PRINTING AND PUBLICATION OPTIONS FOR UNITED-STATES GOVERNMENT HISTORICAL MATERIALS

Federal government historians who direct and write book-length histories of their agencies' activities have a number of publishing options available. Not all government histories are published by the Government Printing Office. A committee of the Society for History in the Federal Government recently investigated those options and enumerated the choices, decisions, and difficulties the different publication modes pose for historians and their programs. The committee concluded that there is no correct avenue for publication, but that the various approaches must be evaluated to fit a particular program. It recognized, however, that no matter what course of action is contemplated, the congressional Joint Committee on Printing has oversight and that authority must always be considered.