Policy perspectives on electronic collection and dissemination of information

This article discusses the relationship of OMB Circular No. A-130, the Management of Federal Information Resources, to the Paperwork Reduction Act. Information collection and information dissemination are treated unequally in the Act. OMB's proposed policy guidance on electronic collection enumerated conditions favorable to electronic collection, and criteria for design and development of electronic collection systems. Issues raised by commenters included the response burden for electronic collection, the importance of benefit-cost analysis, and the advisability of waivers. Policy issues to be treated in forthcoming proposed OMB policy guidance on electronic collection include requirement of agency inventories of information dissemination products and services, the meaning of adequate notice prior to initiating or terminating dissemination, and other general guidance.     

U.S. office of management and budget circular no. a-130: Old and new

In June 1993, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget issued a formal revision to OMB Circular No. A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources. This article examines what has changed and what has remained the same in Circular A-130 as compared with the original circular issued in December 1985. The 1993 revision changed principally those parts of the circular dealing with information management policy. It added new materials on the role of state and local governments and on records management. It eliminated most of the language concerning OMB Circular No. A-76. and provided clearer direction with respect to user charges. The 1993 revision contained new emphases on planning, information dissemination management systems, electronic collection and dissemination of information, depository libraries, and enforcement. In September 1993, OMB also proposed new revisions concerning federal information technology management. The article concludes that the revised Circular A-130 has come a long way toward being a viable framework for managing federal information resources.     

Does the Federal government need an A-130 for STI?

The article argues that the Federal government needs to develop special government-wide policies, similar to OMB Circular No. A-130, which would be applicable to scientific and technical information (STI). After exploring the relation between government information and government STI, the author points out that Federal statistics has its own special set of policies known as Statistical Policy Directives. STI's situation is different from other government information because it is carried out in the culture of science and academia, in the culture of classified information and export controls, and in the international arena. A policy circular for STI would touch on Federal research and development, technology transfer, classified and export control information, international considerations, interagency sharing, and several existing areas of policy. The Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, or the National Science and Technology Council could issue the policy.     

Managing information technology in the federal government: Assessing the development and application of agency-wide policies

Growing interest in Federal agencies' management of information technology (IT) has prompted an examination of possible causes for problems in managing information technology. Members of both the Executive and Legislative Branches believe the problems result from ineffective OMB policies. Recent research shows, though, that agency management problems have resulted, in part, from the ineffectual application of OMB policy by agencies. This article examines what factors support or impede agency application and enforcement of IT management policy.     

The Paperwork Reduction Act: Benefits,costs and directions for reform

Congress passed the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) in 1980. Intended to ensure that the federal government carefully managed information and to reduce the burden of information collection on the American public, it has arguably failed to do either. This article uses a simple analysis of the benefits and costs of the Act to evaluate possible directions for reform. The implementation of the PRA has resulted in the misallocation of government resources. Far too much time is spent at the Office of Management and Budget and at agencies reviewing collections and soliciting input on thousands of information collections that are routine and unchanging. If this time was cut back, both OMB and agencies could devote more time to new information collections that have methodological issues and significant policy impacts. Agencies and OMB could also devote more time to tying information collection to information management as the authors of the PRA initially intended.     

Rhetoric versus reality: a reexamination of access to U.S. government information during the presidency of Ronald Reagan

This article examines information policies implemented during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. Of special interest is an analysis of OMB Circular A-130 and the assumptions that underlay its mandates. In addition, a rhetorical analysis of articles from the period is undertaken to examine the assumptions authors used in their defense of or arguments against U.S. federal information policy of the time. Finally, an analysis of the budget of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the number of items distributed to depository libraries, and the sales of the Government Printing Office (GPO) is made to determine changes as a result of the implemented policies.     

Paperwork reduction act reauthorization and government information management issues

Replacing the ineffective Federal Reports Act of 1942, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (PRA) was enacted largely to relieve the public of the mounting information collection and reporting requirements of the federal government. It also promoted coordinated information management activities on a governmentwide basis by the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and prescribed information management responsibilities for the executive agencies. The management focus of the PRA was sharpened with the 1986 amendments which refined the concept of “information resources management” (IRM), defined as “the planning, budgeting, organizing, directing, training, promoting, controlling, and management activities associated with the burden, collection, creation, use, and dissemination of information by agencies, and includes the management of information and related resources such as automatic data processing equipment.” This key term and its subset concepts received further definition and explanation in the PRA of 1995, making IRM a tool for managing the contribution of information activities to program performance, and for managing related resources, such as personnel, equipment, funds, and technology. The PRA currently authorizes appropriations for its administration by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), located within OMB, through FY2001 (44 U.S.C. 3520). Reauthorization of OIRA appropriations provides an opportunity to upgrade the PRA’s provisions and to address prevailing government information management issues.     

The paperwork reduction act of 1995: A second chance for information resources management

The continuing transformation of our society by information technology presents many opportunities to improve government operations and services. Unfortunately, significant management improvements are required for Federal agencies to take advantage of those opportunities and to avoid wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. Enactment of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-13) represents congressional endorsement of a revised approach to information resources management (IRM). The question is whether agencies will be able to discipline themselves to manage their information resources to improve program performance as required by the Act—and as increasingly demanded by Congress, the President, and the public. This article reviews the origins of IRM in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, the Act's implementation and its 1995 reauthorization of appropriations, and current challenges confronting IRM.     

Trends in information technology and private sector activities

As the largest single producer, consumer, and disseminator of information in the United States, the Federal government has enormous power to influence the development and diffusion of new information technologies. Through the use of electronic information systems, it also has the opportunity to make more government information readily available to more public users. Defining the appropriate uses of, and controls on, this power are of critical importance in determining whether the government will be a positive or a negative force, particularly with respect to the private sector. Although there has always been, and probably always will be, some competition between government and private sector information products and services, there is agreement that the laws and policies regulating government information practices do not, and should not, require or permit a Federal agency to provide information products and services in the same manner as a private company. Federal agencies must be careful not to exploit the power inherent in electronic data systems by providing nonessential services to the public simply because the capability to provide such services exists. Instead the government should assume an affirmative obligation to review each electronic information activity carefully in order to avoid unnecessary government interference in the marketplace for information products and services. Further, as the government becomes increasingly involved in the use of electronic collection and dissemination, it must also learn to differentiate among levels of service and requirements of various user communities. Positions of the Association of Research Libraries, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the Information Industry Association are presented and are shown to be in surprising harmony with the policies of OMB Circular A-130 and the views of the House Committee on Government Operations. The Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR system and recent development in distribution og government information on CD-ROM are reviewed as examples of the implementation of these policies.     

Information under siege: The reagan administration's federal information policy

In this article, Congressman Owens assesses OMB's Circular No. A-130 on the management of Federal information resources. He finds the Circular highly deficient and a potential threat to the public's access to information that the government collects, produces, and maintains.     

“Freedom of information concerns”

With varying degrees of perception and awareness, members of Congress have long had concerns about freedom of information values and the FOI Act. Indeed, congressional diligence and independence has sustained the FOIA and supported its extension and refinement. Among the challenges of late to both these values and the statute are new electronic collection and dissemination of information practices within the Federal agencies and a new OMB circular on information resources management. In both of these developments, practice will have to assure congressional overseers that there is no resulting significant limitation of agency information holdings.     

Spatial data standards and information policy

Federal information policies, in general, have recognized the importance of open access to the digital data holdings of the government. Such policies have been supported by the Clinton administration's investment in a National Information Infrastructure. Recently, reports by the National Academy of Sciences and by the Vice President's National Performance Review have endorsed the creation of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure that will provide the spatial framework for the geographic data on the information superhighway. The success of such an enterprise will require the development of a suite of spatial data standards and policy tools. Existing standards, development activities, and mechanisms are described. Some of the policy challenges are unique to spatial data.     

The use of cookies in Federal agency web sites: Privacy and recordkeeping issues

On July 27, 2009 the United States Government Office of Management and Budget (OMB) publicized its intent to review the nine-year-old prohibition of web tracking technologies such as cookies on Federal agency web sites. OMB cited its need to continue to protect the public's privacy while visiting Federal Government web sites, while at the same time “making these web sites more user friendly, providing better customer service, and allowing for enhanced web analytics” (Federal Register, 2009, p. 37062). In this paper, we review the history of the Federal government's position on cookies, and describe exactly how the technology works and why this shift in policy toward the use of cookies is logical and necessary for the evolution of electronic-government and government 2.0 services in terms of accessibility and capability. We review two major issues with which Federal agencies must contend related to the use of cookies – privacy, and records management. It is interesting to note that, despite earlier research on the implications of privacy and records management concerning other adopted technologies such as e-mail, these issues continue to be complex and misunderstood. We discuss the implications of cookies as records for future e-Government services and for long-term records management.     

The effect of U.S. policies on the economics of libraries

The decline in federal support of educational programs has made it difficult for libraries to apply new technologies to improve practices and services. While federal support has declined in constant dollars, there has been a modest increase in grants from private foundations. Current U.S. policies require federal agencies to recover full costs of rendering services (Circular A-25) and require the transfer of many federal service-oriented activities to the commercial sector (Circular A-76). Additionally, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 is inhibiting the production and dissemination of federal publications. Government pursuit of these policies adds a heavy economic burden to libraries and threatens to reduce access to the scholarly and scientific record.     

Federal information resources management: New challenges for the nineties

Information resources management (IRM), introduced two decades ago in 1974, emerged in the 1980s as a key organizing framework for U.S. Federal information policy and management practices. IRM in the 1990s must deal with a fundamental shift in focus from efficient internal management of paper-based information delivery systems to effective management of a externally targeted, digitally networked, interactive, exchange of information and services with citizens. This changed context will bring both new opportunities and challenges. This article identifies critical success factors that IRM must address and offers recommendations for how best to meet these challenges and opportunities based on discussions with senior IRM leaders.     

Ways to think about user fees for federal information products

With budget cuts looming, Federal agencies are revisiting user fees for information products. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 provides for user fees no higher than the cost of information dissemination. Federal agencies are enjoined from making a profit on their information products and permitted only to recover costs. The real question is how much value agencies should add to their information strictly for the public's use. Practical considerations such as the administrative costs of fees and legal authority to receive revenues condition an agency's decision to begin user fees. Various factors such as allowable costs and differential pricing must be considered in computing users' fees. The author suggests an action strategy for agencies contemplating information user fees and concludes that coming budget cuts will lead to increased employment of user fees by Federal agencies.     

Assessing U.S. federal government websites

The exponential growth of federal Websites is outpacing federal information management policy guidelines. Federal Websites are potentially rich information resources, and the Web may well become the preeminent channel for disseminating federal information. Legitimate policy issues associated with the use of this new information dissemination channel should be assessed. This article provides an overview of information policy issues which affect federal Websites and introduces assessment techniques which federal Website designers and administrators could use to evaluate the design and management of their Web-based information resources.     

信息资源管理政策执行力影响因素研究——以《关于加强信息资源开发利用工作的若干意见》为例

本文以《关于加强信息资源开发利用工作的若干意见》为样本,研究影响信息资源管理政策执行力的相关因素,以期提高信息资源管理政策执行效率,更好地指导和规范新的政策的出台和实施。基于信息资源管理政策执行力影响因素的特点,运用系统动力学原理,通过建模和仿真对政府信息公开的程度、执行人员的素质与能力、目标群体的结构与信息素质、配套政策的协同性、信息资源管理政策的明晰性和前瞻性这五个因素进行灵敏度分析,对比各系统参数值的改变对信息资源管理政策执行力的影响程度。研究结果表明,政府信息公开的程度对信息资源管理政策执行力的影响最显著,目标群体的结构与信息素质对信息资源管理政策执行力的影响较小且有限,其余三个因素均对信息资源管理政策执行力产生不同程度的影响。结合大数据时代的发展需求,对《关于加强信息资源开发利用工作的若干意见》的修订提出建议:推进政府数据开放,建立健全配套政策协同机制,完善政策规范和体系。提出信息资源管理政策执行力的提升路径:提高政府信息公开和数据开放的程度,加强执行主体协同与信息资源开发利用活动的评估工作,增强政策制定过程的科学性,提升执行人员的素质与能力。     

论数字馆藏发展政策的框架内容

数字馆藏发展政策又称"电子馆藏发展政策",是图书馆有关评价、选择、购买、使用电子信息资源的一系列原则、标准与规定。其基本框架:(1)制定政策的现实基础和客观依据;(2)各项具体政策,包括馆藏采访政策、经费分配政策、馆藏发展纲要、馆藏管理政策、馆藏保藏政策、馆藏评价政策、合作馆藏和共建共享政策。表2。参考文献14。