Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
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Newsjunkie.net is a resource guide for journalists. We show who's behind the news, and provide tools to help navigate the modern business of information.
Use of DataThe UN Archives Geneva platform is the online discovery and access portal for the archival holdings managed by the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva, located at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. It provides unified access to multiple archival fonds, including the League of Nations Archives, the UN Geneva Archives, collections relating to international peace movements, and private papers of individuals connected to the history of multilateral diplomacy.
The United Nations Library & Archives Geneva traces its origins to 1919, when it was established as the Library of the League of Nations. Following the dissolution of the League of Nations in 1946, the nascent United Nations inherited its records. These holdings were formally reorganized as a proper archive in the 1960s, following a Carnegie Endowment-funded project (1966–1969) that opened League materials to researchers and created the primary finding aid, the Répertoire Général. The UN Archives Geneva platform itself was launched in late 2021 as a major digital infrastructure initiative, enabling cross-search of the entire archival estate online.
Between 2017 and 2022, the Institutional Memory Section of the UN Library & Archives Geneva completed the Total Digital Access to the League of Nations Archives Project (LONTAD). The project digitized approximately 14.2 million pages of League of Nations materials spanning 1919 to 1946, making the entire archive freely available online. The project involved more than 30 staff over five years and included physical conservation of over 8,000 archival boxes. By 2024, the digital platform was receiving around 200–300 visitors per day, compared to just 54 researchers who visited in person that year.
The platform provides access to approximately fifteen linear kilometers of physical archives. Major fonds include:
The League of Nations Archives have been inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register since 2009, recognizing their outstanding global significance.
The UN Archives Geneva platform (archives.ungeneva.org) provides free online access to digitized materials worldwide. For physical materials not yet digitized, researchers may visit the Archives Reading Room (Room S.044, S Building, Palais des Nations) by appointment. The Library & Archives is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and is closed on weekends and UN Geneva official holidays. Tailored online presentations and training sessions for researchers and students are also available.
The archives contain extensive primary sources relevant to the history of international affairs, press freedom, and the development of global communications norms, including League of Nations committee records on communications and transit, and documentation of early international broadcasting and press standards debates.
Website: archives.ungeneva.org
Contact for research inquiries: ask.unog.ch/archives
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