Government Publications Review, Vol. 9, pp. 81-83, 1982 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.

0277-9390/82/010081-03$03.00/O Copyright Q 1982 Pergamon Press Ltd

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SEMINAR

ANN E. MILLER La Trobe University Library, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia

A two-day seminar on Australian government publications, organized by the Government Publications Subcommittee of the Victorian Regional Committee of the Australian Advisory Council on Bibliographical Services, was held in the Library of La TrobeUniversity on 16-17 February 198 1. It was attended by a small number of librarians - 18 in all - who had been in- vited because of their known expertise in some aspects of the handling of government publications and who were aware of specific difficulties in the acquisition and use of this material. The intention of the seminar was to make use of this expertise, and through discus- sion to arrive at a series of recommendations designed to lead to easier access to information about the Australian governments and their publications.

Three papers only were presented, having been circulated in their full form some months ahead; thus half a day was available for the discussion of each topic. They covered problems of acquisition for the National and State libraries entitled to receive this material under the prevailing legislation; the adequacy or otherwise of bibliographical control; and access to in- formation through the various government directories.

The first paper, by Roxanne Missingham from the National Library, was entitled “Australian Government Publications: Problems of Acquisition.” The Copyright Act 1968, S. 201, requires one copy of all works published in Australia to be deposited in the National Library; in fact, about 40% of all new Australian titles which it receives are federal or state government publications.

Clearly all eligible material does not reach the National Library, for reasons which are universal: lack of awareness on the part of the publishers of the legal deposit requirement; lack of understanding of the words “publication” and “library material”; reluctance on the part of some publishers and authors to lodge a copy of their publications; and difficulties en- countered by the National Library in obtaining details about publishing programmes by government agencies and citations of specific publications.

The publishing patterns of departments and authorities are described in general terms. Departments for the most part, but by no means exclusively, publish through the Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS). However, the non-AGPS material can be elusive; one cause is the use of the photocopier to produce limited numbers of a publication, another can be the lack of centralization in a department. Three useful contacts for the pursuit of non-AGPS material can be a publications section, a public information office and a depart- mental library. One of the problems with statutory authorities has in fact been the identifica- tion of the authorities; this situation has recently been improved by the work of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Government Operations.

The papers of this seminar are available from the La Trobe University Library, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia.

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The procedures used by the National Library to back up legal deposit are also described; these include the writing of many letters, personal visits to author agencies, good liaison with the several state libraries, which is valuable for the acquisition of state material, the scanning of annual reports, accessions lists, newspapers, etc. The need for constant surveillance and speedy action was stressed.

The second paper, presented by Ian Royal, also from the National Library, was entitled “Bibliographic Control of Government Publications in Australia: A Paper for Discussion.” He argued the case for and feasibility of bibliographical control at source, i.e., bibliographical control within each department and authority, as the first link in the chain towards full con- trol. It is acknowledged that this is not something that just happens, and that significant management involvement is required in planning, establishing and maintaining the systems of control. This can only arise when there is a real awareness “that information in records and documents generated by the department is a resource as valuable and necessary to manage as financial and staff resources.”

The publishing pattern of Australian Government Publications (AGP) on a quarterly basis is described together with the possibility of introducing a monthly selection checklist to speed up the notification process while the compilation of AGP remains manual. Such a checklist would be selective, excluding material already listed in Australian National Bibliography (ANB) and in any of the state library lists; it would, if introduced, simply supplement the ser- vices already available, but would offer more current information. The continuing impor- tance of contributed entries by several of the state libraries to AGP was stressed.

Ian Royal moved on to consider the categories of material excluded from AGP, e.g., subordinate legislation, and the possibilities either of including this material or of referring users, as an alternative means of making them aware of their existence, to other lists. While by no means denying the desirability of total listing, the merits of completeness and timeliness have to be balanced. Until AGP can be automated, it is virtually impossible to in- crease its scope without making other sacrifices: it remains a question of priorities.

The third paper was presented jointly by Michael Harrington and Sue Healy, both of the State Library of Victoria. Entitled “Australian Government Directories,” the paper outlined minimum standards for directories in relation to contents, detail in the information supplied, arrangement and indexing. It was noted that directories should be current and readily available. It was stressed that all agencies of the jurisdiction should be included and it was thought desirable that they should provide a structural analysis of government and, where applicable, that they could usefully refer users to other sources of government information. The adequacy of the various Australian government directories, Commonwealth and state, was examined.

The problems faced by the compilers of directories were also considered. Above all, there appears to be a lack of understanding on the part of the compilers as to who their users are and the purposes to which these directories may be put. Another difficulty stems from the fact that the editors of directories are often junior officers, who lack the authority and exper- tise to ensure consistency and accuracy.

A range of topics was discussed during the fourth and final session, including: the dissemination of publications of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and possible changes to the numbering system (discussion was based on a brief paper by the librarian of the ABS, Margaret Pitt); the effectiveness of deposit arrangements for AGPS publications; the AGPS- AACOBS Liason Committee; the arrangement of Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers in the bound volumes; indexing of gazettes.

During the course of the two days, quite a lot of time was spent in attempting satisfactory definitions of basic terms. Two definitions adopted by the meeting were (1) “A government

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publication is a document in any medium, prepared by or for an agency of government, which is reproduced and circulated or otherwise made available to individuals and groups other than those advising or negotiating with the government concerning the subject matter of the document.” (For listing purposes, this definition includes any publication which is available for viewing in any library open to the public regardless of whether the document is available for distribution or not.) and (2) A government agency is one in which the governing person or the majority of members of the governing body is elected under the usual federal, state or local electoral system, or is appointed or removed by the governor, Governor- General, etc., or by one or more persons who have been so elected.”

One of the several recommendations made was

that AACOBS prepare and issue for wide dissemination a brochure for librarians and information officers:

i. offering a working definition of “government publication”; ii. suggesting methods of acquisition of Australian government publications;

iii. outlining the responsibilities of government librarians and information officers regarding deposit and listing of these publications;

iv. pointing out the importance of comprehensively collecting the publications of their own agency;

v. recommending that a separate listing of these be included in any acquisition list prepared by the agency.

Some of the other specific recommendations related to the strengthening of legal deposit arrangements, improvements in directories, indexing of major series such as parliamentary papers and gazettes, and a retrospective listing of ABS publications.