"[The Yearbook] is certainly the most useful way to get basic data on thousands of little known groups as well as on the United Nations system and other major organizations."

Union of International Associations (1987)
Yearbook of International Organizations 1987/88.
3 volumes. New York: K. G. Saur (1,500-1,600 pp. each, cloth, $250 each).

 

The first volume is the 24th edition of a standard reference work first published in 1908; the second and third are the fifth editions of volumes first published in 1983. Together they form the largest such study in print. The amount of data is overwhelming. Volume One begins with a title and key word index (ca. 110,000 items) to the 3,897 intergovernmental and 23,248 nongovernmental institutions listed. The bulk of the volume groups them under one of 13 categories and provides ca. 1,000 pages of details on an unknown but large percentage. Volume Two redivides the 27,000 groups by country of secretariats and of membership. Volume Three classes them by subject and regional concerns. The work as a whole requires good eyesight and some time for acclimatization. It is certainly the most useful way to get basic data on thousands of little known groups as well as on the United Nations system and other major organizations. While the sum is impressive, it is also a bit disturbing to see that the global community develops ever more communication while so many local communities remain so organizationally under-or maldeveloped and thus marginalized.