The traditional mandate of libraries as print archives is still necessary; however libraries have evolved in the digital age. We are no longer solely the keepers of information, but rather the stewards and guides to all manner of information access points.
Navigating an Ocean of Information
Only a few years ago the services of libraries were limited to the editions stored on their shelves. Today we provide digital access to an unfathomable wealth of information, far greater than a single library could maintain in a physical space. As specialists in information organization and retrieval, we continuously refine a portfolio of digital and physical subscriptions tailored to the use of CEPAL researchers. This collection provides access to millions of journal titles, monographs, magazine titles, and countless theses, working papers, reports, and other resources, most of which are available in full-text, 24 hours a day, from anywhere in the world.
89% of citations in published by CEPAL in 2014 are available through the CEPAL libraries.
Our staff are expert guides, providing research support [link] and training[link] to our community in order to help them confidently engage with this potentially overwhelming volume of research materials. We pride ourselves in our ability to facilitate prompt and efficient access to whatever information our clients need.
Our projects
Protecting and Expanding the Reach of Our Intellectual Heritage
The CEPAL libraries are also the authoritative resource for the complete published output of CEPAL since its formation in 1948. Among this archive are some of the region’s most significant documents and publications pertaining to economic, social, and ecological issues of the last 70 years. They represent the intellectual heritage of CEPAL and the international community we serve. We maintain and preserve the official physical archive and we recently completed our comprehensive digital archive, the CEPAL Digital Repository. This project makes these invaluable texts freely available to anyone in the world.
Room to Think
While our digital resources make it possible to use the library from virtually anywhere, we also provide valuable study space in our reading rooms. A physical location dedicated to investigation is as rare and precious as ever and our reading rooms provide respite from the immediacy of a work culture that frequently interrupts immersion in scholarly thought.