AKHA Publications and Information System.
.... Information Disseminations, publications preservations, archiving and boundaries.
The Publications and Information Department of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly is responsible for Publications of parliamentary documents like Hansard, Disseminations of Assembly Information and activities, Preservations of Assembly publications, archiving and setting boundaries for Assembly reportage.
The Department is presently headed by Mrs. Juliana Udoh and it consists of four units namely Publications, information, protocols, printing and recording units.
Before her headship, the Department had Comrade Monday Essien Essien, Mr. Ifreke Umoh etc. as former Head of Department as well as other House of Assembly Staff like Editors, Information Officers, Official/Verbatim Reporters, Executive Officers(Information), Cameramen, Recorder, Printers etc.
The legitimate needs of parliamentarians for information and research are very broad, potentially covering the whole field of public policy. Parliaiments often discuss a very wide range of topics, both local, national and international and sometimes very specific and personal, such as matters relating to individual constituents.
Almost anything may become a subject of legitimate interest to the parliamentarian. This is, of course, one of the special features of parliamentary library and research services. It means that setting boundaries can be difficult. It is, however, desirable that the library makes it clear what it can help parliamentarians with, but also what it cannot. The over-riding rule is that anything requested should be needed in connection with the parliamentarian’s parliamentary duties.
There will be variation from House of Assembly to House of Assembly, but a checklist of legitimate reasons for enquiries could include:
• Legislation (for example, background information on bills, or advice on amendments)
• Committee work.
• Media appearances.
• Constituency issues and casework.
• Proposed parliamentary questions.
• Speeches, both in the Assembly and outside.
Overseas visits on parliamentary business.
• General briefing on matters of public interest.
Examples of areas where the Assembly may legitimately say it cannot help are set out below. Precisely what is and is not covered will vary from Assembly to Assembly, but it is highly desirable that the first of these is on the list:
• Requests arising from the personal, business or commercial interests of Legislators, their staff, their family or their friends.
• Requests for personal information about other Legislators that is not in the public domain.
• Requests to draft speeches, write articles or lectures (as distinct from providing background and advice for them).
It is important that any limitations on what the Assembly can do are covered in any leaflets or other promotional literature. It is always desirable that literature describing services is positive in tone and focuses on what can be provided, rather than what can not be.
House of Assembly archives are also charged with maintaining the history of the house (past membership records, papers of members) and many have programs to publish and promote special collections or collections on specific topics that may be important during a legislative session or for a special occasion (international meeting, anniversary, etc.). In some Assemblies, the parliamentary papers archives are a subdivision of the publications and information Department, while in others the archives are a separate service.
House of Assembly should have in place administrative arrangements for managing their ICT infrastructure. A distinction needs to be drawn, however, between the physical infrastructure (computers, cables, hubs and so on) and the content and services provided through that infrastructure. Different parts of the Assembly will have specific needs to, for example, enable it to track amendments to legislation, produce reports of debates or to disseminate research and information services to Legislators.
Most certainly House of Assembly archives if they have physical collections, are expected to have online catalogues both as a management tool and to make the physical (or virtual) collection accessible to its clients. Legislative archives will have a strong interest in how these arrangements work since ICT will be a key component in how the archives acquires, processes and disseminates information. The extent to which such arrangements are controlled from within, but close working arrangements are important if they are to be successful and needs mechanisms to ensure that its needs and priorities are taken into account of the Internet and intranet services. The ICT infrastructure will include providing for House of Assembly internet services and a House of Assembly intranet. House of Assembly intranets are likely to be a key way for parliamentary information and research services to make their work available to parliamentarians. The internet is an increasingly important means for parliaments to make information available to the public.
An information service of some description there is no hard and fast dividing line between this category and the previous one. However, it is still useful to identify this as a separate concept. In this context the term refers to the provision of timely, accurate information which meets the House of Assembly needs.
The Assembly library may also have an important preservation role. All libraries may likely to want to keep at least one complete hard copy set of the official report of House of Assembly proceedings and of parliamentary papers even if all the material is online. Provided it can be kept in secure conditions (safe from flood and fire for example) and provided the paper is acid free.
However, the distinction between information services and research services is not always clear, but information services would balance between hard copy and online material. For some heavily used material there may be a case for having it in both formats – it is still the case that turning to a familiar reference book that is immediately to hand is likely to be faster than an online search and more welcome to many users.
Another decision to be taken is whether to have a growth or a no growth policy, but it also need to be thoughtful about digital material as safety storage devices. This means that where material is of general interest it can be made available over the intranet, again provided the ICT infrastructure is sufficiently robust (and if it is not the library should be arguing vigorously for improvements). It also means that in most cases it will be easier for staff to search and the material may be updated more regularly than hard copy sources.
To further reposition it's functions, The department has in mind to introduce online the following:
📡 House of Assembly Daily Journal: The official record of business that has been transacted in the Assembly plenary on daily basis. This publication shows all roll call votes, notes, House of Assembly motions, lists bill introductions, and records any other official actions taken by the Assembly.
📡 Assembly Histories: A publication that gives a comprehensive list of all actions taken on every bill. It is published in volumes by each house.
📡 Legislative Handbook: published in yearly sessions or at least once every two-year session to contain the biographies of all current legislators and legislative officers; committee names and membership;
📡 State Assembly Pamphlets a brief online pamphlet outlining the Assembly’s organizational structure. It includes a panoramic photo of the Assembly in session, listings of the House leadership and membership, and includes information on state Assembly.
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