Finding books and reports
1. Why are books different?
Books, sometimes called monographs, are often stand-alone, one off publications that are not produced on a regular basis like a journal for example. Out of the millions of books available in print, most are not available to read on the Internet, but there are now services that are starting to make some books available to read on the Internet.
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2. Finding working papers
If you are looking for papers by a particular organisation, try their website first and look for the item by searching for the title or via their publications or library section.
If these options are not available, if you can't find the item or if you wish to make a broader search for reports, then there are specific sites where you can search for particular document types.
- RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) is a database managed by the IDEAS service that lists economics working papers and journal articles from collaborating institutions. For instance in includes World Bank Policy Research Working Paper. Many items are available to download via RePEc
- SSRN: social science working papers
- Google Scholar
- Eldis: includes a large editorially selected collection of development working papers
- Institutional websites, for example, the World Bank website allows you to search and browse for Bank documents and reports and if you use the advanced search feature you can search by document type, sector and by region
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3. Libraries
Many library catalogues are available to search online and you don't always have to be a member of the library to use the catalogue via the Internet. Some also have an "ask a librarian" service that may be of use to you. Libraries are also likely to have strong (and historical) collections of the publications of the parent organisations.
We suggest using:
- British Library for Development Studies (BLDS) is Europe's most comprehensive research collection on development issues. The catalogue is available online. Resources include the "E-library" - details of full-text electronic resources.
- World Bank and IMF joint library: The Library Network is the the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) joint library: its website provides a list of all research, discussion, and working paper series held by the Library Network. Access to many services are restricted to WB/IMF staff.
The catalogue Jolis is available online for anyone to search, although many library services are restricted to Bank and IMF staff. However, several of the Network Libraries participate in inter-library loan (ILL) scheme and your organisation's library may be able to borrow items. Global JOLIS includes materials in most country office locations. - United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library
The library catalogue (UNBISnet) includes United Nations (UN) documents and publications and other non-UN sources. There is a research guide to the various types of documents and publications issued by the UN, which gives guidance on how to work with them.
The catalogue can be searched online by anyone, but most library services and loans are retricted to UN staff.
For United Nations documents also look at the Official Document System which covers all types of official United Nations documentation from 1993 (older material is being added) - COPAC which gives free access to the merged online, catalogues of members of the UK-based Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) and offers a cross-catalogue search service featuring the catalogues of several (but not all) UK Universities. Borrowing still needs to be arranged via the inter-library loan system of the library you use.
- OCLC First Search / Worldcat: subscription required for some services
- British Library Catalogue integrated catalogue of the holdings of the vast collection of the British Library
- The United States' Library of Congress provides access to its catalogue and has a large section on databases, and electronic resources
Other resources:
- HERO list of UK Higher Education and Research Library OPACS (catalogues). Links are provided to the catalogues or library homepages, but some catalogues may require user passwords so access may be restricted.
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4. Bookshops
You can order books online by credit/debit card from many retailers now. Some offer price discounts for online orders.
Where to order?:
- Amazon.com is one of the major book ordering sites, including both in print and out of print selections
- Google Books is a service being developed by Google which allows you to search for either specific titles or for books on subject areas. More on Google Books
- Blackwell's is a book retailer known for its specialisation in academic publications
Out of print?
Amazon also includes details of second-hand copies of some of the publications. Other specialist book serch services exist to locate out of print items, such as BookFinder.com which covers new and used books for a range of sellers and can help you locate the book abroad, or UKBookWorld.com a searchable database of old and out-of-print books offered for sale by a selection of independent British booksellers.
