- See also, MARC21 format standards in the UNBIS Reference Manual.

In addition to conferences and meetings, this category includes fora, symposia, seminars, workshops, etc.

111 2 _ $a Rencontres Médias Nord-Sud (13th : 1997 : Geneva and Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland)
111 2 _ $a Jornadas de Derecho Comunitario Europeo (2nd : 1992 : Córdoba, Spain)
111 2 _ $a Journées d'études sur l'énergie nucléaire en Europe (1991 : Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)
111 2 _ $a International Banking Summer School (35th : 1982 : St. Andrews, Scotland)

110 2 _ $a American Library Association. Conference (106th : 1987 : San Francisco, Calif.)

110 2 _ $a UN. General Assembly (62nd sess. : 2007-2008)
110 2 _ $a UN. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Scientific and Technical Subcommittee. Action Team for Recommendation No. 1 (3rd : 2003 : Vienna)

In general, though, treat a standing body called «Conference of Parties» as a conference. One exception has been «Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change», but this was probably a mistake. The problem is that once a pattern has been established, it may be very difficult to remedy for technical reasons: changing the tag number in the authority record (e.g., from 110 to 111) does not generate the same change in the bib records, so each bib record would have to have the old heading deleted and the updated one attached. In the case of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, there have been countless sessions of the main and all the subsidiary bodies and as a result far too many headings to contemplate making these changes; hopefully, when UNBIS is hosted on a more advanced platform it will be easier to implement such revisions.

Other irregular cases include visiting missions:

110 2 _ $a UN Visiting Mission to Tokelau, 1986
110 2 _ $a UN. Security Council Mission to the Great Lakes Region, 2001

A conference can also have subordinate bodies:

111 2 _ $a UN International Symposium on Trade Efficiency (1994 : Columbus, Ohio). Ministerial Segment. President

Names of conferences

The name of a conference may not be clear. As usual, the title page of the publication is the chief source of information but it may also appear in the preface or within a paragraph of a UN document. The formal name of a conference may be found in its report or on the conference website. If only the substantive part of the name is known (i.e., the subject of the conference), that phrase should be enclosed in quotes.

111 2 _ $a Conference "Aligning Financial Supervisory Structure with Country Needs" (2003 : Washington, D.C.)
111 2 _ $a ACE Conference "Adjustment of Agricultural Policies of Central and Eastern European Countries on the Way to the European Union" (1996 : Szirák, Hungary)
111 2 _ $a Workshop "Better Integration of Radiation Protection in Modern Society" (2001 : Villigen, Switzerland)

If a conference has both a specific name of its own and a more general name as one of a series of conferences, establish the specific name and add the general name as a cross-reference.

111 2 _ $a Colloque "Les Nations Unies et le développement" (1993 : Aix-en-Provence, France)
411 2 _ $a Rencontres internationales de l'Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (1993 : Aix-en-Provence, France)

111 2 _ $a Colloque "Les Nations Unies et la restauration de l'Etat" (1994 : Aix-en-Provence, France)
411 2 _ $a Rencontres internationales de l'Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence (1994 : Aix-en-Provence, France)

A conference name may have a subtitle separated from the main title by a colon. In UNBIS, there has been a tendency to use the same  punctuation for such names as used for the title of a publication in field 245: space-colon-space. No such rule is specified for conference names but, for the sake of consistency, it is probably best to follow this pattern.

111 2 _ $a International Forum "New Discourses on a Peace Regime in Northeast Asia and Korea : Contending Views and New Alternatives" (1996 : Seoul)
111 2 _ $a UNECE Spring Seminar "Financing for Development in the ECE Region : Promoting Growth in Low-income Transition Economies" (2005 : Geneva)

Proposed conferences

Add «Proposed» in parentheses after the name; any available information about the proposed conference can be included in a 680 note.

111 2 _ $a Conference on Cyanobacteria (Proposed)
680       $i Proposed to be held in Portugal

Alternately, if it is certain that the conference will take place but either the time or place have not yet been set, add space marks to indicate the missing information. 

111 2 _ $a UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (4th : 2011 : ####)

However, if a meeting is one in a regular sequence of meetings that are always held at the same interval and in the same location, it is permissible to interpolate or «fill in the blanks». For example, if the text refers to a future session of the General Assembly, since it meets annually it is easy to determine that the 66th session will be held from 2011-2012. The International Law Commission always meets in Geneva, so that location may be added to the new heading even if not specified in the text.

Sessional information

Sessional information is very important in indexing UN documents and is recorded very precisely. Add sessional information as a qualifier following the entry; include session number, date and location. Some meeting bodies, such as ECOSOC, may divide a session into sections, each with a different focus. If a session, or a specific segment of a session, is resumed, that also is specified and generates a new heading.

110 2 _ $a UN. Economic and Social Council (2006, coordination segment : Geneva)
110 2 _ $a UN. Economic and Social Council (2006, substantive sess. : Geneva)
110 2 _ $a UN. Economic and Social Council (2006, substantive sess., resumed : New York)
110 2 _ $a UNCTAD. Trade and Development Board (23rd special sess., 3rd pt. : 2006 : Geneva)

Note: «sess.» (an UNBIS abbreviation) is used only if it appears on the document or if it has been used consistently by the body in the past. Otherwise, the entry is:

110 2 _ $a UN. Ad Hoc Committee on Criminal Accountability of United Nations Officials and Experts on Mission (2007 : New York)

One must be careful to ascertain whether the sessional information applies to the main or to the subordinate body. Some subordinate bodies meet only as a function of sessions of their parent bodies; others may have separately numbered sessions.

For example, the Working Group on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space used to meet independently of its parent body:

110 2 _ $a UN. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Scientific and Technical Subcommittee. Working Group on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space (14th sess. : 1997 : Vienna)

[The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee held its 34th sess. that year.]

But at a certain point, the Working Group became tied to sessions of the parent body:

110 2 _ $a UN. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (44th sess. : 2007 : Vienna). Working Group on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space

Dates

Normally add only the year, but if there is a need to refer to two or more unnumbered sessions of the body held within the same year in the same location, include the exact dates in the form year-month-day.

110 2 _ $a UN. ESCAP. Advisory Committee of Permanent Representatives and Other Representatives Designated by Members of the Commission. Open-ended Informal Working Group (2001 Jan. 17 : Bangkok)

110 2 _ $a UN. ESCAP. Advisory Committee of Permanent Representatives and Other Representatives Designated by Members of the Commission. Open-ended Informal Working Group (2001 Apr. 11 : Bangkok)

Location

Do not add location information for the sessions of the General Assembly, Security Council and Trusteeship Council (operation suspended 1994) since their meetings are always held in New York. Add the location qualifier to meetings of the Economic and Social Council since its meetings are held alternately in New York and Geneva.

If sessions of a conference, etc., were held in two locations, add both names.

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 (13th : 2003 : Stockholm and Kiruna, Sweden)

Note: in years when the Economic and Social Council meets in Geneva, it will also hold some meetings in New York. Thus, general headings for the body will include both locations, while specific segments will be tied to one locale.

110 2 _ $a UN. Economic and Social Council (2007 : New York and Geneva). Bureau

But

110 2 _ $a UN. Economic and Social Council (2007, high-level segment : Geneva)

If sessions of a conference, etc., were held in three or more locations, add the first-named place followed by «etc.».

111 2 _ $a Seminar on Asian Experience in Development Planning (1986 : Beijing, etc.)
111 2 _ $a Global Consultations on International Protection (2000-2002 : Geneva, etc.)
111 2 _ $a Joint ECE Timber Committee/FAO European Forestry Commission Technical Excursion to the Federal Republic of Germany (2002 : Berlin, etc.)