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Guideline: Publications

Whole of Victorian Government ICT Guideline: Publications

Website Management Framework

Short Description

This guideline provides advice on implementing publications lists as required by the Minimum Information Provision standard.

Identifier: WEB/GUIDE/06
Version No.: 2.0
Status: Approved
Date of effect: 21 August 2009
Next review date: 23 August 2010

Owner: Government Services Group, Department of Treasury and Finance, Victorian Government

Issuing authority: Government Services Group, Department of Treasury and Finance, Victorian Government

Guideline: Publications - WEB/GUIDE/06

Overview

The Minimum Information Provision standard (WEB/STD/09) requires all websites to display a list of available publications relevant to their department/agency, and details of how to access them.  This guideline provides advice on how to construct a publications list.

Rationale

Victorian Government website users have a reasonable expectation that they may access:

• an accurate list of publications relevant to the department/agency; and
• details of how and where to access particular publications, whether online or offline.

Audience

• Website Management Taskforce (WMT) Coordinators;
• Website administrators; and
• Content managers.

Steps

To implement a publications list, websites should:

• determine the types of publications that are appropriate for their website type (corporate, program/issue or thematic/portal);
• ensure the list items display descriptive information about the publication;
• consider the formats of publications; and
• implement a list-management process.

Types of publications

The following are the types of publications that could be appropriate for each of the website types:

Publication and Website Types

	Corporate website	Program/issue website	Thematic website
Current annual report	Required	Recommended	Not required
Previous annual reports	Recommended	Recommended	Not required
Organisation structure	Required	Recommended	Not required
Guiding policy document (eg corporate plan)	Required	Recommended	Not required
Budget papers	Required	Recommended	Not required
Policies and guidelines	Recommended	Recommended	Not required
Regulations	Recommended	Recommended	Not required
Media releases - Ministerial	Required	Recommended	Recommended
Media releases – departmental or agency	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended
Newsletters	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended
Green papers	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended
White papers	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended
Reports, studies, impact assessments	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended
Brochures, flyers, posters	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended
Publications for sale	Recommended	Recommended	Recommended

Descriptive information to include

Items in a publication list should display:

• the title of the publication;
• an abstract or overview;
• the publication format (e.g. PDF, Word);
• file size (e.g. 930 kb);
• the date of publication;
• availability – i.e. online and offline; and
• the price, if the publication is for sale.

In the instances where a publication is series-based, or issued on a regular basis, e.g. a monthly gazette, the item should also contain information outlining the available catalogue.  This information could address:

• the frequency of publishing e.g. monthly, twice-monthly, yearly;
• the date range of which the publication is available e.g. October 2003 – May 2009;
• the volumes available; and/or
• the issue range of which the publication is available e.g. issues 1 – 15.

Additionally, items in a publication list may include:

• author name, if relevant;
• publisher name, if this differs from the department/agency name; and/or
• the number of pages (e.g. PDF, 930 kb, 197 pp).

Contact information, and/or the process for obtaining copies of publications, should be displayed for publications that are:

• not available online;
• not accessible in the format provided (1);
• available in hard copy;  and/or
• for sale.

Publication formats

In general, information published to Victorian Government websites must be in HTML format.

As per the Accessibility standard (WEB/STD/05), in the instances where content cannot be presented in HTML, an alternate, accessible format must be provided.

When using alternate formats, websites should:

• provide a brief summary of the document or the section of the document;
• describe the file type and size;
• consider breaking large documents into sections (in addition to providing the document as a single file); and
• explain the use of any plug-ins or viewers that are required and provide links at the end of the relevant page. For example, the following statement may be suitable for PDF files:

Publications are in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF). You will need a PDF viewer such as Adobe® Acrobat® Reader to view and print PDF files.

Websites should also consider including a page on their website that:

• describes the types of files users will see on the site;
• includes links to relevant plug-ins or viewers; and
• provides support or hints to download or view files successfully.

Managing publications

To assist with version control, it is recommended that publications are contained in a central repository with a hyperlink reference to the publication in the relevant page or pages.

To enable alternative formats to be delivered where required, always keep a copy of the source document.

Context

This guideline should be followed in conjunction with the website’s information architecture to confirm categorisation of publications and their location within the overall site architecture.

The steps outlined in this guideline describe a target state considered online best practice.  However, this guideline also acknowledges that from time to time there may be technical or resource implications with implementing the recommendations.

References

Governing standard

• Minimum Information Provision (WEB/STD/09)

Governing requirement

• Websites must provide a complete list of available publications and their access details

Related requirements

• None

Related guidelines

• About Us (WEB/GUIDE/01)

A list of publications, or a link to the list of publications, including key corporate documents (as described in the Minimum Information Provision standard), may be included in the About Us page.

• Developing and Managing an Information Architecture (WEB/GUIDE/03)

Related policies and standards

• Accessibility (WEB/STD/05)
• Information Architecture and Classification (WEB/STD/08)

Related resources

Guidance on creating accessible PDFs is available from:

• W3C; and
• the Accessibility Toolkit

Further Information

For further information please contact web.standards@dtf.vic.gov.au

Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

Accessibility - The level to which websites and website content can be accessed by users with a disability, older technology or impeded infrastructure.

Corporate website - Each department/agency has a single corporate website that describes the structure and functions of the department/agency. Examples: www.diird.vic.gov.au, www.police.vic.gov.au, www.epa.vic.gov.au

Information architecture - The Information Architecture Institute defines IA as:

• The structural design of shared information environments;
• The art and science of organizing and labelling web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and findability; and
• An emerging community of practice focused on bringing principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape (2)

Program/Issue website - A website that provides information or services on a particular campaign, program or issue. Examples: www.tenders.vic.gov.au, www.legionella.vic.gov.au

Thematic/Portal website - A thematic website contains content focused on a particular topic. Example: www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au. A portal website presents information from diverse sources in a unified way, often providing outbound links for users to access further information (3). Example: www.vic.gov.au

WMF - Website Management Framework.

WMT - Website Management Taskforce.  Each department and inner-budget agency (Environmental Protection Agency, State Revenue Office, VicRoads, and Victoria Police) maintains a WMT to manage their internal web activity and administer the WMF.

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Footnotes:

(1) Please refer to the Accessibility standard (WEB/STD/05) for further information on accessible publications.

(2) What is IA?, IA Institute, September 2008

(3) Adapted from the Wikipedia entry for Web portal.  Accessed 27 May 2009.

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Alternative Formats:

The guideline is available from the Government Services Group in pdf format (128kb). (This document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader). .

 

 

Last updated: 14 February 2011

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