Government Publications Review, Vol. 9, pp. 363-369, 1982 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.

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Copyright b 1982 Pergamon Press Ltd

BOOKREVIEWS

DAVID C. HEISSER Wessell Library, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155

British Government Publications: An Index to Chairmen and Authors. Compiled by Stephen Richard. London: Library Association. Vol. 1, 1800-1899, 1982, 186 pp., c35.00, ISBN O-85365-743-2; Vol. 2, 1900-1940, 1974 (1981 reissue), 174 pp., f20.00, ISBN O-85365-427-1; Vol. 3, 1941-1978, 1982, 152 pp., f27.00, ISBN O-85365-753-X.

This set is, to some extent, a tidying-up operating. Vol. 2, for example, is a straightforward reissue of the volume first published by the Reference, Special and Information section of the Library Association in 1974. Most of Volume 3 has also appeared previously; the bulk of it is a cumulation of Mary Morgan’s British Government Publications: an Index to Chairmen and Authors, 1941-1966 (2nd ed, 1973) and Morgan and Stephen’s continuation covering the period 1967-1971 (1976). It differs, however, in four significant ways: (i) it adds a number of items previously overlooked, (ii) it incorporates non-HMSO material, (iii) it excludes names where their association is simply with the annual reports of bodies, and (iv) it extends the chronological coverage to 1978.

What is new is Volume 1; not only is it new, it also differs from the rest in that it covers select com- mittees and provides some analytical entries for several of the huge Commissions whose outpourings filled so many famous Blue Books of the nineteenth century. Important names such as Edwin Chadwick are normally linked only with the reports of major inquiries, but through diligent research the compiler has identified their connection, perhaps as Assistant Commissioner, with less prestigious committees. Moreover, where there was no reports to the House of Commons he has sought it out in the House of Lords Papers which, as the initiated will know, can present its own problems. Suffice it to say that this magnum opus was nearly a decade in the making. With it, Stephen Richard, who is in charge of Official Papers at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, has earned the lasting gratitude of librarians and researchers.

JOHN E. PEMBERTON Librarian

University College at Buckingham Hunter Street

Buckingham MK18 IEG U.K.

Consuming Secrets: How Official Secrecy Affects Everyday Life in Britain. Edited by Rosemary Delbridge and Martin Smith. London: National Consumer Council; Burnett Books, Ltd., 1982. Pro- duced and distributed by the Hutchinson Publishing Group. $9.95. ISBN o-09-147590-2. USBN O-09-147591-0.

Official government secrecy is an area of interest to the consumer and more particularly to consumer interest groups acting on behalf of the consumer. There are a whole range of activities in a person’s day- to-day life which in fact put him in contact in one way or another with regulations propounded by government which dramatically affect his daily life.

In the United States much has been published about the benefits of the FOIA to the average con- sumer. Ralph Nader’s Center for the Study of Responsive Law, and the various umbrealla groups, have

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been involved for over a decade now in pursuing the interests of the consumer through the use of the law, and their effects have been widespread.

A book published in April 1982 from the U.K. National Consumer Council, edited by Rosemary Defbridge (who died just as the book went to press) and Dr. Martin Smith, Research Director for the Council, presents a series of papers which point out how the various secrecy laws and practices in the U.K. work to the disadvantage of the average citizen.

The book deals not only with issues at the national level, but with local authorities and the of- ficialdom which literally stifle any attempts to get cogent information. More than this, a persuasive ar- gument is made for immediate reform as well as outlining the barriers which restrict information.

The work contains nine papers by contributors who have been involved in one way or another with the consumer movement. These range from discussions on energy, housing, transport, education (one of the most controversial subjects in the U.K. and one of the most intensely debated by the population as a whole), the environment, welfare benefits, local government and planning and product testing. The editors also present two papers themselves, one on the secrecy debate in Britain and another on freedom of information experiences overseas. There is also a foreword by Harold Evans, former editor of the Times.

In the introduction, Rosemary Delbridge makes the case for consumerism and information which states, in essence, the theme of the book itself:

Access to information is the lynchpin. The consumer case is a simple one: within government there is a great deal of information which would be valuable to con- sumers if it was publicly available, and whose collection has been paid for by con- sumers through taxation and rating. Consumers should have a right to such infor- mation unless there are good reasons (such as national security, trade secrets and personal privacy) against its release.

The book’s value lies in the fact that it offers a guideline for the consumer against the laws and at- titudes which keep information from the average person (and often in situations which directly affect the person’s well-being) and provides an insight into the convoluted set of laws, regulations and prac- tices which enable the situation to continue and make the consumer the loser in the long run.

TOM RILEY Executive Secretary, International Freedom of Information Institute

London international Press Centre 76 Shoe Lane

London EC4A 3JB U.K.

EUROSTAT Index. Compiled by Anne Ramsay. Edinburgh: Capital Planning Information, 1981. I52 pp. f15.00. ISBN 0-~I l-15-9.

Despite the steady stream of guides to the publications of the European Communities, this substan- tial body of literature continues to pose problems of access. An area of particular difficulty has always been that of statistics, due not only to the very wide range of subjects they cover but also to the ir- regularity and frequent title-changes of the publications in which they appear. Since January 1981 CRONOS-EUROSTAT, the European Communities’ statistical data bank, has been accessible online; this is the result of negotiations between the EC Commission, Euronet-Diane, and the host information service, Compagnie Internationale de Service en Informatique (ClSI). For those who are able to utilize this facility, many of the problems will thereby be considerably mitigated; the majority of enquirers, however, continue to rely on manual methods. The compilation of a keyword index to the statistical series published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (SOEC) will therefore be widely welcomed.

It is important to know precisely what EWROSTA Tkdex does and does not include. This Is detailed in the introduction, as follows:

The references have been restricted to the Eurostat monthly, quarterly, biannual, annual and biennial titles as published at June 1981. No attempt has been made to index internal publications (e.g., Statistical telegrams, Rapid information series). Statistical publications issued by the Directorates General of the Commission of the European Communities have not been included (e.g., European economy, Resvlfs