Our friends at UN Pulse -- a perpetually useful blog by the staff at the UN's Dag Hammarskjöld Library -- tipped us off to this unique, new resource from the UN Office of Legal Affairs.
The Audiovisual Library is a unique, multimedia resource which provides the United Nations with the unprecedented capacity to provide high quality international law training and research materials to an unlimited number of recipients on a global level. The Audiovisual Library consists of three pillars: (1) the Historic Archives containing documents and audiovisual materials relating to the negotiation and adoption of significant legal instruments under the auspices of the United Nations and related agencies since 1945; (2) the Lecture Series featuring a permanent collection of lectures on virtually every subject of international law given by leading international law scholars and practitioners from different countries and legal systems; and (3) the Research Library providing an on-line international law library with links to treaties, jurisprudence, publications and documents, scholarly writings and research guides. The Audiovisual Library is available to all individuals and institutions around the world for free via the Internet.
This is a very rich resource, but there is plenty of helpful information on how to access the content -- for example, this detailed page on what is in the Historical Archives and how to navigate this section of the site. Topics included here: Criminal Law, Decolonization, Diplomatic and Consular Relations, Disarmament, Education / Science / Culture, Environmental Law, Health, Human Rights, International Economic Law, International Organizations, Law of Outer Space, Law of the Sea, Law of Treaties, Peace and Security, Refugees and Stateless Persons, Succession of States.
About the Lecture Series section:
A series of lecture cards lists the lectures given by each lecturer under a particular subject matter heading. Each lecture card includes the name, professional affiliation, photograph and a brief biography of the lecturer; the title, a brief summary and the recorded lecture; and related materials such as a lecture outline, power point slides or recommended reading, to the extent provided by the lecturer.
You'll need RealPlayer to watch the lecture videos. Topics here include: Arctic, Boundary Delimitation Courts and Tribunals, Criminal Law and Procedure, Cultural Heritage Development, Diplomatic Protection, Disaster Prevention and Relief, Environmental Law, Health and Science, Human Rights, International Civil Aviation, International Economic Law, International Labour Law, International Law, International Migration Law, International Organizations, International Watercourses, Law of Armed Conflict, Law of Outer Space, Law of the Sea, Law of Treaties, Peace and Security, Regional Organizations, Rule of Law / Democracy / Good Governance, Specialized Agencies and Related Organizations, States, United Nations.
The research library contains links to other web-based resources providing international law-related materials of interest to the researcher and practitioner alike. The library is divided into four components: resources relating to treaties and treaty status information; materials concerning the jurisprudence of international courts and tribunals; access to selected United Nations publications and to repositories of official documentation; and selected scholarly writings in international law, including publications and journal articles as well as information on research guides presently available on the Internet.
According to UN Pulse, "The Audiovisual Library aims to provide free, scholarly resources to students and practitioners around the world, particularly in regions where there are few resources for the study of international law."
A family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success. Read more »
Recently I have found myself cooing over visualisation maps (and heat maps) of health and well being resources. The content rich data is overlayed with mapping technologies, and some interesting themes and patterns are emerging.
A lot of the talk around social media in the last year has been around information overload. Social media has provided us with new and exciting ways to create content. But it has also meant learning new ways to manage and engage with social media tools. Are we teetering on the edge of an information overload precipice?
Information overload is a figment of your imagination. Or a failure of your filter. Or a symptom of your technological submissiveness. Depends on who you ask.
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