Access to British local government documentation

Abstract

The ‘Access to local government documentation’ project carried out by Capital Planning Information under the auspices of the British Library Research and Development Department in 1979 and 1980 is described. The project had its origins in the problems encountered by librarians and others who require access to the increasing number and range of documents produced by local authorities in the United Kingdom, especially since the reorganization of local government in the mid-1970s. In particular, the study was concerned with the use, or possible use, of these documents to transfer information on topics and methodologies of mutual interest between authorities and to other agencies and individuals both inside and outside their immediate geographical area. The project aimed to identify as much as possible of the total documentary output of all departments in five selected local authorities, and to discover how such documentation, once identified, could be acquired. All the documents obtained were examined in detail to establish what, if any, bibliographic standards were being applied. The study also examined local authority attitudes to publication and the procedures established by them to provide access to the documents produced. Conclusions based on an analysis of 286 documents collected over a six-month study period are outlined, and the main recommendations of the final report on the study are summarized.