The print version of the Yearbook of International Organizations is a five‐volume, oversized set of books; thus an online version combining all the elements in the print set is a much appreciated alternative. The database, with its searching and browsing capabilities, makes it easier to locate information on international organizations. Included are more than 63,000 profiles for governmental and non‐governmental, specialized and general organizations from 300 countries.
Since there are so many countries represented, the Yearbook of International Organizations online provides nine major Asian and European languages from which to choose, but in actuality the database just links the page/search to the Babel Web site for translation. One of the advantages of an online database, in comparison with its print counterpart, is the ability to provide links to related information. The database has a wide array of hyperlinks (300,000) affiliated with the entries. These will take searchers to related organizations, or to the other databases in UIA that have information on world problems and solutions. The disadvantage is that many of the links are to Amazon.com and Google, which for my computer produced pop‐up after pop‐up screen with advertisements.
The search screen enables researchers to explore the database by keyword, subject, all text phrase, or country down to the city/town level. Also provided are an Alphabetical index and Subject index. Searching using the various formats seemed to perform well. However, when searching all format types for some organizations, the results turned up empty. For example, a search on “College of the Americas” or “Collège des Amériques” returned nothing (though it is in the print version), yet searching using its acronym, COLAN, retrieved all the records/translations for College of the Americas. This worked for other searches, however.
The records displayed begin with the organization’s name, in English, followed by the corresponding name in the appropriate language. Also listed are the primary address/contact information, head of the organization (including e‐mail address), and the Web site address, if available. Regional or other office location information is provided. What follows includes: founding date; aims or mission; structure of executive/governing unit; languages used; number of staff; financial and budgeting information; activities and events; publications; information resources or library‐related publications; membership information; relations with other organizations, national or international; and, finally, date of most recent update. As of the time of review (August‐September 2003), these dates ranged from February to August 2003. Although this information is available in the print set, this is where the online version, with its hyperlinks to publications, affiliations, currency, and contacts (if active), proves invaluable.
Browsing the database using the Alphabetical index is a must but, for the duration of the database trial, the index began with the letter “E”. Intrigued, I searched for organizations beginning with A, B, C and D, since the print version contains several thousand entries between these letters. Although not listed in the Index, these records were retrieved by searching. Hopefully, this was a temporary glitch that has been corrected.
While the Alphabetical index is quite lengthy, it worked better for browsing than the Subject index. The main headings in this are divided into ten categories, numbered 0 to 9, with approximately ten subheadings per category. This is a good idea, because some of the headings are non‐descriptive terms. The main headings and some of the subheadings are as follows:
- 1.
(0) Geosphere – Astronomy, Meteorology, Geology and Hydrology.
- 2.
(1) Biosphere – Plant life, Fish and reptiles, Mankind and Geography.
- 3.
(2) Social action (structure) – Social activity, Transportation, Telecommunications, Commerce and Societal problems.
- 4.
(3) Social action (context) – Health care, Education, Religious practice, Government and Law.
- 5.
(4) Concept formation (structure) – Sociology, Management, Ekistics, Cybernetics, Technology and Environment.
- 6.
(5) Concept formation (context) – Science, History, Theology, International relations.
- 7.
(6) Innovative change (structure) – Policy making, Language, Individuation, Invention and Conservation.
- 8.
(7) Innovative change (context, strategies) – Logics, Emotional fulfillment, Philosophy and aesthetics.
- 9.
(8) Experimental (values) – Solidarity, Idealism, Equanimity and resourcefulness and Inventiveness.
- 10.
(9) Experimental (modes of awareness) – Leadership, Love and Freedom.
The subheadings have several more practical subdivisions labelled in common terms. This may confuse novice users. For example, the subheading Education, listed under (3) Social action (context), has 18 more links to topics, including Preschooling, Primary schooling, Colleges, Educators, Distance education, and Training. Rather than browse by subject, it was much easier to enter a term into the search box. When I searched with the term Cancer, the database retrieved a listing of many essential organizations. Subdivisions are labelled with one of three options: O, P, or S. O retrieves organizations listed under the topic, P links to world problems addressed by the organizations, and S returns global strategies or solutions implemented. The subdivisions are useful, yet it takes several links to find them.
One of the most confusing options I have witnessed in any database was the visualization experiments/mapping. This was meant to be similar to volume 5 of the printed set, which includes statistics, charts, and graphs. Without a proper description or any guidance on how to navigate the squiggly‐coloured lines, this appeared puzzling and almost useless. These “VRML” virtual reality scenes were far from any type of map with which I was familiar. After consulting several colleagues, the extensive help pages, and finally contacting a representative, I was informed that this feature was going to be removed. Furthermore, the FAQ sections, meant to provide additional assistance to that offered from the help screens, did not work during the trial period.
The database provides more than users could ever find in searching the Internet for organizations. Besides the fact that Internet searches lack controlled vocabulary and retrieve needless information, not all organizations have Web sites, and records may not be updated regularly. The Yearbook of International Organizations is more than just a directory, and the online version provides access to issues, problems, solutions and vital information on organizations. The hyperlinks are especially valuable. However, I do hope that the print Yearbook is not discontinued until the publisher provides solutions to some of the problems of the online version noted in this review.
