Formación inicial

publications, Omolayole (2003) aptly described their importance stating that by their nature, government publications are a mine of information on the political and economic life of a country and that to know what the government of a particular country publishes is to be aware of the direction that the country is going. She went on to elucidate that the publications are very useful in the study of internal and international relations and bilateral cooperation between nations because they contain first–hand or primary source information. Examples of government publications in the National Library of Nigeria include the British Parliamentary Papers comprising the original Hansard — the official debates in the House of Commons — and Command Papers; microfilm edition of the House of Lords Sessional Papers, 1645-1859 published by Oceana; U.S. Congressional Records; Canadian Government Publications and many others. In Africa, specialized reports and gazettes from member countries of the African Union dealing with their histories, politics and socio-economic and cultural life are available. These materials promote understanding and unity among nations.

14. No one else is collecting them in a systematic way: Government publications are being actively collected, stored, organised and made accessible to the citizenry mainly through libraries. This is because libraries offer a faster and more complete information service to users and are the only institutions that are collecting these publications systematically and in a holistic manner, thereby making them more visible and accessible to users.

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4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, you learnt about the importance of government publications in libraries and information services. Government publications are published in different formats and are often valuable and unique, and include rare materials such as the original documents on the amalgamation of Nigeria and the collections of Othman Dan Fodio in Northern Nigeria. Digitisation of government publications has gained popularity in the twenty-first century as a way of promoting preservation and improving access through enlightenment programmes on the rich complexity of the government information landscape. It noted that many libraries enrich their collections by providing government publications which are usually free-of-charge. Their importance in good governance, provision of vital information about government activities, plans and policies, preservation of the history, culture, political and socio-economic state of a country, research, conflict resolution, promotion of international relations and bilateral cooperation between nations, publicity about government policies, support to the judiciary and legislature and a trusted source of information were discussed.

5.0 SUMMARY

This unit discussed the importance of government publications and their value in library and information services. Specifically, it examined the role of government publications in good governance, provision of vital information about government activities, plans and policies, preservation of the history, culture, political and socio-economic state of a country, research, conflict resolution, promotion of international relations and bilateral cooperation between nations, publicity about government policies, support to the judiciary and legislature and a trusted source of information. It noted that many libraries enrich their collections by acquiring government publications which are usually free-of-charge. The unit concluded that government publications are indispensable tools in improving the quality of service delivery in library and information centres.

Self - Assignment Exercise

Explain the value of government publications in library and information services?

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENTS (TMA)

1. Briefly describe the importance of government publications.

7.0

REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Ajidahun, C. O. (2006). The Acquisition, Management and Bibliographic Control of Government Publications in Nigerian University Libraries.

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Cassell, K. A., &Hiremath, U. (2009). Reference and information services in the 21st century: An introduction. New York: Neal Schuman

Eells, D. & Shipstead, J. (2011). An Introduction to Government Documents.

Online Presentation for LI813 Project on Government Documents.

Federal Republic of Nigeria (2011).Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, Freedom of Information Act 2011. Retrieved from https://www.ncc.gov.ng

International Court of Justice, 2017-2021. Land and Maritime Boundary Between Cameroon and Nigeria (Cameroon v. Nigeria: Equatorial Guinea intervening). www.icj-cij.org

Obama, B. (2009). Transparency and Open Government. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/TransparencyandOpenGovernment

Omolayole, O. O. (2003). 38 Years of National Library Service to the Nation. In S.O Olanlokun (Ed.).Forty Years of Library Services in Nigeria.Nigerian Library Association.

Paulson, P. J. (2013). Government Documents and other Non-trade Publications.

Library Resource and Technical Service, 13(182), 363-372

Smart, C. (2011). Public Access to Government Information in Anglophone Africa and the English-speaking Caribbean: Are We There Yet? Being Paper Presented at the IFLA Conference 13-18 August, 2011 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. http://conference.ifla.org/ifla77

Smith, L. L. (2011). Introduction to Government Information

Resources.Retrieved from

http://www.selu.edu/library/directory/govdoc/pdf/introgovdoc.pdf;https://

www.library.illinois.edu/govinfo/u-of-i-unit-library-homepage/researchtools/general/introduction/

UNESCO (2021). International Day for Universal Access to Information.

Retrieved from www.en.unesco.org

United States Code Title 44 Public Printing and Documents Joint Committee on Printing, 2010 Edition.

Wikipedia (2021). Freedom of Information Laws by Country. Retrieved from https://en.m.wikipedia.org

Wilson, J. (2021). (http://www.gpo.gov/100Years)

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UNIT 2: DISSEMINATION AND USE OF GOVERNMENT