An intergovernmental organization (IGO) is a structure based on
a formal instrument of agreement between nations (e.g. the
United Nations, the EU). A non-governmental organization (NGO)
is a group whose members are individuals or associations (e.g.
the International Committee of the Red Cross). There are
thousands of IGOs and NGOs. The Union of International
Associations (an NGO itself) edits the annual publication
Yearbook of International Organizations. The Yearbook is a
comprehensive directory of IGOs and NGOs, and provides contact
information and a description of the work of the organization.
It indexes organizations by subject. The Yearbook is available
in the Main Reference department and in Gov Info Reference. The
call number is 341.05 Y38. The International Documents
Collection contains the publications of approximately 25 IGOs
and a few NGOs. The International Information Librarian
maintains a guide with a comprehensive list of links to IGO web
sites . Although the International Information Librarian