FAYETTEVILLE, Ark - The University of Arkansas School of Law announced that the School of Law’s Library has been named a United Nations Depository Library. With this new designation, Arkansas becomes the thirtieth state in the United States to boast of a U.N. Depository collection.

The United Nations maintains a system of depository libraries to make its documents and publications available throughout the world. The collection contains conventions, treaties and fact books in varying formats, including books, microfiche and electronic databases.

Professor Glen-Peter Ahlers, director of the Robert A. and Vivian Young Law Library, and head of technology at the University of Arkansas School of Law said, "We are excited to bring these comprehensive information resources to the Robert A. Leflar Law Center, the Fayetteville campus and the State of Arkansas. Students and faculty members campus-wide will be able to enjoy these tremendous collections."

Law Dean Robert Moberly added, "The addition of these materials helps to strengthen our international law program, which has recently been enhanced by adoption of a Cambridge Summer Program, new faculty hires, added library purchases, and the establishment of a student-run International Law Society."

The law school will develop a web page for the collection, but in the meantime, interested researchers may browse the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Library on the web at http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl, browse the U.N. Bibliographic System at http://unbisnet.un.org/, or the U.N. System Pathfinder at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/pathfind/frame/start.htm.

One exciting database included in the depository is world treaties. These include electronic copies of the full text of United Nations Treaties dating back to 1946, the current status of multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, and the full text of treaties deposited with the Secretary-General but not yet included in the treaty database.

Of immediate interest might be for example, the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed Onboard Aircraft, signed at Tokyo Sept. 14, 1963; the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at the Hague Dec.16, 1970; and the convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, signed at Montreal Sept. 23, 1971. All U.N. treaties will be available from all campus work stations at http://untreaty.un.org.

Also available will be the United Nations Common Database for Statistics, UNSTATS, which was developed to meet the demand for comprehensive international data at one Internet site. It uses a Web browser interface to access hundreds of statistical series for all countries and areas of the world, with descriptions of the international sources and methods used in compiling the data. The series can be accessed alphabetically, by sources, or by topics. It contains more than eight million data elements in more than 300 statistical series and draws on more than 30 sources in the United Nations system. The main data sources include the Statistics Division’s own databases in merchandise trade, demography and population, energy, status of women and industrial commodities production; and statistics from the Population Division, the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Project Link, UNESCO, WIPO, the World Bank, and the World Tourism Organization.

Professor Glen-Peter Ahlers, director of the Robert A. and Vivian Young Law Library, and head of technology at the University of Arkansas School of Law said, "We are excited to bring these comprehensive information resources to the Robert A. Leflar Law Center, the Fayetteville campus and the State of Arkansas. Students and faculty members campus-wide will be able to enjoy these tremendous collections."

Law Dean Robert Moberly added, "The addition of these materials helps to strengthen our international law program, which has recently been enhanced by adoption of a Cambridge Summer Program, new faculty hires, added library purchases, and the establishment of a student-run International Law Society."

The law school will develop a web page for the collection, but in the meantime, interested researchers may browse the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Library on the web at http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl, browse the U.N. Bibliographic System at http://unbisnet.un.org/, or the U.N. System Pathfinder at http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/pathfind/frame/start.htm.