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The UN Library - short hand for linowledé

exchange, culture and lierita
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ternational relations and open a new cannot access our Library, the guide sary of our Library, in 2019. Our plan
era of collaborative and inclusive glo- is a valuable catalogue of available is to regroup knowledge, learning
bal action. Its reference system, the knowledge. It is an initial step that and multilingualism services into a
17 global goals, aren't just a series of will be followed by other initiatives in knowledge and learning Commons.
aspirational objectives, they are also collaboration with international and The Commons will be accessible to
the indivisible matrix of transforma- national libraries. We work together all users and beneficiaries working
tive progress. Suffice to see how each with other UN libraries and also with in the organization but also open to
Goals is linked to several others members of the International Federa- external researchers. We are working
through the web of the 169 Targets tion of Library Associations, a global on this project together with Human
underpinning the 1SDGs. Each goal network of libraries and knowledge Resources and the UNOG Centre
is also a global issue we must tackle scientists who decided to focus on for Learning and Multilingualism
to succeed in transforming our world supporting the implementation of and we hope to see the first results
before it's too late. And here I see a Agenda 2030 worldwide. already in 2018. Many large librar-
strong link with the work of our Li- ies and learning centres have trans-
brary. Solving global problems re- The team at the Library is always formed into Commons to adapt to
quires global knowledge contextu- planning something new, can you the changing world of knowledge in
alized in local dimensions. Since its share with our readers some exciting the digital era. It is a key evolution
creation in 1919 our Library has been projects you are working on? phase that should apply to us as well.
accumulating knowledge on global Contrary to what some may think, We are reinterpreting this concept to
matters. 1.6 million books and over the Library is a rather exciting work adapt it to the reality of UNOG and
70,000 digital resources are available place. Because we are in charge of a to help the United Nations become a
at our site, not to mention millions variety of services on top of library modern, knowledge-based organiza-
of references that can be accessed services, ranging from preserving the tion. In parallel, I am working with
through our catalogues online. It is history of the League of Nations and the head of the UN Library in New
now time to mobilise this immense the archives of the UN Office in Ge- York and other colleagues to set up
wealth and redistribute it through in- neva, to managing the art collection a dedicated network of UN libraries
ternational and national networks to of the Palais and providing the space to mobilise the knowledge of the UN
feed experts and national actors who for the cultural activities sponsored at a scale that was never attempted.
have the task of implementing the by Permanent Missions and Inter- Knowledge is a global asset only if it
SDGs. The plan for such redistribu- national Organizations, we are con- can be both mobilized and accessed
tion is outlined in the Agenda itself: stantly exploring new ideas and re- globally. Today our libraries use inte-
our first initiative was to classify the sponding to new user requirements. grated library systems that allow so-
's knowledge base according to the Libraries are in constant evolution, lutions that weren't possible until re-
17 Goals. We just created a new re- even though this is not always appar- cently. Our goal is a UN Knowledge
search guide that provides our users ent. The most exciting development Network accessible by everyone any-
with a selection of references specific on the horizon is taking shape just where. If the UN belongs to every-
to the SDGs. Even fdor those that now, in view of the 100th anniver- one, so does its knowledge.

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