434 Book reviews

reflect the recovery of actual GPO costs, and the need to improve the management of documents inven- tory. The Public Printer found the GAO recommendations to be generally compatible with continuing GPO efforts to monitor and improve its operations, but pointed out that, at this time, the GPO lacked adequate authority to require various publishing agencies to adhere to the GAO recommendation (p. 23) for “complete and timely submission of information.” To bring this about, action from the JCP would be necessary.

A difference of opinion between the Public Printer and GAO emerges as to whether publications pricing improvements instituted by the GPO in April, 1983, were adequately considered by the GAO in its review. While the pricing formula is of necessity somewhat complex, an examination contributes to a broader understanding of factors affecting the sales program as a whole.

The GAO recognizes the numerous improvements that the GPO has recently implemented and sug- gests additional approaches for increasingly effective bookstore operation. This report also presents useful insights for anyone interested in the GPO and its general sales program; some questions are raised, some answers provided, and abundant food for thought supplied.

MARIAN CARROLL Government Publications Librarian

Milner Library Illinois State University

Normal, IL 61761 USA

Public Access to Government Information: Issues, Trends, and Strategies. By Peter Hernon and Charles R. McClure. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1984. 457 pp. $49.50 hardbound; $25.00 paper. ISBN o-89391-100-3. LC 83-25797.

Much, if not most, of what is contained in this offering is a cumulation of work presented elsewhere in shorter form- the authors make no pretense otherwise. The fact that much in this book is a synthesis of earlier work should in no way be construed as a denigration of the value of that work or this volume. Hernon and McClure, undeniably, have been the most prolific contributors to government documents literature during the last decade, some of their work being among the most important produced in the field. Chapters by Gary Purcell on the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and by Peter Hajnal on United Nations and other international documents add an appreciated dimension. The draw- ing together of so much cogent and important thinking into a rather unified text is a boon to the infor- mation profession as a whole, and especially to that segment of the profession which deals with govern- ment information.

There is no doubt that the authors intend that this volume be used as a text in library school govern- ment information courses. As such it offers a refreshing counterbalance to three editions of Joe Morehead’s Introduction to United States Public Documents (Libraries Unlimited, 1975, 1978, 1983). Where Morehead deals, at times myopically, with the mechanics of documents librarianship, Hernon and McClure take the high road, choosing to deal with issues and ways of engaging those issues- public access, federal information policies, value of information resources, bibliographic control, collection development, technology, marketing, microforms and access, cooperation and planning and evalua- tion, resource sharing, the depository program, education of documents librarians, and mainstreaming government publications. Unfortunately, the two roads do not meet. For novice documents librarians and reference librarians who need to hone their documents skills, see Morehead; experienced managers of documents collections and library administrators, see Hernon and McClure. We still look forward to the book that will effectively merge practice and theory.

Hernon and McClure are forever empiricists, and as such, alternately suggest, chide, recommend, and demand that the profession educate itself for the skills and methods necessary to plan, implement, evaluate, and manage government documents librarianship as they envision it. By and large, they are right in their vision. The problem is that the troops in the trenches, i.e., documents librarians in depository libraries, do not have the same high-ground perspective and consequently often will not share the authors’ view. One would hope that reading this volume will convert the profession, although

Book reviews 435

I cannot but doubt that it will. This book certainly should be in the hands of anyone who is serious about the field of government information.

BRUCE MORTON The Library

Carleton College Northfield, MN 55057

USA

President’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control. Report on Management Office Selected Issues, Volume 7; Information Gap in the Federal Government. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1984. 174 pp. $7.50. (SUDOC classification Pr40.8:C82/M31-v.7)

For info~ation professionals who have an interest in the availability and free flow of U.S. govern- ment information this volume may well be the most significant of the multi-volume President’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (the Grace Commission).

The 161 leading business executives (and some 1300 task force members) who undertook the review of the federal government perceived an “information gap” which made the concept of evaluating the federal government as a candidate for business merger or acquisition an impossibility, since key infor- mation to make a buy or no-buy decision was not available. In addition, it became apparent that critical information was missing not only with respect to making an acquisition decision but, more importantly, with respect to running the government even if it were to be acquired.

The information gap as described in the report is a collapse in the communication or reception of knowledge. The concern is not so much for simple raw data, but for data which has been translated into critical information which would otherwise contribute to accurate, timely, and perceptive decision- making. It is suggested that the information gap may be caused by: (1) too much information of the wrong kind; (2) too little information of the right kind; (3) inconsistent, incompatible, or unverifiable information; and (4) information that is too difficult to locate in a single, usable form when needed.

Information gaps are seen to permeate virtually every department and agency of the federal govern- ment and every functional area. A few of the areas of missing information highlighted by the report are: (1) financial and accounting data (e.g., there are over 300 separate accounting systems with only 60% of them approved by the General Accounting Office and there are not accurate debt status reports); (2) financial reporting systems (e.g., thereby rendering some agencies unable to provide accurate and timely cost data to process and monitor grant payments properly); and (3) project management (e.g., no cost accounting structure to permit the accurate tracking of costs associated with publishing).

The report’s conclusion is that the information gap results from a broad and systemic management failure. Four roadblocks are enumerated which are seen as contributing to the halt of orderly processes: (1) Identification- the needed data for decision making and management control are not identified, leaving management with too much data of the wrong kind or no data on which to base decisions; (2) Quality- the accuracy, timeliness, or consistency of the data are poor, thus reducing their usefulness; (3) Automated Data Processing-once the data are collected, they must be processed into usable infor- mation with either manual or automatic systems; and (4) Analysis-even if good information is iden- tified, quality data captured, and the system processes the data properly, the information must be put to some purpose. If the information is not utilized, management decisions will still be hampered by the information gap. There is a note of pessimism in the report’s observation that no one is attempting to coordinate the selection and flow of management information. Without an assignment of responsibility, overcoming the aforementioned roadblocks will be difficult, if not impossible.

The report recommends an overall program which, when implemented, will identify and solve addi- tional information gaps and provide an institutional approach to continually evaluate the information flow in the government. The new information management process and structure recommended in- cludes the following: (1) the conducting of an agency-by-agency needs assessment; (2) the establishment of uniform standards for data collection in the areas of relevance, completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and consistency; (3) adoption of a systems approach to information processing, including file structure standards and a software clearinghouse, and upgrading of ADP systems and new aquisitions; (4) the improved utilization of existing data, particularly through the uses of computer matching to verify the accuracy of costs and payments; and (5) the implementation of a structure to facilitate the information management process.