Policies and procedures for publication at the Department of Corrections : case study and bibliography

Abstract

The Department of Corrections came into existence in October 1995. For the first two years there was no national internal group providing the department with information services. Policies concerning the publication of items intended to be freely available to the public have not been written. There is little control or knowledge within the department about the requirements regarding publication. Currently each of the groups within the department follows its own, mostly unwritten processes. This is causing numerous problems with locating items, consistency of the presentation, and the distribution procedures. I interviewed staff members dealing with publication, inquired about the current policies they follow and asked for identification of any problems they see occurring. I performed a content analysis on the interview notes, comparing comments and looking for themes. It has been made obvious that there are no areas of publication being dealt with satisfactorily. I have assembled a list of recommendations that can be used in the preparation of an overall departmental publication policy, for which there is a desperate need.