The Council has examined the publications program of the Organization and draws attention to the fact that FAO has a major responsibility for the publication of statistics and other basic information in the fields of food and agriculture, broadly defined. Owing to budgetary limitations, however, there must be great selectivity in planning future programs so that funds available for publications may be concentrated on the most urgently needed materials.
The Council also emphasizes the importance of providing for prompt translations of the documents in the languages of the countries concerned and suggests that the Director-General should further investigate the possibility of having translations done away from headquarters wherever this is likely to result in an economy.
The Council also approves the action already taken for placing FAO publications on sale with a view to reducing the cost of such publications, and suggests that distribution policies should be reviewed accordingly.
The Council affirms the principle that all publications are solely the responsibility of the Director-General, free from any direction or control by Member Governments.
It is understood that the Director-General will make a full report to the next session of the Council on publication plans and on progress made in carrying out the above suggestions.
