Australian commonwealth government publishing 1964–1978

Abstract

The Sixth Special Report from the Joint Committee on Publications of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia reviews the Australian Government Publishing Service and its Role in Commonwealth Printing and Publishing from its conception in the 1964 Erwin Report to 1978. The creation of a central publishing service is fully vindicated by its achievements in publishing and design standards, and particularly by the establishment of government book-shops which greatly improve public accessibility to official publications. Rapid expansion of government publishing does not cover statutory bodies, except for their parliamentary reports. Over-centralization of mail order services and poor performance are severely criticized. The involvement of the Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS) with print procurement for needs other than publications and with the Government Printing Office have been unsatisfactory, and operational separation and greater independence of the publishing and printing functions are recommended, with formal supervision and eventual oversight by a Board of Review and the Joint Committee on Publications, on parallels drawn from the USA and Canada. Pricing and sales policies of the AGPS are reviewed, and recommendations made for closer contact with Australian library and bibliographic authorities, improved bibliographic control and exchange arrangements, clarification of copyright in government publications, and a computer retrieval system for information for the Commonwealth Parliament. This paper critically examines the main recommendations of the Report, emphasizing those aspects which have a wider and practical relevance to the organization, position and performance of centralized government publishing systems elsewhere, as well as questioning some of the Joint Committee's conclusions. In particular, it draws attention to the illogicality of imposing administrative retrenchments on an expanding and essentially demand-oriented service.