Official bodies provide a variety of ways for you to stay informed about their workings and publications. The most common are RSS feeds, mailing lists, social media and podcasts. Below are some examples of how you can keep up-to-date with official information.
Some institutions let you build your own RSS feed which focuses on information that most interests you most.
The European Parliament RSS feed, for example, allows you to filter between document type, news, committees, delegations and MEPs in order to provide the most relevant information.
Other institutions, such as the American Congress, offer premade RSS feeds and e-mail alerts for areas of interest.
Blogs can be a useful way to track new documents being released, new databases and freedom of information requests. The best blogs to follow for this information are from libraries, official bodies and news websites. Below are examples of some useful blogs for monitoring official publications:
Official Papers UK: A blog dedicated to official publications and their use. A range of authors contribute information about different collections and promote new databases.
American Collections - Official Publications: The British Library has large official publications collections, including within the American Collections. This is an example of a blog which focuses on interesting documents within their collection.
The United Kingdom Government: The UK government provides a huge amount of information and makes it available online. This comprehensive blog is an example of how national (and intergovernmental) parliaments make citizens aware of official publications.
Some official bodies have started producing podcasts to promote their work. See below for an example from the Government Digital Service (including a complete transcript)