UNESCO Associated Libraries in the USA

U.S. libraries advancing programs that cut across at least three of UNESCO’s five sectors (education, natural science, social science, culture, and communication/information) may apply for recognition as a UNESCO Associated Library by the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO.

Recognition through the UNESCO Associated Library program conveys to visitors and patrons that your library has a commitment to international engagement through communication, culture, education, and science. Libraries that receive this distinction may publicize their status as a UNESCO Associated Library and are eligible to display a special certificate issued by the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. Moreover, becoming a UNESCO Associated Library enables an institution to tap into the network of UNESCO Associated Libraries in the U.S. and around the globe.

Any U.S. Library interested in recognition as a UNESCO Associated Library should complete and submit an application, which can be found here.

For an informational brochure, click here.

IFLA 2011 Congress News and Media

Opening Session on the IFLA General Conference

A great deal of news and media was created during the World Library and Information Congress : 77th IFLA General Conference and Assembly in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The next best thing to having been there is to visit the 2011 IFLA Express website to catch up on what took place.

Read an interview with Jānis Kārkliņš, Assistant Director-General of Communication and Information of UNESCO from the IFLA Congress.

Did you know UNESCO has online resources you can use?

Here are a couple of very useful resources free for you to download:

The UNESCO Thesaurus is widely used to standardize the terminology used to describe content in the areas of education, science, culture, social and human sciences, information and communication, and politics, law and economics. It also includes the names of countries and groupings of countries: political, economic, geographic, ethnic and religious, and linguistic groupings. Check it out!

Micro CDS/ISIS is an advanced non-numerical information storage and retrieval software developed by UNESCO since 1985 to satisfy the need of organizations to streamline their information processing activities by using modern (and relatively inexpensive) PC technologies.

• CDS/ISIS for Windows


• GenISIS: DB publishing


• Information Processing Tools


• IsisAscii


• IsisMarc


• Javaisis


• WEBLIS

UNESCO and Libraries

The 21st century
Library of Alexandria
Largest in Africa

Libraries are essential to the free flow of ideas and to maintaining, increasing and spreading knowledge. As repositories of books and other printed material, they are key to promote reading and writing. With the advent of the Internet, new opportunities and new challenges have been created for libraries, especially in developing nations. UNESCO has promoted the work of libraries since it was created. More....

Building Libraries' Capacity

Preserving Library Collections

UNESCO Libraries Portal

World Book and Copyright Day

Building digital library with WINISIS

The Thapar University in Patiala, India, hosted a workshop on WINISIS, from 14 to 18 May 2007 in collaboration with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India and the UNESCO Office in New Delhi.

The ISIS for Windows (WINISIS) plays an important role for automation of library operations in developing countries, including India, because of its easy-to-use features, convenient availability, negligible cost of implementation, continuous development and support from UNESCO, and its large user community. Recent developments in WINISIS, such as web-enabled interface, tools for data conversions into bibliographic standards and handling of digital documents, have made it a potential tool for development and management of digital libraries.

Click here to go to the CDS/ISIS website where you can apply for a free copy of the software.

UNESCO-SALIS e-Learning Portal for Awareness Raising on Information Literacy

UNESCO-SALIS workshop (6-10 November 2006, Chennai, India)
© UNESCO New Delhi

The Society for the Advancement of Library and Information Science (SALIS), India, in collaboration with UNESCO, has just launched a six-month project entitled Interactive E-Learning Portal on Information Literacy Competency Development Skills for South Asia.

The project aims to raise awareness and enhance information literacy competency skills of laymen as well as information professionals and educators. Its objectives are fully in line with UNESCO’s mandate to bridge the digital divide and UNESCO’s vision of Knowledge Societies.

The UNESCO Thesaurus

The UNESCO Thesaurus is a controlled and structured list of terms used in subject analysis and retrieval of documents and publications in the fields of education, culture, natural sciences, social and human sciences, communication and information. Continuously enriched and updated, its multidisciplinary terminology reflects the evolution of the Organization's programs and activities.

The UNESCO Thesaurus contains 7,000 terms in English and in Russian, 8,600 terms in French and in Spanish.

The UNESCO Thesaurus is also available on CD-ROM,

Comment: A thesaurus, such as the UNESCO Thesaurus, is required for the definition of key words to describe documents in a library of data base. It imposes a hierarchical structure on fields of knowledge. Colleagues who know about such things tell me that the UNESCO Thesaurus is the gold standard in the fields it covers, and is used all over the world. JAD