United Nations: Dag Hammarskjöld Library

second-time ASB host
see www.un.org/Depts/dhl

Nine students worked on several assignments at the United Nations' Dag Hammarskjöld Library (DHL). In addition to their various projects, the students got tours of the library and the United Nations, participated in a roundtable discussion with DHL librarians, and learned how the United Nations works—culturally and technologically. The SI group added to the international composition of the DHL. Students in the group hailed from the US, Ghana and Taiwan and worked alongside librarians from the US, Germany, Jamaica, Bulgaria and France.

Baaba Baiden assisted with the digitization of a portion of UN Documents, a paper backlog from 1945 to 1992. She also had the opportunity to do cataloging and indexing and gained hands-on experience with the associated software. Baaba especially appreciated the opportunity to get an insider's perspective on the technological and organizational challenges the UN faces in preserving and making information accessible.

Yung-Hui Chien did usability tests on UNBISnet, the UN Bibliographic Information System, and the website of UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library. She also tested the 856 data for non-UN materials. In addition, Yung-Hui received training on the use of the UN's cataloguing and search systems and had an opportunity to attend one of the library's staff meetings.

Julia Gardner checked links on the UNDHL website and evaluated and gave feedback about the site's usability. She also added metadata to MARC records as part of the digitization process and spent time cataloging materials. She enjoyed the chance to apply some of the learning she's been doing at SI in real projects.

Mellanye Lackey, Jason Rodriguez, Rachael Hu and Aaron Stark worked on a project that built on efforts by 2003 ASB students at the UN. This year's group researched the physical and microfilm holdings of the Government Gazettes Collection, verifying the publication date and publication country. Next they consolidated the data in electronic format and created HTML pages to be used on the UN intranet for patron access. The site includes an index page with searchable links, following the DHL template. In addition, the team created seven pages of country lists detailing the DHL's holdings of the gazettes. Over the course of their project they encountered unique political issues in categorization in an organization like the UN (for example, whether to list a gazette for the Ukranian SSR under the present Ukraine, under USSR, or in its own category).

Sarah Smith and Joan Swerdloff got hands-on experience working with the League of Nations/Woodrow Wilson collection. They inventoried part of the collection and developed a general use finding aid for volumes in the collection that wil serve all staff, not just librarians. The collection contains rare primary source material about the League of Nations, diplomatic history, international relations, and peace movements during the League's existence.

• “I had a great sense of achievement when the library staff were impressed by and appreciated theevaluations I made. I felt I did awork that was really helpful to people.”
• “Our supervisor was excellent about giving feedback, letting us know how we were doing and how our work fit into the big picture of the unit's activities.”
• “The part I enjoyed the most (other than the UN cafeteria) was learning about the organizational structure and how to work within the politics that control the environment. Technical skills can be learned anywhere, but to actually learn how to function and succeed within a politicized organization [is an added challenge].”
• “I loved working in a truly diverse, international environment. It was great to hear so many languages spoken...and to enjoy the tolerance and patience that comes with interacting with so many cultures.”
• “All in all, it was a great experience. I loved the food at the cafeteria, not to mention the ginger and pear tart. They can hire me any day for another dessert!”

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