Dana Hall Library >> Subject Guides >> Clubs >> Model UN
Model UN Resource Guide
The first step towards successful participation in a conference or simulation is RESEARCH! You can't represent your country if you don't know your country's position on the issues. Your delegate handbook will guide you about what to look for; this page will help with where to look. As always, if you need help finding information or searching the catalog, ask a librarian!
Reference Sources
These are all updated annually, so they're as up-to-date as most authoritative websites with similar information, and often easier to find and use. In addition to these, we have many current encyclopedias on specific topics that might be useful (women's issues, the environment, genocide, etc.).
| CultureGrams: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania |
REF 390 CUL v. 1-4 |
| State of the world: a Worldwatch Institute report on progress toward a sustainable society |
REF 301 STA |
| Statesman's yearbook |
REF 910 STA |
| World statistics pocketbook |
REF 310 WOR |
| The world today series (Africa; Canada; East and Southeast Asia; Latin America; The Middle East and South Asia; Nordic, central, and southeastern Europe; Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States; The USA and the world; Western Europe) |
REF [various -- look up the title] |
Other Print Sources
Don't forget to search the catalog for your country and/or topic!
| Model UN delegate handbook |
Vertical File |
| The reference shelf series (hint: try Warfare in the 21st century and Energy policy for the December simulation) |
[various] |
Subscription Databases
AP Multimedia Archive
Find photos, audio, and video about international current (and less current) events!
Newspapers
We subscribe to online archives of the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and other papers. Searching for your country's name, an issue keyword or two, and a date range will find recent articles, if your country was in the news about a particular issue.
Statesman's Yearbook 2008
The Statesman's Yearbook online (see above, in Reference Sources) -- a collection of current data about countries.
CIA World Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
Facts about all the countries of the world, from the US Central Intelligence Agency.
Foreign Affairs Ministries on the Web
http://www.usip.org/library/formin.html
Your country's foreign ministry website will have statements about the country's foreign policy on various issues.
Model UN Headquarters - Research Tips
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/modelun/prep_tips.html
Suggestions about how to break down your topic and research it, from the official Model UN website.
Nation by Nation
http://www.nationbynation.com/
This is listed in your delegate handbook, but it is NOT RECOMMENDED by your librarian advisor!! The country webpages aren't dated, the information isn't cited...in short, you have no idea where that information came from or how recent it is.
Permanent Missions to the United Nations
http://www.un.int/index-en/index.html
Use the Global Search on UN Documents to find resolutions, working papers, and other documents written by your country in the real UN. Use Websites of the Permanent Missions to the United Nations to find your country and read its official statements on UN issues. (The website will probably be in your country's language; look for the "English" link somewhere on the page. Isn't it convenient that ours is the world's universal language?)
| 