About SWOP

The Scottish Working Group on Official Publications (SWOP) includes representatives from Scotland's university libraries, the two major public reference libraries in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the National Library of Scotland, special libraries, and other bodies concerned with official materials. We welcome members from any sector of the profession with an interest in government information and documentation.

Meetings

SWOP meets four times a year, with an AGM in November.

The Group has a Business Committee which meets 4 times per year between full SWOP meetings. Membership consists of 3 officers – Convener, Secretary, Treasurer, and at least four other committee members (one of whom would be a Liaison Officer), on a rolling basis. The Convenor of SWOP (who should serve for a minimum of 2 years) and the ex-Convenor should then stay on the Business Committee for purposes of continuity. All other post holders should be willing to serve on the committee for at least 1 year, or longer if desired.     

Present Business Committee membership:

Convenor: Fiona McParland (APS)
Secretary: Fiona Laing (National Library of Scotland)
Treasurer: Karen O'Brien (Edinburgh City Libraries)

Ordinary Members: Jan Usher (National Library of Scotland), Jill Evans (National Library of Scotland), Morag Higgison (Scottish Government), Kirsteen Valenti (University of Glasgow Library) 

Seminars

The Group regularly arranges seminars, on topics relating to official publications in the widest sense. Topics covered are varied and recent seminars have included Accessing Government Information Online, Freedom of Information, Scottish Statistics, and  "Electronic Sources of UK Legislation"  .