What is a UN Document?
Mimeographed Documents:
What are Mimeographed Documents? | Which mimeographed documents does Memorial have?
Where are the mimeographed documents? | How can I get more help with UN documents?
What are Mimeographed Documents?
Mimeographed Documents (also known as Photo-offset or Masthead Documents) are the working documents of UN organs (decision-making bodies) and committees.
- They include things like agendas, provisional records of meetings, and preliminary drafts of documents.
- Are photocopies, intended to serve mainly as temporary documents.
- Often later incorporated into the Official Records of UN organs (see Finding Documents in the Official Records).
Which mimeographed documents does Memorial have?
We are not a UN depository library, so we do not receive all mimeographed documents. Most of the documents Memorial Library owns are issued from New York or Geneva, Switzerland. Some Mimeographed Documents have very limited distribution or are not distributed at all.
- Limited-distribution documents are temporary in nature (draft resolutions or reports,
preliminary action documents). They have an "L" before the last number in the document symbol.
A few limited-distribution documents are published in the Official Records.
- Example: document symbol A/C.3/45/L.2
- Restricted documents are confidential and are withheld from public circulation. They have an "R" before the last number in the document symbol.
Where are the mimeographed documents?
Location of documents, 1946-1974
The only Mimeographed Documents issued between 1946 and 1974 that Memorial has (aside from those included in the Official Records) are the Readex Microform collection of documents, called United Nations Publications. It contains a complete collection of documents and official records of the principal organs of the United Nations, and is arranged by year and document series symbol. It is kept in the Memorial Library Microforms/Media Center (MMC), Room 443; call number "Micro- print 15." There is one machine in the MMC from which you can scan material on microprint cards and save it to a CD or USB device. There is another microprint reader in the MMC, which does not allow printing or scanning; it's just for reading microprint.
Location of documents, 1974-1996 and current year
The paper collection of Mimeographed Documents belonging to Memorial Library begins with documents issued in 1974 and goes through the present. The documents are on stack level 2M South, in aisles 0 and 1 of the government documents section. They are arranged by document symbol and year.
Location of documents, 1997-2001
Memorial has Mimeographed Documents from 1997-2001 on microfiche, in the Microforms/Media Center, Room 443, Micro Fiche 6246.
How can I get more help with UN documents?
To arrange an appointment for in-depth reference assistance, or to arrange for course-related instruction in government documents at Memorial Library, please contact:
Beth Harper
Government Publications Reference Librarian
(608) 262-9852
or Email Beth
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