Government Information in Canada/Information gouvernementale au Canada, Volume 4, number/numéro 1 (Summer/été 1997)

Government information is increasing in importance in the economic, social and political sectors, and in the education of future professionals in the graduate schools of library and information sciences. This article introduces one instructor's approach for teaching government information. The course objectives, content, teaching methodology and materials used by the instructor are presented.

L'information gouvernementale acquiert une place importante dans les secteurs économique, social et politique et dans les écoles de bibliothéconomie et sciences de l'information. Cet article présente l'approche d'une chargée de cours pour la formation des étudiants et étudiantes dans le domaine de l'information gouvernementale. Les objectifs du cours, la matière enseignée, la méthode pédagogique, le type de travaux et les ressources utilisés par l'enseignante sont inclus.

Introduction

Government publications are diverse in nature, content and format, and are organized differently in various types of North American libraries. Hence, the teaching of government publications and information presents a challenge to schools of library and information studies. (3)

The purpose of this article is to present my approach for teaching the Government Information course at the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies (GSLIS) at McGill University in Montreal, Québec. This descriptive article begins by placing the course within the institutional setting and instructional program at the GSLIS. It introduces the instructor's teaching philosophy, which shapes course content and assignments, and determines teaching methodology. It then focuses on course objectives and content, on the teaching methodology adopted, and course materials prepared by the instructor. An overview of the course evaluation conducted by students at semester end, and concluding comments follow.

Institutional Setting: the GSLIS

Montreal houses four universities, two of which offer a graduate program in library and information studies accredited by the American Library Association. McGill's GSLIS requires the successful completion of the equivalent of two academic years of graduate study (48 credits) to obtain the M.L.I.S. degree. The first year consists of eight required term courses (24 credits). The completion of the program requires another 24 credits drawn from various elective courses, including those in information resources and services such as Government Information. (4)

The three-credit Government Information (hereafter, GI) course has been offered by the GSLIS for several consecutive academic years. The School chose to teach this course rather than integrate the materials into the other courses it offers, such as Reference Sources and Services, Library and Information Services, and Collection Development. The GI course, previously entitled Government Publications, was taught by a tenured faculty member with a strong interest in public affairs. My proposed change in course title to Government Information, and the corresponding revision of the course description, were endorsed and implemented by the School. The current title more appropriately reflects the progression from government-produced printed publications to information stored in machine-readable formats, and a broadening of the scope of the information covered. (5)

The two pre-requisite courses for the GI course are: 1) Bibliographic Control (provides a foundation for reference services); and 2) Reference Sources and Services. They provide a sound basis for the critical examination of the sources of and access to government information, and to the provision of services to users in different settings. While the pre-requisites touch on government information, and other courses in the M.L.I.S. degree introduce government products and services, the GI course offers interested students the opportunity to further develop their knowledge and apply the skills in this area of library and information studies. (6)

The School's physical resources include a modern Information Technology Laboratory. The library and information studies collection (monographs, serials, etc.) was relocated and integrated into the University's main library, which shares the same building with the GSLIS. The resources are utilized to complete assignments and prepare for the GI course.

Teaching Philosophy

Course content and instructional method adopted by the instructor are predicated on four perspectives. The first is based on the belief that a knowledge of the organization and functions of governments is required for an understanding of government publications and information. (7, 8) Familiarity with the structure and basic functions of the state provides for a better understanding of governmental publishing, distribution, and sales practices. I decided to concentrate on the structure of the Canadian federal government to provide a foundation for learning about selected domestic and foreign political systems. Constraints due to the one-semester time frame for the GI course limit the amount of information that can be conveyed to and absorbed by students about the mechanics of government. Nevertheless, a minimal and practical knowledge of each level of government in Canada must be gained by all students. Prior knowledge of political systems varies among students enrolled in the GI course.

The second perspective considers government information products from a service to the public perspective. This approach is relevant to libraries, documentation and information centres. This does not imply that technical services operations such as acquisitions and cataloguing are ignored, but rather that they are covered more generally. A third perspective is that course content and assignments are not focused on any particular type of library and are not subject-specific. Government information deals with every topic under the sun! Due to its relevancy for patrons in academic, public, special, and school libraries, the GI course is not aimed at a particular audience. Specific student interests are accommodated by the Class Presentation project, which is described below. A final perspective is that, due to the amount and variety of materials available and time constraints, the course focuses primarily on current information resources in printed and electronic formats, and secondarily on historical statistical data and selected reference titles for historical information.

The GI Course Objectives

The purpose and educational objectives of the GI course correspond with the vision and objectives set forth for the M.L.I.S. instructional program by the GSLIS. (9) The course is designed as "an introduction to the structure of governments, and the nature and variety of government information" as a type of resource. (10) It develops student proficiency in the reference use of government information in a variety of formats. Its four stated objectives, first articulated by the former professor and fine-tuned by me, are: "1. To develop an understanding of the organization and functions of governments; 2. To develop an understanding of the way in which governments provide information for their own use and for the general public; 3. To become familiar with important sources of information/publications of the Canadian and U.S. governments, and of selected international governmental organizations (IGOs) such as the United Nations, and with the tools to retrieve these; and 4. To examine the acquisition, organization, bibliographic control and use of government information." (11) Thus, the course aims to provide an overview of what government information is (and is not), and why it occupies an important place in the information process in different institutional environments, including libraries. No one library or type of library is presented as the "model."

The course content focuses on the Government of Canada, its structure, the three basic functions of the state, the institutions, and the corresponding publications of Parliament, the departments and agencies, and (minimally) on the judiciary. This information should provide students with a basis for understanding the U.S. Presidential system of government, and the structure and governance of the United Nations (UN). Information-related issues, such as the Canadian federal government information policy, the role of the Depository Services Program, the Access to Information Act, and the Privacy Act in Canada and in Québec are covered.

When first planning the course content, I decided to deal with international governmental organizations (hereafter, IGOs) in terms of their nature, structure, official documents, and publications by focusing on the UN, the UN system of organizations, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A three hour lecture offers at most a bird's-eye view of the IGO scene! The UN is included as it is a prolific publisher of a variety of information and materials, and has in place a depository system for the dissemination of its publications to libraries. The UN family of organizations presents examples of different publishing policies, practices, and materials to meet the needs of their specific constituencies. The OECD is covered because it falls outside of the UN family, its member-countries include Canada and the U.S., it is an active publisher of authoritative and timely information not limited to member countries, and it sells most of its publications. Furthermore, the McGill University Library houses a substantial collection of UN and OECD publications and offers many bibliographic tools (printed and electronic) for their access. More recently, both the UN and OECD occupy a growing presence on the Internet.

Course Content

The course content is chosen to be manageable for both students and the instructor, while being sufficiently comprehensive to include domestic and selected foreign governments and IGOs. Practical considerations that helped to determine the course content include: the number of course contact hours; the level of effort that can be reasonably expected of students for the GI course and other M.L.I.S. courses; the collection of materials readily available for teaching and assignments purposes; and the language barriers possibly presented by some tools, publications, and readings. The course content has a Canadian and Québec orientation, which reflects the school's location and the students' environment. However, the U.S. federal government is not neglected as some graduates of the M.L.I.S. program find employment south of the border.

The most recent course offering began with a tour of the Government Documents Department in the main library, conducted by a reference librarian. This collection is the one consulted for completing search exercises. The answers to the search questions in the quizzes are usually available in other large libraries, which provide students with some flexibility and an exposure to different physical organizations and bibliographic access to the materials. The first class provides the instructor with an opportunity to discover the students' educational background, and their experience in searching for or consulting government information in their studies or work.

My introductory lecture presents government information as a type of literature and considers its nature, the various types of publications and information, and their formats. It includes a "show and tell" with samples and explanations of reference sources (handbooks, directories), annual reports of departments, press releases, text of treaties, statutes, technical reports, patents, standards, maps, and so forth.

Throughout the semester, attention is paid to definitions, explanations of terms and concepts, and terminology, not forgetting the many acronyms. The course gradually progresses through the structure and the three functions (executive, legislative, and judicial) of government, and the corresponding publications of the Canadian federal government. It presents the legislative process followed for the passage of a bill in the Canadian Parliament and its enactment, and the corresponding Parliamentary and legal publications to trace that process. It prepares the students for tackling the first practical search exercise entitled Tracing Legislation in Canada (presented below in the section "Teaching Methodology"). Soon afterwards, students consider selected departmental publications and electronic products, including statistical sources issued by Statistics Canada, Elections Canada, and so forth. Printed and machine-readable bibliographic sources to retrieve this information are examined. Selected government programs and services of relevance to libraries, including the Depository Services Program, are considered.

By the mid-term break, students tackle the second library quiz, which covers parliamentary, departmental, and statistical publications in Canada. They then progress to provincial governments, their administration, publishing practices, and publications with an emphasis on Québec documents. This is followed by, first the U.S. federal government with its Constitution, the features of this system of government, its three basic functions, and a very broad selection of reference publications; and then by a lecture on the UN, its family of organizations, and the OECD. These two three-hour sessions follow the pattern established for the other government jurisdictions. A variety of current bibliographic tools to access U.S. and IGO publications and their contents are examined to prepare students for the last library search exercise.

The remaining two course sessions move away from specific government jurisdictions and consider activities and issues outside of the context of reference work previously emphasized in the semester. The means to acquire information in printed and machine-readable formats, including recent initiatives at the Canadian federal government level, are presented. The physical and administrative organizations of government publications/information collections are examined with emphasis on the changes currently taking place in Canadian libraries. The bibliographic control of information in terms of cataloguing practices and classification schemes is examined and illustrated with examples. These topics provide an opportunity to review some of the material covered earlier in the semester and to encourage participation by the students who by then are more familiar with government information.

The class time allocated to various government jurisdictions and to topical issues vary slightly from year to year. Adjustments are made to reflect the topics selected by the students for their class presentations. Topics recently integrated into the class outline include citation manuals for government information resources, search strategies for government information, and availability of government information on the Internet. Adjustments made to lectures include a reduction of class time on the systems of government and the structure of IGOs, and on the characteristics of bibliographic and reference tools.

The course content and its scheduling are coordinated to prepare students to complete the library search exercises and to allow the instructor to provide timely feedback to students prior to the next exercise. The course schedule is not coordinated with the schedule of student class presentations. This provides more flexibility to the students in choosing team members, a topic of interest, and a manageable work schedule.

Teaching Methodology

A variety of teaching methods are used by the instructor to achieve stated course objectives. The large number of students enrolled in the course (no limit on enrollment), of between thirty and fifty is not conducive to a seminar format or small-group discussions. However, active class participation in the form of questions, comments, and related work experience is encouraged. The teaching methodology for the GI course is class-based and includes one or two guest lectures on specific topics, such as the Canadian Depository Services Program. In addition to the subject knowledge conveyed by the guest speaker, his or her visit provides students with an opportunity to interact with a member of the professional community. The assigned readings are to be completed by students to prepare for each class. The course includes three practical quizzes or library search exercises to be completed on an individual basis; a team presentation in class; class participation on an individual basis; and a practical final examination based on the lectures and the required readings.

The teaching methodology conforms to GSLIS's practices. It is designed to provide students with a blend of individual and team projects, written and oral work, with practical experience in the use of government information, meaningful class participation on an individual basis, and timely feedback from the instructor on the library search exercises.

Three full-period lectures (Introductory, U.S., and IGOs) are delivered by the instructor. Otherwise, each class consists of a lecture by the instructor, two class presentations by students followed by a question period, the Media Watch exercise, and some "housekeeping" issues, such as topics for the next class. The instructor works with speaking notes to make better use of class time, and provides information in an organized and structured fashion for easier note-taking by students. She uses transparencies to present sources of information and their characteristics and the highlights of topics introduced in class. To stimulate student interest, she displays samples of publications in class, posts newspaper articles on the display board, and brings a newspaper to class for the use of students.

Further information is now provided on the nature of assignments, the team Class Presentation, and the Media Watch exercise.

The three carefully tailored search exercises are based on the lectures, assigned readings, and class materials. They are practical quizzes to be completed individually in the library and the Information Technology Laboratory. They cover: 1. Tracing a piece of legislation in Canada; 2. Parliamentary, departmental and statistical publications in Canada; and 3. Historical and research publications -- mostly current UN and OECD documents and historical statistical titles for Canada and the U.S. They are designed to provide the students with hands-on experience in the use of a government publications collection, with the opportunity to examine materials, and with the (sometimes difficult!) experience of providing bibliographic citations for source materials.

The first quiz has been assigned, in a similar form, for the last twenty years or so. Each student randomly selects a Canadian federal act and answers questions leading through the process of the adoption of the act in Parliament. The student must locate background information and regulations through various publications of the Canadian government. The other two quizzes challenge the student with a selection of "real life" or simulated user queries, and expose the student to a variety of government and trade publisher sources. Each answer supplied by the student is accompanied by a brief statement describing the search process to obtain the answer (marks are not withdrawn for poor search strategies). The quizzes are corrected and include detailed feedback. A review of the corrected quiz usually occurs in class to allow for information exchange and to address student concerns and questions. The availability of information on CD-ROM, such as Statistics Canada's CANSIM and Micromedia's Canadian Research Index: Microlog, has led to quiz queries using these titles acquired by the School's Computer Technology Laboratory.

The individual class presentation formerly used in the course was replaced by a team presentation (preferably two and not more than three class members per team) before "professional colleagues." Class resentations of 15 minutes in length are expected to be clear, interesting, and professional, using visual media as appropriate. Additional time is available for class discussion and questions. The criteria for evaluating the team presentations are: content/topic; organization/plan; and clarity/presentation style/adherence to the time limit. Each team submits the text of the presentation and the handout to the instructor. A list of topics complementary to the contents of the course is prepared by the instructor. Students select from the list according to their interest, language abilities, and other relevant factors. The list of topics focuses on government information, on issues and trends in the field rather than on a subject bibliography. Examples include: the 1991 and 1996 Censuses of Canada; Educational aids for school libraries from the Canadian government and the UN; GIS in Canadian libraries; Integration/separation of government documents and reference services; municipal documents in Canada, particularly those of the City of Montreal; and the European Union, its publishing activities and WWW site. The team presentation is designed to give students the opportunity to experience preparing and delivering an interesting talk on a specific topic, which should assist students when seeking employment. Although the GSLIS supports team work and class presentations by students, a number of students are presenting orally to a group for the first time.

Finally, the Media Watch exercise was devised to foster in the future professionals an ongoing interest in reading a newspaper and following current events, since the latest social, economic, and political information generally first appears in a newspaper. Individual participation involves two exercises: 1. the monitoring of government information in the news (e.g., bills, Statistics Canada figures, commissions of inquiries) ; and 2. the selection of a prominent political figure from the provincial, national, or international scene and the monitoring of the newspaper coverage (or lack thereof) for this figure. Students choose from a list of well known and active people, which is prepared by the instructor with student assistance. Over the years, the provincial premiers, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Queen of England have attended my classes! Although this form of voluntary individual class participation can be time consuming with a class of 45 students, they believe that this experience is positive. The Media Watch exercise aids in making the course more lively, spontaneous and interesting.

Course Materials

The instructor prepares an array of course materials. The first is a two-page course outline, which describes the course in the format established by the GSLIS. It lists course objectives, content assessment methods and weighting, and instructor office hours. The second is a tentative class outline, which specifies for each class the topics covered, the readings assigned, dates of each assignment, and so forth. This outline serves as a road map for the semester and has proven to be essential. The third consist of synopses of the issues or selected titles to be considered in class. Each synopsis is prepared for one or more government jurisdictions, such as the Canadian federal government, the Canadian provinces, the lectures on the U.S. Government, the UN and OECD. These road maps for respective classes facilitate the process of answering the quizzes and preparing for the exam by highlighting important points or titles. The fourth type of course material consists of a manual of references prepared for the students. Similar manuals are used by GSLIS courses on Reference Sources and Services. The GI manual was revised and enlarged by the instructor to include selected references and readings on government publications and information. The references and readings are issued by governments in specific geographic jurisdictions of interest as well as trade publishers. The purpose of the references was streamlined by the instructor: to identify the bibliographic tools, guides, indexes, directories, Internet sites, and style manuals dealing with government information in the context of the GI course; to suggest further readings; to present an overview of concerns and interests of librarians and others publishing in the field; and to identify commercial publishing houses and their outputs in the area of government information. The manual has proven popular and useful in completing quizzes, identifying readings for class presentations, and studying for the exam. (12)

The required readings do not include a particular textbook but rather a selection of journal articles (printed and electronic), chapters from books of readings, and reference tools. Standard works, such as the Introduction to the United States Government Information Sources and Public Access to Government Information: Issues, Trends and Strategies are placed on reserve. The course readings supplement the information and sources introduced in class, and cover government information issues and to a lesser extent, political systems.

The final examination is practical and requires concise answers in the spaces provided on the questions sheets. It consists of a variety of questions relating to definitions and explanations of terms, issues, major government sources of information, and reference tools, including identifying "the best source" and matching titles with descriptions of major government publications. Answers are covered in class and/or the required readings. The exam has been administered for two years as a means of assessing the individual work of students. It provides them with an opportunity to review the material with an eye on major points. It provides feedback on how students generally absorbed the information delivered in class and found in the readings.

Modifications to the Instructional Methodology

Over time, the course instructional methodology was adjusted and modified, particularly for the assignments. The final examination has replaced the assignment entitled "Government Publications Collection in a Special Library." The special library assignment asked each student to select and annotate subject-specific and current titles from the Canadian government for a fictitious special library in Québec. The compilation of annotated bibliographies of government publications on a subject or issued by a government agency was avoided as possible topics for class presentations. Issues of current interest in the field and the publishing patterns of governments and IGOs, including information on the Internet, are more likely to interest and benefit students.

Course Evaluation

All courses offered by the GSLIS are evaluated by students using a standard evaluation questionnaire. The students rate the questions on a scale of one to five, and are invited to provide additional comments with two open-ended questions on a separate sheet. (13) The course evaluation process is conducted on an anonymous basis in weeks 11 or 12 of the term. Its main purposes as identified by the school include the provision of clear feedback to the instructor and the provision of information to students in the selection of elective courses.

Concluding Comments

In this article, I have presented my personal experiences in developing a course on government information, in preparing a variety of class materials, and in assessing the students' knowledge and its application. Determining course educational objectives in line with the vision of the GSLIS, developing a manageable and comprehensive course content and schedule, and selecting a teaching method and assignments appropriate to achieving the educational needs of the graduate students can pose a welcome challenge to a professional librarian. Practical considerations such as the orientation, experience and academic background of the instructor, class size, and the selection of relevant course assignments to be completed in a reasonable time period influence the design of a relevant and interesting government information course.

Notes

[1] May be cited as/On peut citer comme suit:

Louise Carpentier. "Demystifying Government Information: One Instructor's Approach," Government Information in Canada/Information gouvernementale au Canada 4, no. 1 (1997). [http://www.usask.ca/library/gic/v4n1/carpentier/carpentier.html]
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[2]

and

The author is grateful to Peter Hajnal, editor of this forum, Diane Mittermeyer, and Peter McNally for useful suggestions on a previous version of this paper.
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[3] A review of the status of government publications courses in library studies curricula is found in Gilles Deschatelets, Pierrette Bergeron, and Louise Gagnon-Arguin, "L'enseignement des publications officielles dans les écoles des sciences de l'information: parallèle entre les écoles francophones et les écoles anglophones," in Vers une gestion intégrée des publications officielles: actes du deuxième Séminaire francophone sur la question des publications officielles, Tunis, Tunisie, 20-24 mai 1991 (Ottawa, Banque internationale d'information sur les Etats francophones, 1991), 34-75. The article supplies a listing of references.
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[4] McGill University, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, Calendar for Session 1996-97, G-10 - G-11.
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[5] John V. Richardson, "Paradigmatic Shifts in the Teaching of Government Publications, 1875-1985," Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 26, no.4 (April 1986): 259.
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[6] Students also can register in the course entitled Independent Study for an in-depth exploration of topics not emphasized in a course.
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[7] The article by Kathleen M. Heim, "Attitudinal and Operational Considerations for Education in the Provision of Government Information," Government Publications Review 12, no.2 (1985): 131-136, presents an interesting perspective.
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[8] This belief originates from several years of experience as a practicing librarian in the field of government information and political science in an academic library providing service to users, staff training and development. This was the teaching philosophy of the professor who previously taught the course Government Publications at the GSLIS.
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[9] Calendar for Session 1996-97, G-3 - G-4, G-10.
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[10] McGill University, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, Course Outline, Government Information, 405-636.
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[11] Ibid.
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[12] However, the instructor may discontinue, for practical considerations (such as cost) the updating of the manual of references. The literature on government information, although much more plentiful than in the past, is now easier to retrieve with the availability of computerized databases and journals devoted to the field, such as the Journal of Government Information and Government Information in Canada.
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[13] The questions are: 1. What aspects of the course did you particularly like? and 2. What aspects of the course do you feel would benefit from modification or addition?
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