The United Nations facilitates the distribution of UN documents by using a system of Depository Libraries. Various libraries are given UN documents in exchange for making them available to the public. The Diamond Law Library is a depository library and receives all items that are part of the depository system. However, depository libraries do not receive all United Nations publications. Some documents are not made available to the public, and therefore cannot be found at the Diamond Law Library. Depository libraries receive "generally distributed documents and publications of the United Nations."
Some examples of documents that depositories do not receive include the following: limited and restricted documents, or documents "for participants only"; the documents of related UN organizations such as the UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNEP and the ICJ; the documents of specialized agencies such as the IMF, WHO, WIPO and the WTO, which have their own documentation systems; preliminary documents eventually produced elsewhere, such as verbatim records of plenary meetings of the Security Council, which will appear in printed final form as part of the Official Records); sales publications; press releases; and ephemeral material issued during sessions of UN bodies, such as working papers, conference room papers, journals, orders of the day.10
Note that in addition to the Depository System, the Diamond Law Library purchases additional publications, including UN Treaties, UN Sales Publications and commercial publications, to supplement its UN collection. Also, the Internet provides even greater access to UN publications.