Statesman's Yearbook Online (Archive)

Abstract

Smith reviews Statesman's Yearbook Online (Archive), a useful source for enquirers who seek easily accessible information about countries and organizations.

RR 2010/155

Statesman's Yearbook Online (Archive)

Palgrave Macmillan

Basingstoke and New York, NY

2009

URL: www.statesmansyearbook.com

Last visited December 2009

Contact publisher for pricing information

Keywords Countries, Electronic media, International organizations

Review DOI 10.1108/09504121011045511

The Statesman's Year-Book (as it then was) began publication in 1864 with immaculate credentials, being the brain child of the writer Thomas Carlyle with help in its conception by William Ewart Gladstone - whose bicentenary has just taken place. Its format, as per the words of its first editor, Frederick Martin, in the preface to the 1864 edition was to "contain a full account of all the states of Europe, and the principle states of Asia, America, and Australasia, considered under their political, social, and commercial aspects". With the aim "to insure [sic] an absolute correctness of the multiplicity of facts and figures . . . for this purpose, none but official documents have been consulted in the first instance, and only where these failed, or were manifestly imperfect, recourse has been had to authoritative books . . . [etc.]". Maybe that explains why the yearbook is still a valuable source of authoritative information on global affairs throughout the world and from a librarian's point of view a useful reference resource with information easily accessible rather than having to plough through official statistics.

The publication has survived the seismic geopolitical changes of the ensuing century and a half and is very much still going strong, and the 2009 edition - the latest in the online archive, that for 2010 being accessible separately - reflects a world in many ways changed beyond recognition since the 1860s: then the publication was restricted largely to the great powers plus their colonies, the 2009 edition lists huge numbers of international organizations, and countries many of which were mere geographical terms (if indeed that) in 1864.

A publication like the Statesman's Yearbook cries out to be available online with attendant benefits of ease of searching and accessibility (how many institutions will possess substantial runs in hard copy?) and the archive covering 1864-2009 became available last September, on the Palgrave Macmillan website on a subscription basis.

As a reference librarian I have recommended the Statesman's Yearbook as a useful source for enquirers who seek easily accessible information about countries and organizations at a particular time - for example, to those interested in the state of Europe in, say, 1914, or, as in a recent case, that of the UK during Margaret Thatcher's premiership. The online archive is designed for this since past issues are viewed by date and then by section within (Country, US State etc.). There is no site-wide search facility and indeed such might well prove unworkable. Each section comes up as a searchable PDF file and can be read as a single entity.

By a process of serendipity or otherwise, it is easy to get immersed in the online Statesman's Yearbook. For example, in the first edition (1864) take a look at the entry for Great Britain and Ireland. After the copious information about the Royal Family, you have details of the Civil List, interestingly described as "amount[ing] to much less than the income of previous Sovereigns", Constitution and Government [Lords and Commons], qualifications for voting, the cost of Parliament (in 1864 the Speaker is listed as having a salary of £5,000, a tidy amount for the period), Cabinet Ministers. The First Lord of the Treasury ( = Prime Minister) was Lord Palmerston and most of the cabinet appear to have been members of the Upper House. Have things changed much, one may ask . . .? Reading through the entries, these seem even more fascinating when more is known about the individuals concerned than was written - for example, the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of State for the Colonies. Totally outside the yearbook's scope, but interesting to note that he was divorced (by Act of Parliament) in 1850 following his wife's series of affairs. And his grandson, Lord Arthur Pelham Clinton, became the lover of Ernest Boulton, a transvestite, who was involved in a celebrated Court Case (accused of indecency) in 1870/1871. But I digress, something all too easy with a resource as fascinating as the Statesman's Yearbook.

And the online version makes it so easy to compare information over the years. Mentioning the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, the 1980 edition - first of her "reign" - contained details of the salaries of UK Cabinet Ministers. The Prime Minister earned £22,000 (actually, probably far less in real terms that the Speaker's salary back in 1864). Contrast that with the £198,994 earned by the PM as per the 2009 edition - without wishing to court controversy, how many jobs have seen a ninefold increase in salary over 30 years? Certainly few if any in the world of librarianship!

In these times of tight budgets (bet these have not risen as much as the above in percentage terms since 1980) any online resource has to be worth its salt but I am sure that all in all, the Statesman's Yearbook Online archive 1864-2009 is something that librarians should consider meriting subscription.