New business model for access to and distribution of Australian government publications: A review by the expert group

Introduction

An edited version of the Australian Library and Information Association's response to the announcement by senator Alston in the 2003/2004 Budget of a new business model for access and distribution of government publications, was published in inCite, July 2003, p24. The full version is available on the ALIA submissions website. The response included suggestions for future action under the headings 'online delivery', 'library deposit' and 'government bookshops'.

The following report provides a review and further comment from ALIA on the actions by the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) following the budget announcement. The actions include the development of a publications register, a publication services directory, the closure the Australian Government Bookshop Network and reviewing the continuing operation of the Library Deposit Scheme.

Background

These changes are seen as further steps in the process of decentralisation of government publishing after the movement of responsibility for government publishing from a central organisation, Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS) - later AusInfo - to the government agencies themselves. Associated processes in government publishing activity which have undergone change are the cessation of a list of new publications to alert users to current publishing by government agencies and now the closure of the Australian Government Bookshop Network with altered availability and distribution arrangements for government publications.

Publications register

NOIE, in association with the National Library of Australia (NLA), are to be congratulated on establishing the Publications Register to improve access to current online Australian government publications. The concept of the Publications Register is innovative and useful and a great first step.

The register is a useful tool in identifying government publications, and just as useful is the contact details for each agency. Government agencies are found in an a-z listing on the home page and access to each agency's publications is provided by going to the agency website. There is also a list of agencies by subject category, which enhances searching by topic. Agencies which distributed publications through the former Government Bookshop Network contribute to the bookshop listings found on the home page and the agency websites can provide information on the new distribution arrangements for publications formerly sold through the Government Bookshop Network. The Register offers the facility to search for a publication by finding a word or phrase from any title in the database.

Librarians will need to continue to monitor the development, resourcing and management of the Register. At the Kinetica annual users meeting in Adelaide on 21-22 August 2003 Colin Thomas, manager, Info Access Network at NOIE, stated that NOIE supports the development of initiatives but is not responsible for long term management of programs.

This is a product in development and the following critique is made to provide feedback to assist in the continuing development of the product.

Databases

The register as it currently operates is not, as it may seem to a casual user, an integrated database - but three separate databases each of which must be searched separately. These databases are:

1. Government agency listings;
2. Bookshop listings; and
3. Quick links.

When searching from the link at the central panel of the home page headed 'Government Bookshop Network publications', users may believe that they are searching all three databases, but in fact this enables them to search the 'bookshop listings' database only.

Format available

Publications from an agency can be produced in a variety of formats:

• Print only;
• Print with electronic copy; and
• Electronic (born digital)

When searching the register for information about publications or in order to acquire them, it is not clear what is available in electronic format and what is available in print. It would be very useful for deposit libraries to know what is available in print for the purposes of claiming deposit items under the Library Deposit Scheme. In the 'about this site' section it is recommended that a selection policy is included with guidelines on the selection of publications for the register. This should contain information on the format of the publications.

Some publications in print format have very limited print runs making it very difficult for libraries to acquire the publication. For example, only three holdings statements for the print version of the Report of the review of veterans' entitlements, January 2003 are listed in Kinetica. The Library Deposit Scheme deals with the distribution of print publications to deposit libraries but the Report of the review of veterans' entitlements, January 2003 was not distributed to deposit libraries. This report is not listed in the register if you search under Department of Veterans' Affairs.

In order for libraries to obtain copies of publications which have short print runs it would be useful for them to be made available on agency websites with a facility to print-on-demand; or a link from the local library catalogue record could be made to the online publication on agency websites. The facilitation of access to online publications if the print is no longer available should be part of each agency's publishing contract.

Government agencies included

There are gaps in the agency listings when compared with what is included with the a-z list of agencies at the federal government website. It is understood that this is a product in development and that the listing will be expanded in the future.

Usability, navigation

The website is confusing to use for a variety of reasons:

• When you click on an agency you expect to see their publications clearly but this is often not the case; you need to search through other information before locating a list of publications.
• There is no consistency with the information that can be obtained from the websites linked to because the design of agency websites is not standardised to display publications in the same way. It would be useful if NOIE could co-ordinate design standards for all agency websites.
• A link to the list of publications from an agency should be available on the front page of the website and immediately obvious for clients searching the website to see.

It would be useful if NOIE could organise a useability analysis and testing of the website to obtain structured feedback from users about the performance of the site.

Searching

Other access points in addition to keyword or phrase from the title are required for publication specific searching, for example

• ISBN
• ISSN
• Exact title
• Series
• Date of publication

We look forward to fuller citations, publication level searching, development of the search engine and consistent filing order.

Standards, guidelines, best practice

It is a concern that there are not consistent standards and guidelines for the publishing and distribution of agency publications. We would like to know what NOIE's intentions are to improve compliance to contribution to the register and to produce guidelines for the standard display of content on websites.

Archiving of publications

The register provides access to agency publications that are currently available. Concern was expressed that it is not known how long the publication will remain accessible on the agency website and, if the publication is born digital, whether it will be archived or preserved for future research access.

Current listing of new publications

A regular hard copy or online alerting service providing a listing of new publications available with their URLs is required by users of the register. An example of such a service is that provided by the Weekly Checklist, produced by the Government of Canada Publications. Another example is the online RAP (Recent Australian Publications) service provided by the National Library of Australia where the current month's additions to Kinetica are included. This list can be printed on demand or a profile set up for a selected list to be sent to an address by FTP.

An alerting service could be accessed by libraries so that staff can select publication records and add links to the publication in their catalogues. Other users of Australian government publications who formerly used the Government Bookshops would be alerted to the existence of new online Australian government publications and be able to access the information provided.

National Bibliographic Database

It is important that agency publication records are added to the National Bibliographic Database. It is recommended that either NOIE co-ordinate this activity to be done by each agency; or that the National Library of Australia be contracted to organise that publication records are sent automatically via a link to the National Bibliographic Database from agency websites.

Publication Services Directory

Each government agency is responsible for developing arrangements to distribute their own publications. The Publication Services Directory has been produced by NOIE to support the agency publishing obligations and will provide links to suppliers of publication distribution services. It will assist agencies to identify the range of distribution mechanisms and services that are available including online distribution through the internet and e-mail and traditional methods. It will also cover new publishing business models. Suppliers listed in the directory include Can Print Communications Pty Ltd, Information Victoria and Anstat Pty Ltd.

Closure of the Government Bookshop Network

The Australian Government Bookshop Network closed on 17 October 2003. New arrangements for the checking the availability and for the distribution of government publications include the use of the Publications Register to find out about the continued availability of publications that were stocked by the bookshop network. The register links users to lists of agency publications, their contact details and their diverse distribution arrangements which are either direct or through other suppliers. Many government agencies provide online ordering facilities or consumer contact details through their own websites or agents. Also, many publications can be downloaded free of charge from these websites.

Libraries now find that obtaining print copies of some government publications is more difficult.

The attorney-general has announced new arrangements for the distribution of commonwealth legislation and the government notices (including special and periodic) gazettes. These publications will be available by mail order from CanPrint Information Services, Canberra and over-the-counter from CanPrint Communications, Canberra or Standards Australia outlets in each state and territory capital city (except Darwin). It has been reported that at the Standards Australia, Melbourne outlet only one copy of legislation was available for sale over-the-counter; libraries requiring multiple copies need to contact CanPrint in Canberra to set up an account or pay by credit card over the telephone.

The treasury has announced that printed copies of the budget papers are to be distributed through CanPrint Communications. Over-the-counter sales will be through CanPrint's Canberra premises and through Standards Australia outlets in other capital cities with the possibility of other outlets in the future.

In our response to changes announced in the 2003 Federal Budget, ALIA suggested that the development of the Register include a current listing - for example, weekly or monthly - of new items added to the database. This current listing could supply information formerly available from the government bookshops. It should be distributed on a regular basis to users and subscribers of publications and be available through government information and service points. This development is still supported by ALIA.

Library deposit scheme

It has been confirmed that new print publications from Australian government agencies will continue to be distributed to libraries through the Library Deposit Scheme co-ordinated by NOIE. The continuation of the scheme is important to support the collection development activities of libraries. It is recognised that it has been complex and difficult to extend the principle of the deposit of material to online government publications and this format is not included in the Library Deposit Scheme.

It is recommended that the Publications Register support the operation of the Library Deposit Scheme by enabling staff in deposit libraries to more easily claim publications. Further co-ordination is required so that a claim from one library triggers the automatic receipt of the publication by all deposit libraries. It would be useful if the current listing of new publications (in print and electronic format) were re-instated so that each deposit library does not need to devote the resources necessary to identifying and claiming the publications they should receive on deposit.

Colin Thomas, manager, Info Access Network at NOIE has said that NOIE has undertaken to review the scheme during the first half of 2004. Deposit libraries and other relevant bodies such as CASL and ALIA will be consulted as part of this review process. NOIE is also involved in continuing consultations with the national library, national archives and other stakeholders on a range of issues relating to government publishing, such as use of metadata, and e-permanence. ALIA welcomes participation in the continuing consultation concerning the future of the Library Deposit Scheme.

29 January 2004