Guide
Introduction
Since 1913, Oklahoma state government agencies have been required by law to deposit copies of their publications with the Oklahoma State Library. However, it was not until 1978, with the creation of the Publications Clearinghouse as a unit of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, that a formal effort was begun to gather and preserve these materials.
This guide is designed to assist state agency personnel, specifically Publications Officers, to comply with the statutory requirement to deposit state publications with the Oklahoma Publications Clearinghouse. All publications should be submitted in digital format to Documents.OK.Gov unless format of publication prevents that from being possible; for example, road maps, large posters. In those cases, two physical copies should be deposited at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries.
“It is the intent of the Legislature that state agencies issue publications in an electronic format whenever possible, unless such issuance would interfere with the availability to the public of such publications and the information contained therein. It is the further intent of the Legislature that the Publications Clearinghouse and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries disseminate links to or other means by which to access publications to the same recipients required by law to receive copies or who have traditionally received copies of publications not published in an electronic format [65 O.S. § 3-113.1]”
Agency Publications Officer Duties & How Publications Are Deposited
1. Agencies are required to designate a Publications Officer.
The Publications Officer is the agency’s designated liaison with the Publications Clearinghouse of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. Each agency is required to appoint one of its employees as the agency’s Publications Officer:
“Every state agency shall designate one of its employees as the publications officer for the agency and shall notify the Publications Clearinghouse of the Department of Libraries of the name of the publications officer and of the name of any new publications officer should a change occur.” [74 O.S. § 3106.1(A)]
2. Duties of the Publications Officer.
Submit all publications otherwise required by law to be submitted to either the Publications Clearinghouse of the Department of Libraries, the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Senate Ensure that electronic documents are provided in a PDF format that enables the document to be searched by specific term.
3. Name of Publications Officer should be reported to Oklahoma Publications Clearinghouse.
The Oklahoma Publications Clearinghouse contacts each state agency in January to confirm the name and phone number of the Publications Officer for that agency. The Publications Officer Information form collects the contact information for new publications officers and updates for current officers. Changes during the year can be made using the same form.
4. New Publications Officers.
A newly designated Publications Officer should review
the Manual for Publications Officers (download below).
If the prior Publications Officer is not available to review the duties, please call the Clearinghouse (405) 522-3189 for a short phone briefing or email documents@libraries.ok.gov.
What is an Oklahoma Publication?
1. Statute definition. The Oklahoma Statutes define the term “state publications” very broadly:
“State publications” means any informational materials, regardless of format, method of reproduction, or source, which originate in or are produced with the imprint, by the authority, or at the total or partial expense of an agency supported wholly or in part by state funds and which are distributed to persons outside of the creating agency or are required by law. “State publication” incorporates those publications that may or may not be financed by state funds but are released by private entities pursuant to a contract with or subject to the supervision of any agency. [65 O.S. § 3-113.2(2)]
2. Publication distribution is key. Generally, the easiest way to determine if specific “informational material” is considered to be a “publication” is to answer the question, “Has the informational material been distributed outside of the agency?”
Format (e.g. brochure, pamphlet, poster, etc.) and method of reproduction (e.g. photocopy, offset printing, letterpress, laser printing, electronic, website, e-newsletter, etc.) are not factors to consider. If the informational material is intended for public distribution or is required by law (e.g., copies sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and/or the Governor), then it more than likely is a state publication. If the informational material is intended for agency personnel and board members only, then it may fall into the category of state records, which is addressed through the records management program of the State Archives of the Department of Libraries.
Informational material that is not distributed outside of the agency is not considered to be a state publication, regardless of whether or not it is posted on the agency’s website. For example, a staff newsletter on an agency website is not considered a state publication because its intended audience is the agency staff – not the general public.
3. Publications include materials produced under contract. It is important to remember that entities other than state agencies may also produce state publications. This occurs when an organization produces a report, study, etc. as a result of a contract with, or under the supervision of, a state agency or under the sponsorship of a state agency (see Illustration 1). Contracts that include production of a publication should comply with 65 O.S. § 3-113.2(2) and 65 O.S. § 3-114A. Publications of colleges and universities are exempt from the deposit requirement. However, if a college or university produces a publication for a state agency as a result of a contract with that state agency, then the state agency is required to deposit copies of the publication with the Publications Clearinghouse. As of January of 2022, the Oklahoma Publications Clearinghouse is asking that all publications from state agencies be submitted online to Documents.OK.Gov. Publications need to be clean (no permissions, tags, notes, etc), text-searchable PDF’s. Physical copies of publications should only be sent to the Oklahoma Department of Libraries if the type of publication (road maps, large posters, for example) cannot be easily digitized.
Publication:
This term refers to all publications required by law to be submitted to the Oklahoma Publications Clearinghouse of the Department of Libraries as well as reports or documents required to be submitted to the Governor, Senate President Pro Tempore or the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The following items should be submitted:
- Annual reports; Research reports/studies; Survey results; Task Force reports
- Executive summaries of reports
- Newsletters, magazines, journals
- Planning documents (other than drafts)
- Affirmative action plans
- Strategic plans
- Guides, handbooks, manuals; Curriculum guides
- Brochures, pamphlets, fact sheets (other than for dated events)
- Directories (file only once a year, do not file each change during the year)
- Histories
- Statistics (but do not file Excel spreadsheets)
- Laws/Rules with cover or title page if compiled by your agency from various sections of the laws/rules for convenience of your clients
- Posters (other than for dated events)
- Rules Interpretations; Rules Guidelines; AG Opinions
- Memorandum of Understanding/Agreement reports (see SB 316 from 2019)
The following items should NOT be submitted:
- News releases
- Unofficial laws/rules; rule changes; rule change impacts
- Meeting notices, agendas, handouts, minutes
- Budgets, budget requests, and all related information
- Websites; web pages
- Grant announcements, forms, memos
- Fliers/posters for dated events; training event registrations/brochures
- Internal policies and procedures and policies and procedure manuals
- Board and staff directories, photographs, biographies
- Inventories; Links; Lists of Resources
- Drafts of plans
- Federal publications or publications posted from non-profit agencies or companies
- Legal decisions, legal memos (except AG Opinions)
If the publication is for sale by your agency, you do not have to submit an electronic file. Please send print copies to the Oklahoma Publications Clearinghouse.