Several comments are assembled here on the issue of the access to the Optical Disk System at the UN:
I have yet to see any documentation of the claim that electronic access to the Optical Disc system at the UN costs so much that it requires charging NGOs hefty access fees. By the way, journalists (like me) do not even have the option of paying for access. The UN requires that journalists go to the Dag Hammarskjold library - open only during UN office hours - and access the system from there.
The trend towards cutting off information about the UN to those who are likely to use it most has grown in recent years and it is alway justified on the grounds of economy. Hard copies of documents are printed in fewer numbers and they do not remain on the shelf as long as they used to - in the Press working area at the UN, space for documents was squeezed to a minimum a few years ago by the expansion of the offices of the spokesman. Now, even current documents are now sometimes hard to come by. None of the Geneva human rights documentation is kept,and the Conference on Disarmament is entirely unrepresented, except in Press releases.
Rather than read sinister motivation into this trend, I am inclined to think that it is short-sighted folly. UN officials have been trying to show how good they are at cutting costs (or making a profit), and documentation is an easy target. People at the top seem to have ignored the problem, even though it has been brought to their attention both by NGOs and in the pages of International Documents Review.
Dear James Paul,
Having read your letter about ODS on the ACUNS list today, I'd like to tell you the following:
As representative of a UN depository library I attended the first UN course for our group in Scandinavia in Copenhagen last month. One of the topics discussed was, of course, ODS. I, for one, asked about free access for depository libraries, but was told that we probably didn't stand a chance since the UN was using all means of obtaining income these days. We were also told not to be fooled by the 40 per cent discount proposed in document A/52/803, since no subscription price was set in that document and the course leader thought the UN might up the price, leaving us with the same amount of money to pay as now. - We were also told to wait before subscribing, as the site wasn't all that good yet.
Keep on trying, on all our behalfs!
Best regards,
Anne C. Kjelling
About Wim de Haar's inquiry and the reaction of James A. Paul on behalf of the Global Policy Forum.
I certainly support the idea of a free access to the UN Documents via the ODS. I understand though that the installation and the maintenance of the whole system has been/is rather expensive, therefore limited access and why 'other' users have to pay large fees to make use of it. Hopefully the situation will change. But in the meantime, and if the need was urgent, Wim de Haar might have already considered the option of giving a call to the nearest UN Documentation Centre, explained them the situation and asked for a copy of the documents he was interested in. Many of us have probably done this several times. My personal experience tells me it is worth trying, as the people employed there tend to be helpful in those matters, especially if you know precisely what you are looking for.
Sincerely,
Zlatko Sabic
University of Ljubljana
Faculty of Social Sciences
International Relations Research Centre
P.O. Box 2547
SI-1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
Phone:++ 386 61 1681 461
Fax: ++ 386 61 1682 329
http://www.uni-lj.si
Dear Wim de Haar,
I am working on UN finances and have links with ACUNS and Jim Paul of Global Forum and saw your cry for help over errant UN documents. Someone who has been unfailingly helpful to me is Kim Garval, the extremely busy but attentive deputy director of the Information centre for the Nordic Countries in Copenhagen. His coordinates are:
Tel: 45 35 467312;
Fax: 45 35 467301 and e-mail: garval@un dkI'll try to keep an eye open in my files for your missing numbers but I cannot be very systematic, I'm afraid. Can you tell me what these documents are about. It would help me to know roughly what you are looking for.
Yours sincerely,
Anthony McDermott
From: Wim de Haar[SMTP: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ]
Reply To: Academic Council on the UN System Discussion List
Sent: 14 April 1998 14:26
To: Multiple recipients of list ACUNS-IO
Subject: urgent need for electronic copies of UN documents
Importance: HighDear subscribers,
normally I use the UN homepage or gopher to get the documents of the UN. But as you are all aware, there is only alimited amount of documents put upon these systems. The largest compilation of documents can only be found on the CD-Rom and on the ODS. Due to lack of finances, I do not have access to these types of media. Therefore, I address myself to the list. Can anyone provide me with or hint me to sites where to find the following documents:
S/25806
S/25807
S/26838
S/29839
S/1992/102
S/1992/103
S/1997/938
S/1998/223
S/1998/272
Many thanks in advance for the assistance.Awaiting replies, I remain,
Best wishes,
Wim de Haar
Centre for Peace and Security Studies
Free University Brussels
Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels (Belgium)
Tel.: +32.2.6292228
Fax: +32.2.6292278
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
URL: http://www.vub.ac.be/POLE
More Information on NGO Access at the UN
More Information on NGOs and the Official Documents System
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