The IIR Library manages a burgeoning collection of information resources on and related to the teaching and study of International Relations. The specialized collection numbers over 25,000 monographs and 240 journal titles. Subject areas covered include international law, international politics, international trade, diplomacy, international organizations, international relations theory and international money and finance.
There are three library collections accessible to students registered with IIR:
Open collection with books on loan, the reference collection and the reserve collection.
The open collection houses books that can be borrowed. The Roy Prieswerk Collection (RPC) donated by its namesake and a former Director of the Institute of International Relations, also forms part of the open collection.
An excellent selection of materials is available to students and staff for reference use only. Within the reference collection are general factual information, select reports, statistics, inclusive of local, regional and international statistics, Constitutions of the World, International Law Reports, Record of World Events, Yearbooks of the United Nations and UNDP Human Development Reports. Journals also form part of the reference collection as they are for library use only, and cannot be borrowed. Hundreds of social sciences periodicals are made available to students for research purposes. A periodical listing is conveniently located at the entry to selected journal stacks. This listing must be consulted to locate the call number (shelf address) of the required journal/serial.
The reserve section includes theses and seminar papers and frequently used material.