How to Use the UN Digital Library

The United Nations Digital Library (UNDL) includes UN documents, voting data, speeches, maps, and flagship publications. The platform provides access to UN-produced materials in digital format and bibliographic records for print UN documents starting in 1979. System features include linked data between related documentation such as resolutions, meeting records and voting, and refining of searches by UN body, agency or type of document. 

Click on Help at the top of the screen for a detailed guide on how to use the UN Digital Library.

UN Digital Library options include: 

• filter search results using Collections for Type of resource or UN body or Year
• expand search results using the Fulltext Search radio button to turn on this feature, allows search in all languages, most results in the 6 official UN languages
• sorting options : Year Ascending will bring the latest documents to the top
• with account, create email alerts based on searches to be notified as documents are issued

Access the Simple search from the Digital Library homepage.

1. On the Digital Library homepage, the Simple Search box appears as below:

2. Enter your keywords or the document symbol and click on "Search".

More information on Simple searches can be found in the Help text.

It is possible to do full text searching several ways in the Digital Library.

The example below searches for documents that mention Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security. 

1. After a simple search for keywords, toggle the Fulltext Search ON 

2. Alternatively, in the simple search, use the command fulltext:"key words"

3. Another option: in the advanced search, select fulltext from the dropdown then click the Search button

More information on Fulltext searching can be found in the Help text.

The Advanced Search provides easy access to all available search options. Simply choose from drop-down menus without having to know a specific search syntax. 

Enter search terms, then use the drop-down menus to select the search fields and optionally select a Boolean operator to combine your search terms. As in the Simple Search, the default setting is the Boolean AND.  

Up to three search bars can be combined to search by author, title, document symbol, agenda, year, abstract and notes, series, subject, or fulltext. 

More information about Advanced Search features can be found in the Help text.

Additional features for registered users include:

• Saved search
• Search alerts
• Collaboration tools: creating baskets; adding items to baskets; moving items between baskets; sharing baskets within groups or to the public

Please complete the following form to request an account.  If the form does not load, contact the Dag Hammarskjöld Library.

It is easy to add a UN Digital Library search box to any webpage. The search URL is constructed using regular GET parameters. This is how to do it.

1. To embed just the simple search box, put the following HTML code where you want it to appear on your site :

      <form name="search" action="https://digitallibrary.un.org/search" method="get">
            <input type="text" name="p" value="" />
            <input type="submit" name="action_search" value="Search" />
        </form>

You can append any style you want to this box

2. To add elements to refine the search to a certain collection, you can add a hidden input field for the collection attribute c.

This creates a textbox and maps the values to the c parameter of the search. For example, this box just searches in the Voting Data:

    <form name="search" action="https://digitallibrary.un.org/search" method="get">
            <input type="hidden" name="c" value="Voting Data"> 
            <input name="p" type="text" value="" /> 
            <input name="action_search" type="submit" value="Search" />
        </form>

3. To create a dropdown to allow users to select among collections. 

This creates a select dropdown and maps the values to the c parameter of the search. For example, use the following code to enable users to search in one of the three main collections of the UN Digital Library: Documents and Publications, Voting Data, and Speeches.

 <form action="https://digitallibrary.un.org/search" method="get" name="search">
            <select name="c">
            <option value="Documents and Publications">Documents and Publications</option>
            <option value="Voting Data">Voting Data</option>
            <option value="Speeches">Speeches</option>
            </select> 
            <input name="p" type="text" value="" /> <input name="action_search" type="submit" value="Search" /> 
        </form>

We do not recommend iframe to embed the UN Digital Library search on your site.

The UN Digital Library provides access to UN-produced content including UN documents and publications and information about UN materials in our collections (metadata).

In the UN Digital Library, it is possible to find records with and without digital files, as well as other Library-created metadata such as voting information for resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and Security Council, and citation to speeches made in the principal organs.

The UN Digital Library searches on metadata fields in English. Practices on metadata creation have varied over the years. In general, records have:

• document symbol or call number
• title
• publication date

Many records have more extensive information, such as:

• author
• subjects
• agenda information
• contents note
• action date (for voting and speech records)

More information on the scope of the UN Digital Library can be found in the About/Scope section of the Help text.

Does the Digital Library host digital files?

• Yes, the Digital Library includes both digital files associated with a record, and citation only records without digital files. 

How often is the Digital Library updated?

• Metadata and files are added to the system Monday-Friday. New documents are added as they become available.

• Personal Names: Metadata team tagged a selection of resources used to identify personal names (Committee membership list, Blue Books, list of delegations, Yearbook) for indexing purposes with 930:PN, so that it's easier to do a full text search in the UNDL. You can combine it with a year in 830 (year of coverage as opposed to publication year). Here's an example for someone with the name Smith in 1951: https://digitallibrary.un.org/search?ln=en&p=930%3APN+fulltext%3Asmith+830%3A1951&f=&action_search=Search&rm=&sf=&so=d&rg=50&c=Resource+Type&c=UN+Bodies&c=&of=hb&fti=0&fti=0 Note that not all of these resources have been digitized yet.
• Series titles: MARC 830 used to create series titles (uniform title) for recurrent reports such as annual/sessional reports of principal organs and subsidiaries, also used for Press Release series and serial publications, as well as reports of special rapporteurs.