WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources-- Virtual Libraries

VIRTUAL LIBRARIES

Major Library Directories, Gateways, and Search Facilities

NOTE: Major open access article and research product repositories with cost-free, full-text content appear on the Scholarly Papers and Articles page of this Virtual Library.

European Commission Library and e-Resources Centre-- Central 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." Find-eR is "a tool for searching multiple library resources in one interface. It includes the European Commission Library collections, plus millions of online full-text journal articles and eBooks." Also try the Commission's Publications page.

European Library-- "Designed to meet the needs of the research community worldwide, our online portal offers quick and easy access to the collections of the 48 National Libraries of Europe and leading European Research Libraries."

Europeana-- "Explore 57,817,058 artworks, artefacts, books, films and music from European museums, galleries, libraries and archives... We want to build on Europe’s rich heritage and make it easier for people to use, whether for work, for learning or just for fun."

Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog-- "Meta search interface for more than 500 million books and serials in library and book trade catalogs worldwide... which allows you to access library and book trade catalogs online via Internet... starts a simultaneous search in the catalogs and gives you a standardized hit list."

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.

LibWeb-- "Directory of worldwide libraries, library catalogs and library servers."

Libraries.org-- Searchable "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."

Library Hub Discover-- 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 research libraries.

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.

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."

Voilà-- "National Union Catalogue, a single point of access to the collections of libraries across Canada. Included are books, magazines, maps, music, and more."

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.

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. Use the NLA Trove facility to "find and get [hundreds of millions of] Australian and online resources: books, images, historic newspapers, maps, music, archives and more."

• British Library Website-- Online service of the British Library, where you can "Explore the World's Knowledge." There is a blog section.

• Dag Hammarskjöld Library-- From the United Nations Department of Public Information, with material available online. Of particular note are the United Nations Libraries Research Guides and U.N. Documentation: How to Find U.N. Documents, for an overview of the various types of U.N. documents and publications.

• Library and Archives Canada-- "A key resource for all Canadians who wish to gain a better understanding of who they are, individually and collectively. LAC acquires, processes, preserves and provides access to our documentary heritage and serves as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions."

• Library of the London School of Economics and Political 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."

• 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. Try the Research and Reference Services 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. Note the Open Access Book Collection, "a growing online collection of contemporary open access e-books," and the many helpful Research Guides. For ongoing updates, consult the Library of Congress blogs. Note, for bibliographic purposes, that the Library has posted online a huge free dataset of its holdings, "including books, serials, computer files, manuscripts, maps, music and visual materials." There is an extensive archive of websites.

• 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.