Key Message
To make better decisions for tomorrow, it is critical that we effectively manage the wealth of sustainable development knowledge available today. As physical and virtual meeting places of the mind, cultural incubators and spaces for learning, libraries offer some essential ingredients for achieving sustainable development.
Team
 | · Janice Gair Director - Human Resources and Administration | |
 | · Marlene Roy Research and Learning Resources | |
 | · Stacy Matwick Information Centre Assistant | |
 | · Tim Verry Information Centre Assistant | |
Archives
Research Library
Connecting people to knowledge and ideas about sustainable development
What's New on the Reading Shelf
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The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems with Ecosystems » edited by Dana L. Jackson and Laura L. Jackson. Arising from the conviction that the agricultural landscape as a whole could be restored to a healthy diversity, the book challenges the notion that the dominant agricultural landscape - bereft of its original vegetation and wildlife and despoiled by chemical runoff - is inevitable if we are to feed ourselves. Contributors bring together insights and practices from the fields of conservation biology, sustainable agriculture, and environmental restoration to link agriculture and biodiversity, farming and nature, in celebrating a unique alternative to conventional agriculture. More...
Tapping into our collective knowledge about people and nature reveals possibilities for a more sustainable future. Much of this knowledge can be found in various forms in print and electronic media, and sourced through the library's database. IISD's Research Library specifically locates, organizes and provides access to knowledge about:
- Sustainable development policy and its theoretical underpinnings
- General works on the relationship between environment and development
- Ecological and environmental economics
- Poverty links to environment
- Human development and well-being
- Biodiversity and conservation
- Ecosystem goods and services
- International sustainable development negotiations, regimes and decision-making
- Environmental governance and multilateral environmental agreements
- Energy and climate change policy
- Trade and foreign direct investment policy and links to sustainable development
- Natural resources management and policy
- Integrated assessment
- Measurement and indicators of sustainable development
- Environment and security
- Sustainable agriculture
- Watershed management and policy
SD-Cite, the library database, can be searched to find sustainable development information and knowledge kept in the library's print collection or on the World Wide Web.
Contents
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Research Tools
Various tools have been developed to guide researchers to the information they are seeking. Some are more general such as the SD-Cite—the library database, our list of 125+ journals and links to other library databases. Other tools, however, are more specific and include subject bibliographies and gloassaries. -
Services
The Research Library responds to information inquiries about sustainable development from IISD staff and the general public. Print materials can by borrowed by IISD staff and associates only, but many sources can be found on the Internet using SD-Cite. The library in Winnipeg is open to the public by appointment during the work week. -
Weekly Journal Review
There is no other database that brings together the wide ranging mix of articles on sustainable development being published across many areas of inquiry. We do this by subscribing to journals with a sustainable development focus and listing new articles received each week in SD-Cite. This list is compiled and sent to thousands of subscribers each week. -
Contacts
Research Library staff have several years experience and are knowledgeable about sustainable development. They respond to hundreds of inquiries each years and find and organize sustainable development information on an ongoing basis. As members of numerous networks, they can direct library users to subject experts and other organizations around the globe. -
SD-Cite, the library database
Updated on a daily basis this database contains thousands of print and electronic sources of information on sustainable development. Sources in this fully searchable database are classified according to the OECD Macrothesaurus and descriptors.
Our Knowledge
» Themes
- Climate Change and Energy
- Economics and SD
- Foreign Investment for SD
- Governance for Sustainable Development
- Information Society
- International Trade
- Measurement and Assessment
- Natural Resources
- Networks & Partnerships
- Security
- Sustainable Markets
- Tomorrow's SD Leaders
» Initiatives
- Finance Alliance For Sustainable Trade (FAST)
- Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI)
- IISDLabs.org
- The IISD Media Blog
