FEATURE ARTICLE

The 2008 edition of Year Book Australia (cat. no. 1301.0) was launched on 7 February 2008 by His Excellency, the Governor-General of Australia. The Year Book is a valuable source of comprehensive and detailed statistical information, providing an overview of various aspects of the economy and social conditions in Australia. It also contains chapters about Australia's geography and climate, government, international relations, defence, education, and health.

In addition to the broad range of Australian statistics, which include contributions from many government and private organisations outside the ABS, the Year Book includes a number of special articles. The 2008 edition includes features on Scouting; Tsunami Risk to Australia, Sustainable Forest Management, Child Employment, and more.

Making History... all Year Books available online
The historic Year Book Australia Online was also launched by the Governor-General at ABS House on 7 February, celebrating a century of publishing by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. All 90 Year Books from the earliest edition published in 1908, to the latest edition in 2008 are now available online. The Year Books have been scanned from the paper version and use character recognition software which provides a full-text searching capability once downloaded. The historic Year Books can be accessed via the Past & Future Releases tab of the 2008 edition.

Can You Help? seeking print copies of old ABS publications
Can your library contribute to further ABS material being digitised for the web?

ABS Library Services National is seeking any surplus copies of old ABS publications to assist with our digitisation project. Most titles published earlier than 1998, either national or state publications, would be gratefully received.

Contact library@abs.gov.au or phone (02) 6252 6612 if you may be able to assist us.