Virtual Library

This WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources is a frequently updated Internet directory of over 2000 annotated links to high-quality English-language sources of information and analysis in a wide range of international affairs, international relations, international studies, global studies, and global education topics. These sites are carefully selected for their long-term value, favoring those with cost-free, authoritative information and analysis online. Each website is described only in general terms because of the typically rapid changes in details of its contents and features.




VIRTUAL LIBRARIES


Major Directories, Gateways, and Search Facilities
Selected Major Libraries


Major Directories, Gateways, and Search Facilities

  

COPAC-- "Freely available library catalogue, giving access to the merged online catalogues of many major UK and Irish academic and National libraries, as well as increasing numbers of specialist libraries."

European Commission Central Library-- Central locator site maintained by the European Commission's unit responsible for libraries and European Documentation Centres, "an essential tool for librarians, documentalists and researchers working on European material." Here is the European Commission Libraries Catalogue of bibliographical references for hundreds of thousands of publications on European affairs, but without document delivery or copy service.

European Library-- "The European Library is a membership organisation for national and research libraries. Its members include 48 national libraries and an increasing number of research libraries. Through its [searchable] portal, it makes the resources of Europe's libraries, including many special collections, accessible to the public." Also offers a directory of links to the libraries of Europe.


Gateway to Library Catalogs-- From the U.S. Library of Congress, allows access to and search of the Library of Congress catalog, plus links to many academic and national libraries.

JOLIS Library Catalog-- On this site you can search the joint library holdings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, the publications of these organizations, and related resources.

LibGuides Community Site-- Enter a search term to access hundreds of thousands of bibliographic reference guides in thousands of libraries around the world that use the Springshare LibGuides system. Very useful. Two good examples are the LibGuides of NATO and the North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources.  


Lib-web-cats-- "Directory of libraries worldwide. Each listing includes links to the library's website and online catalog [and also] the geographic location, address, library type, current and previous library automation systems used, and the size of the library's collection."


Libraries, Catalogues and Publications of the UN System-- "The premier web site which provides a Web interface to the electronic resources of the libraries of [the] UN system of organizations, and offers powerful search and retrieval functionality... provides a single point of access to library catalogs, indexes and abstract databases, library holdings, links to full-text resources, and archives." Excellent central database to search for U.N. studies and holdings by country, topic, or other terms.

Military Education and Research Library Network (MERLN)-- The searchable joint site of military education libraries in the United States (mainly) and Europe, providing access to the library holdings and online information resources of the "largest and most comprehensive collections of military information resources in the world." Note the section on online publications of MERLN participants. The Professional Military Journal Reading Room features annotated links to online U.S. and Canadian military journals. The Military Policy Awareness Links are current listings of quality online information and analysis sources, posted by the National Defense University Library as a current awareness service on major topics of U.S. military policy.


OpenDOAR- From the University of Nottingham, UK, "an authoritative directory of academic open access repositories... As well as providing a simple repository list, OpenDOAR lets you search for repositories or search repository contents."

Open Library-- With the goal of "One web page for every book ever published," a massive and searchable cataloging project (since 2007) that provides online access to millions of scanned versions of books and links to external sources when scanned versions are not possible.

Policy Library-- An excellent social, economic, and foreign policy site, with a large database of free, online full-text studies from leading research organizations. Many international affairs papers included, plus links to major research sources.


Public Libraries.com-- By listing and linking all U.S. public, college, and presidential library websites, this site "strives to promote the use and support of local public libraries in every city across the United States."


UK Public Library Dataset-- "Contains contact information for 4,040 UK Public Library branches, each with a unique identifier and has been published on data.gov.uk. It is the first and most comprehensive openly-published dataset of its kind, covering the whole of the UK and containing branch-name, main postal address, telephone, email and web address where known."

WorldCat-- "The largest library network in the world. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their free resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information... This Web site lets you find an item of interest and then locate a library near you that owns it." Also indicates location of free and for-fee materials (such as books, music, and videos) on the Internet-- a fine resource for materials in many languages. See the WorldCat Blog for tips on using this site.


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Selected Major Libraries


Australian Libraries Gateway-- From the National Library of Australia, a directory of and access to the online catalogs of nearly all the academic, public, and special  libraries in Australia, Australian publishers and booksellers, and Australian subject gateways.

British Library of Political and Economic Science-- "The working Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science and one of the largest libraries in the world devoted to the economic and social sciences." Note especially the many papers posted at LSE Research Online, "a [searchable] collection of research produced by LSE academics: articles, working papers, book chapters, conference papers and more." The LSE Library's Bookmarks are also useful.

British Library Website-- Online service of the British Library, where you can "Explore the World's Knowledge."

Combined Arms Research Library-- From the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, "The intent of this website is to introduce the resources available at CARL and to extend our services and support to military scholars worldwide by providing access to a selection of our resources." Note especially the Online Public Access Catalog.

Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva-- Site allows access to information on Library holdings (searchable online catalog), recent acquisitions, archives, bibliographies, publications,  e-resources, U.N. system resources, special events, and more.

U.S. Library of Congress site has a wealth of useful online resources. The Global Gateway is a good place to start. Try the Researchers page and the Online Catalog. The Gateway to Library Catalogs allows access to and search of the Library of Congress catalog, plus links to many academic and national libraries.

University of Ulster Library-- Especially helpful with Northern Ireland and United Kingdom information. Look for the CAIN Web Service (Conflict Archive on the INternet), on the Northern Ireland conflict since 1968.


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This section of the WWW Virtual Library system was created, and is edited and maintained, by Dr. Wayne A.Selcher, Professor of International Studies Emeritus, Department of Political Science, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA 17022-2288  U.S.A., as a volunteer and non-profit public service. This website copyright 1997-present by Wayne A. Selcher. E-mail: selchewa@etown.edu