Public information and administrative documentation policies: the French experience of CCDA

Abstract

The paper examines the structure and functions of the Commission de coordination de la documentation administrative (CCDA). This is an organ of the French administration which was set up in 1971, whose remit has been broadened over time and which is currently charged with studying the documentation structures within the central administration, to give its opinion on all the proposals for new serial publications from administrative offices, on all the legal databases and all instruments for the diffusion of administrative information. The Commission also helps to draw up the sector's development policies.

The Commission consists of representatives of all the public bodies involved in the production and diffusion of administrative information, and a leading role is played by La Documentation française.

The paper examines the Commission's activities since its establishment and the various projects and studies developed over the years: for example, the database of the French administration's periodical publications, the database which gathers information on all the documentation centres and public and private libraries, the study of the ministries' libraries.

The paper also looks at the guidelines of the Commission and of La Documentation française on the control of grey literature and the use of the Internet to disseminate administrative information, in a context which is still dominated by the videotex Minitel system.

The paper concludes with a brief comparison with the situation in Italy, where there is still no coordination of the documentation and information activities of the central administrations.

FERNANDO VENTURINI, Biblioteca della Camera dei deputati, via del Seminario 76, 00162 Roma, e-mail MD4820@mclink.it.
This paper was written after a three week stage at the library of the Fondation nationale de sciences politiques in Paris. I wish to thank all the staff of this institution, in particular the director Étienne Hustache, and the responsible for the serials department, Brigitte Graffin. Conversations with some colleagues of the Documentation française (Janine Charron, Albin Macho), of the Bibliothèque nationale (Sandrine Arteaga, Jean Louis Pajesse), of the Bibliothèque administrative de la Ville de Paris (Pierre Casselle, Jeanne Ozbolt), of the documentation centre of the Conseil constitutionnel (Stéphane Cottin) have been very useful. A first writing out was read by Vilma Alberani and Gaetano D'Auria, whom I thank very much for the precious suggestions.