Subfield Codes

$a - Meeting name or jurisdiction name as entry element (NR)

In UNBIS, the complete meeting name is entered in $a.

In UNBIS, sometimes a body that sounds like a conference (e.g., UNCTAD, the UN Conference on Trade and Development) is treated as a corporate body. If a conference name is entered subordinately under the name of the organization that sponsors it (for example: American Library Association. Conference), the heading is considered to be a corporate name. Likewise, when the name of a corporate body is followed by a qualifier containing the date and place of a meeting of that body, it is treated as a corporate name, not a meeting name.

Group of Eight. Summit (2005 : Gleneagles, Scotland)

In UNBIS practice, if a conference name begins with «United Nations» it is shortened to «UN», but it is spelled out if it appears in the middle of a name.

UN Conference at the Highest Level on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development (2009 : New York)

Symposium on Enhancing the Implementation of the United Nations Security Council Sanctions (2007 : New York)

If the date and/or place of a conference are uncertain or unknown, the unknown elements are recorded in the qualifier as «####» (four hash marks), to be updated when the correct meeting date and place are known.

UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (10th : 2012 : ####)

For a proposed conference, the qualifier «Proposed» is added after the name, to be updated when the meeting date and place are known.

Conference on Cyanobacteria (Proposed)

Ministerial Conference on Drug Trafficking Routes from Afghanistan (3rd : 2011 : ####) (Proposed)

Numerical qualifiers

Numerical qualifiers for numbered sessions include the ordinal numeral followed by «sess.» and the year and place: (1st sess. : 2008 : Geneva), while numerical qualifiers for meetings include the ordinal number only, followed by the year and place; usually, 'meeting' is not included in the numerical qualifier: (1st : 2008 : Geneva).

If meetings with the same name are held during the same year and in the same place and they are not numbered meetings, add the precise date in order to differentiate them.

Hearing with Civil Society and the Private Sector (2008 Mar. 3 : Geneva)

Hearing with Civil Society and the Private Sector (2008 Sept. 17 : Geneva)

For conferences consisting of several different parts or sessions, the session or part designators follow the meeting dates, preceded by a comma.

UN Conference on Natural Rubber (1978-1979, 1st sess. : Geneva)

UN Conference for the Negotiation of a Successor Agreement to the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994 (2004-2006, 3rd pt. : Geneva)

If sessions of a corporate body consist of separately numbered parts, the part designator follows the session designator, preceded by a comma.

UN. Committee for Programme and Coordination (33rd sess., 2nd pt. : 1993 : New York)

UNCTAD. Trade and Development Board (23rd special sess., 1st pt. : 2006 : Geneva)

In general, cross-references are added to the parent record for a corporate or conference name. When entries for specific sessions or meetings of the corporate body or conference are established, consisting of the main name entry followed by meeting or session qualifiers, cross-references are not usually added. However cross-references may be added to entries for specific sessions or meetings that bear distinctive titles in addition to the generic title of the meeting.

111 2 _ $a Round table on Transport Economics (139th : 2007 : Paris)
111 2 _ $a Round Table "Biofuels : Linking Support to Performance" (2007 : Paris)

Geographic qualifiers

When used as geographic qualifiers, Geneva, New York and national capitals are recorded without the name of their respective countries.

For place names in the United States, add the name of the state in AACR2 abbreviated form. For place names in the United Kingdom, add England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales, as appropriate.

In general, the conventional English form of the name is preferred, even when the name of the body or conference is in the vernacular, thus, Vienna, not Wien, etc.  When alternate spellings are found (e.g., Marrakech and Marrakesh), the preferred form should be established as a 150 place name (see UNBIS Reference Maunual for Thesaurus and Geographical Name Records, field 150).

Examples:

111 2 _ $a UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (1998 : Rome)

111 2 _ $a Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (5th : 2000 : Nairobi)

111 2 _ $a Joint Meeting of the RID Safety Committee and the Working Party on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (1999 : Bern)

111 2 _ $a UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (3rd : 1973-1982 : New York, etc.). Drafting Committee

111 2 _ $a World Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth (1998 : Lisbon). Secretariat

111 2 _ $a Meeting of Ministers of Industry and Technology (1998 : Bangkok). Preparatory Meeting of Senior Officials

111 2 _ $a International Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property (Proposed)

111 2 _ $a Uruguay Round (1986-1993 : Punta del Este, Uruguay and Geneva)

111 2 _ $a UN International Training Course on Remote Sensing Education for Educators (8th : 1998 : Stockholm and Kiruna, Sweden)

111 2 _ $a Conférence des chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement de l'Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine (1997 : Lomé)

111 2 _ $a Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (1973-1975 : Helsinki)

111 2 _ $a Round Table on Transport Economics (110th : 1998 : Paris)

111 2 _ $a UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (10th : 2012 : ####)

111 2 _ $a Journées d'études sur l'énergie nucléaire en Europe (1991 : Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)

111 2 _ $a Journée d'études "La Convention européenne des droits de l'homme : développements récents et nouveaux défis" (1996 : Strasbourg, France)

111 2 _ $a Tagung "Rechtsprobleme einer europäischen Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik" (1996 : Mainz, Germany)

111 2 _ $a Berner Tage für Juristische Praxis (1990 : Bern)

111 2 _ $a Foro "La Integración Latinoamericana y Sus Problemas Contemporáneos" (1993 : Montevideo)

111 2 _ $a World Youth Day (2002 : Toronto, Canada)

111 2 _ $a Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Review Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (2008 : Vienna)

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Last updated: 31 May 2011