Alternatively, you can go to the website of the organisation to search or browse for documents or data. Some have sophisticated search tools which will aid the research experience.
A selection of major international organisations with significant publication outputs are highlighted below.
The EU Bookshop is an online bookshop, library and archive of publications dating back to 1952. It contains over 110,000 titles and 235,000 corresponding electronic versions (PDFs, e-books) in more than 50 languages, including the 24 official languages of the EU. To obtain a hardcopy of certain titles, you may have to pay a small fee. PDF and e-book versions are free of charge.
The vast majority of titles on EU Bookshop are authored by EU institutions such as the European Commission, European Parliament, Council of the EU, EU agencies and other bodies. Some titles are produced jointly with partner publishers and/or other international organisations. Others are written by individuals whose work is endorsed by the institution they work for. You can search or browse to find relevant information
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) brings together 34 member countries that share the principles of the market economy, democracy and respect for human rights. It is a unique forum to discuss, develop and perfect economic and social policy. You can browse or search the website to find information by country or topic, such as in the UK country example.
The OECD iLibrary is the online publications portal of the OECD. It gives full-text access to books, papers and statistics.
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. Use the Databases section to access: official documents, treaties, statistics, archival info.
The United Nations iLibrary is also a very useful source, acting as a global search, discovery and viewing tool for digital content created by the United Nations. The United Nations Audiovisual Library website is updated with audio and video recordings of daily meetings and events coverage including press conferences, press briefings, stakeouts and other events happening at the UN Headquarters in New York or other offices around the world. The AV Library also uploads curated historic audio, film or video recordings from a wide range of media from the UN audiovisual collection
The World Bank website provides access to a vast amount of statistics and publications relating to global development. Key areas of the website for researchers are:
Europa is the official website of the European Union with documents in all the languages of the EU.
You can use this site to search and browse to various official publications produced by the EU bodies including the following:
If you need to know about the EU setup and the role each body plays, take a look online for an explanation of the role each of the EU institutions plays.
Europa is a huge site so if you are working with EU related official publications it is recommended you take some time to explore the site and familiarise yourself with the available content.
The Documents and Publications tab will link you through to all official EU publications, including official documents, reports and studies, statistics, data etc.
Some of the other major areas of the site that are useful for researchers are highlighted below.
The European Union: A guide to researching the law of the EU from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies is a good resource to use if you aer unfamiliar wit EU information sources.
A vast amount of information about the work of the EU Parliament is available online via the European Parliament website but it can be difficult to search effectively for detailed research. The Committees section is the best route in to view documentation relating to issues before Parliament.. You can view Committee agendas and all accompanying documentation. You can also search across the committee documentation.
The Legislative Observatory allows users to follow the decision-making process for all EU legislative and non-legislative procedures going through the European Parliament.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is a political and military alliance whose purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. You can use the NATO E-Library to official NATO documents and texts produced by the organisation. A useful NATO LibGuides section is also provided. NATO LibGuides are web-based research guides that contain publicly available information from the Internet that have been handpicked by the NATO Multimedia Library staff. The LibGuides have been created for topics that are of current interest to NATO's mission. They are by no means a comprehensive collection but provide a good starting point for your research.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.
Use the Documents and Reports section for access to the official documents of the WTO's councils and committees as well as to a range of other resources, such as trade statistics, economic research, WTO publications, videos, audio and photos. Here you can also find the “legal texts” — the body of WTO agreements that collectively form the legal framework of the WTO.
The European Union Open Data Portal is the single point of access to a growing range of data from the institutions and other bodies of the European Union (EU). Data are free for you to use and reuse for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
By providing easy and free access to data, the portal aims to promote their innovative use and unleash their economic potential. It also aims to help foster the transparency and the accountability of the institutions and other bodies of the EU.
