Government publications

Definitions

Government Publications

The University of Manitoba Libraries defines "government publications" as:
publications issued and published by the authority of a government or its agencies, including publications of the legislative and executive branches of governments at all levels. Items published and/or distributed by commercial publishers but with government authors, and reports of research projects, subsidized by the government and written or distributed by a government department or agency, are defined as government publications. Briefs, submissions, or similar presentations to commissions, committees, etc., of a government, regardless of means of distribution and publication, are also considered governmental.

For the purposes of this collection guideline, government publications are split into two broad categories:

1. Legislative Documents: publications that are the business of government and produced by the legislative and executive branches of government. These include such material as bills, debates, royal commissions, gazettes, statutes, sessional papers.
2. Government Information: although these publications may reflect government policy, they are not part of daily government business. These publications are of an instructional, descriptive, or historical nature. They include such material as government-sponsored research reports, surveys, union catalogues, maps, patents, indexes, monographs, bibliographies, annual reports.

Purpose

This collection guideline is to clarify and rationalize the collecting of legislative documents and government information among the University of Manitoba Libraries. Both are collected to support the teaching and research programs at the University of Manitoba.

Legislative Documents

Legislative documents are acquired for the E. K. Williams Law Library.

Government Information

Government information is collected in multiple subject areas at the discretion of relevant liaison librarian. The responsibility for the rationalization, development, and retention of government information rests with the relevant liaison librarians and the Collections Team.

Depository Materials

The University of Manitoba was a participant in the National Depository Services program. Under the program, the University of Manitoba Libraries received government publications in print, but in April 2014 the government discontinued print depository programs and switched to electronic only.

Data Liberation Initiative

The Libraries maintains a membership in the Data Liberation Initiative which offers access, as required, to numerical data sets, either online or networked, from Statistics Canada. The Data Librarian is responsible for making these resources available upon request.
 

If you have any questions, contact the Associate University Librarian, Collections.