The use of government publications

Abstract The authors surveyed 101 social scientists at the University of Botswana to determine their use of government publications. Citation studies were also employed as a complement to the survey. The findings reveal that most of the respondents (97.3 percent) used government documents in some fashion. Moreover, most users attached a high importance to the use of government publications for research (89 percent) and teaching (86 percent). The study also suggests that social scientists prefer to borrow government publications from their colleagues and obtain personal copies rather than depend on the University of Botswana Library. It is recommended that government documents be more accessible to the establishment of government publications distribution centers as the inaccessibility of these documents is a national problem. Another recommendation is that the University Library should provide current awareness services on government publications to its users.