Improving the dissemination of United States government information: The report of the public printer's sales publications pricing panel

Abstract

The Government Printing Office's Sales of Publications Program was established by Congress to disseminate government information to the public at an economical price. It is one of the few government programs that operates on a self-sustaining basis. In fact, the Sales Program has generated excess revenue that, by law, is returned to the Treasury. Several months ago, the Public Printer initiated a special study of the Sales Program as it relates to documents pricing and the distribution of government information. The Public Printer recently released the study group's final report. In this article, the chairman of the study group discusses the report's findings, conclusions and recommendations. Eleven diverse issues were considered by the study group in areas such as pricing, marketing, program administration, and appeals of disputed prices. The report has three main themes: (a) the law that governs pricing for sales publications affords sufficient discretion to test alternative approaches to the current pricing formula; (b) because the sales prices of government books are based on their per unit cost, lower prices can be achieved by increasing sales volume; and (c) commercial book outlets constitute an untapped resource for the dissemination of government information to the public and changes are needed to attract such private sector participation.