The Libraries' documentation recounts the history of the United Nations from its inception and includes publications on such diverse subjects as economic and social development, peace-keeping, humanitarian affairs, international law, public administration, transport and communications, etc.

UN documentation, especially that of the principal organs, has considerable historical value for researchers and scholars who can use it to trace the progress of issues with which the UN is concerned as they develop through time. In addition, publications such as the statistical yearbooks and the numerous economic studies have great practical value. The documentation as a whole is extremely complex, and the task of retrieving publications can be a difficult one requiring precision and dedication. It is important, therefore, that libraries have well-organized collections so that the documentation remains intact and the process of retrieving information is simplified as much as possible.

The Dag Hammarskjöld Library, as a lead library in the UN Libraries System, has taken on the initiative to develop a technical assistance programme for UN Small and Field Libraries. Implementation of this programme is facilitated by developments in telecommunications and internet technologies. Small and Field Libraries no longer operate in isolation. The Internet helps bring to the field libraries a wealth of electronic resources, and allows them to cooperate with and link to major duty station libraries.

The main tool used by our programme is the World Wide Web, and a dedicated web site has been designed to support it. Our librarians have tried to include as much information as possible in order to make the site useful. It is organized in such a way as to provide librarians with suggestions for carrying out all aspects of their demanding work. It includes descriptions of the documentation of the United Nations and the indexes to it and procedures on the binding and filing of publications. There is also a section on library services which includes suggestions for answering specific reference questions the public often asks. Our presentation also includes a chapter on the films, radio programmes and photographs produced by the Department of Public Information.

Although experienced librarians may also find the various presentations helpful, they  should be reviewed most carefully by newly-appointed librarians in order to acquaint them with the documentation and to provide them with solutions to a number of problems they will encounter in their work. These presentations will also be of particular help to those libraries where the collection is cumbersome to maintain and its re-organization is necessary. The procedures on the filing of documents outlined in this manual have been tested and found to result in the most efficient organization possible. They make maximum use of existing UN indexes and catalogues upon which the majority of libraries must rely, because their small staffs preclude them from maintaining a card catalogue and other in-house guides to the collection.

This is why we cannot over-emphasize that libraries should use the UN's electronic tools (UNBISnet, ODS) available online. Let us repeat here that one of the intentions in developing our programme is to avoid duplication of work between libraries.