu Province.   Suzhou University, founded in 1900, has 39,000 students and 4,150 faculty members.  The Library of the Law School holds about 30,000 monographs and 2,000 serials in Chinese and English; over 1,000 persons use the Library of the Law School on a regular basis.  Two librarians are assigned to maintain the United Nations deposit, which consists of printed publications and masthead documents of the

United Nations, including Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) masthead documents, in Chinese and English.

The Law School Library of Zhongnan University becomes the second United Nations depository library in Wuhan.  Zhongnan University, founded in 1948 as Central China University, has about 15,500 students and an academic staff of 920.  Besides the general public, about 7,000 persons on the campus use the Law School Library on a regular basis; it holds about 690,000 books in Chinese, English and other languages and more than 15,000 serials.  Four librarians are assigned to maintain the United Nations deposit, which consists of online access to the full text of parliamentary documents and printed publications in English.  

SEE University at Tetovo will become the second United Nations depository library in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.  The University, scheduled to open later this year, will pursue a broad international perspective and multilingual approach to teaching and research.   The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) High Commissioner on National Minorities, OSCE member States and the European Commission sponsor the SEE University Project, which includes the establishment of a library with appropriate facilities for an initial collection of 5,000 monographs and serials.  The number of library patrons is estimated to reach 3,000, including students, faculty and staff, as well as visitors from the community.  Two librarians will be assigned to maintain the United Nations deposit, which will, once fully implemented, consist of printed publications in English, and Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) masthead documents.

The Robert A. and Vivian Young Law Library at the University of Arkansas becomes the first United Nations depository library in the state of Arkansas.   The Library is one of the largest law libraries in Arkansas, dating back to the establishment of the Law School in 1926.  With a staff of eight professional librarians, it serves campus users and the general public from the surrounding communities.  The library collection includes more than 250,000 volumes and

1,600 serials, as well as a selection of state and federal documents.  Extensive online information resources are also available.  Five library staff members are assigned to maintain the United Nations collection, which consists of online access to the full text of parliamentary documents and printed publications in English.

Since 1946, the Dag Hammarskj`ld 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 404 United Nations depository libraries:  55 are located in Africa, 108 in Asia and the Pacific, 19 in Western Asia, 31 in Eastern Europe, 82 in Western Europe, 51 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 58 in North America.  These libraries receive United Nations materials, with the understanding that their collections will be maintained in good order and made available to the general public free of charge.

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 than developed countries.

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 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 Hammarskj`ld Library in New York and by the Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

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