The FAO Knowledge Repository is FAO's official repository for all its publications, past and present. Fully free and open access, it promotes the unhindered flow of knowledge as it amplifies the Organization’s scientific and technical impact.
In 1998, FAO broke new ground by offering access to all digital versions of its publications. Twenty-five years and several transformations later, the FAO Knowledge Repository is the latest incarnation of that public-minded vision. It is today the authoritative point of access to FAO's expertise.
Content
The FAO Knowledge Repository contains tens of thousands of publications; annual reports; technical papers; policy briefs; advocacy documents; project reports; meeting documents; grey literature; and other information and communication material.
The content is organized through several collections:
- Knowledge products (including flagship publications)
- Technical documents & project reports
- Meeting documents
- Newsletters & flyers
- Posters, presentations & infographics
- Library historical collections (coming soon)
FAO ensures its digital publications are easily discoverable and accessible by:
- providing accurate and curated metadata in the six FAO languages about all publications;
- producing a variety of publication formats (PDF, HTML, ePub, Mobi, print-on-demand) to meet different user needs;
- offering user-friendly search and browse functions based on topics, keywords, publication types, language and other metadata fields;
- sharing any associated multimedia files (videos, podcasts, datasets) along with the publication; and
- generating reliable, automated publication metrics of use to stakeholders.
The FAO Knowledge Repository is constantly updated with fresh content. The platform (based on DSpace 7) is regularly enhanced with new features to improve access to FAO publications.
From January 2024 when the final version of the repository is launched, users will have access to additional information, such as past metrics on publications.
Open access
FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of all the information it produces. In line with its mandate, FAO adopted an open access policy in 2018.
The policy requires that FAO publications be published under Creative Commons licenses, which provide clear language and a framework for reuse, according to international standards.
In this way, FAO ensures immediate, irrevocable and free access to all information products available in the FAO Knowledge Repository.
Contact information
The FAO Knowledge Repository is managed by the Publications and Library Branch, in the Office of Communications of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
For more information: document-repository@fao.org