The administration and operation of the freedom of information act: A retrospective

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has been administered by Federal departments and agencies for almost 30 years. Aspects of that administrative experience are discussed here. Never held in high regard or enthusiastically implemented by the Executive Branch, the FOIA and its effective operation owe much to Congress, which, after creating the statute, nurtured it through diligent oversight and legislative amendment. However, the FOIA has not received comprehensive congressional examination and evaluation for a decade. Not only might its existing procedures benefit from reassessment and upgrading, but also its capacity to contend with electronic formats is in question. Furthermore, the prospect of the statute being extended to cover Congress or possibly the entire Legislative Branch grows stronger, suggesting a need to begin discussions concerning the scope of the FOIA's application to congressional or Legislative Branch records and such new arrangements as may be necessary to facilitate effective operation of the law should this application be approved.     

Fee or free: Public interest and the freedom of information act

This article examines Executive agency fee waiver guidelines for public interest requesters, including scholars, the media, and public interest groups, within the larger context of F.O.I.A.'s costs and benefits to the public. Information transmitted to the public by these requesters enhances citizen oversight of government activities and assists Congress in formulating public policy. However, arbitrary interpretation of the statute's fee waiver provision and the lack of standard and consistent fee waiver guidelines clearly inhibit use of the Act by public interest requesters. Continuing efforts by some Members of Congress and Executive agency personnel to further limit certain types of information available under the F.O.I. A. prompted renewed consideration of the economic aspects of Federal information policy in general and, in particular, the Freedom of Information Act.     

The power of information: The example of the u.s. toxics release inventory

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) was the first legislatively mandated database in the history of the United States government. It provides access to information on releases of toxic chemicals. Following a brief history of the database, this article describes how access to public data in the TRI has contributed to significant reductions in overall pollution and helped change the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from a strictly command-and-control regulatory body to one encouraging information-sharing and voluntary reductions. The article also discusses how the TRI has served as a model for integration of multiple sets of data to promote use and understanding of complex information. The article also describes how the database has served as a model for similar databases internationally.     

论档案"法治"中自由与法律的关系

自由与法律的关系是档案法治的基本关系之一。自由具有双重性 ,即自由是一种由若干权利组成的客观实体 ;自由又是一种由若干主观因素构成的抽象形态。法治意义上的档案自由实际就是法律尺度下的自由。档案法律对档案自由的限制必须遵循一定的原则 ,这些原则包括 :客观化原则、限制自由的非目的性原则、最低限度的自由原则、正当限制原则、法律自由的优先原则等。     

Principles for information technology investment in u.s. federal electronic records management

Changing business and legal conditions force federal agencies to acquire information technology (IT) systems today that may be subject to future mandatory electronic records management (ERM) requirements. Agencies must devise IT investment strategies that optimize operating efficiencies and customer service improvements in the present and also comply with the likely future direction of ERM regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency undertook a business process reengineering (BPR) exercise with respect to future co-location of previously separate regulatory docket facilities. Their experience suggests that future mandatory ERM will cause federal agencies to take a more thorough account of the full information life cycle when planning an IT system’s life cycle; and that BPR is a practical necessity when implementing ERM.     

Extracting knowledge from U.S. department of defense freedom of information act requests with social media

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has facilitated the release of large amounts of government information that has been of great value to researchers, journalists, and other interested parties. The fraction of this information released in electronic format has been growing as has its volume. While offering great potential for research, large amounts of data disgorged from government information systems can pose challenges to human interpretation and knowledge extraction. Using the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Logs for 2007–2009, this research identifies (1) a process for finding relationships between the FOIA requests through keywords extracted from Wikipedia and (2) a technique for visualizing these relationships in order to provide context and improve understanding when working with born-digital government data.     

A period of transition: Foundation publications of the u.s. national military establishment

Through an examination of the scope and arrangement pattern of the federal government’s publications issued by the Army, Navy, and Air Force during the period of the so-called National Military Establishment, 1947–1949, one can gain an understanding of the workings of the Superintendent of Documents classification scheme. U.S. government depository libraries hold copies of many of the publications identified in the article. However, the article’s focus is on the record copies held by the National Archives within Record Group 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. An integral feature of the article is an appendix that lists more than 100 series with their respective SuDocs identification numbers. The author discusses the most significant of these series and introduces the lay reader to search methodologies for locating specific publications.     

Copyright law and information policy planning: Public rights of use in the 1990s and beyond

Copyright law is one of the many policy forces shaping the utilization of information resources. American copyright law has undergone many changes with profound consequences, particularly for educational and scholarly uses of existing copyrighted works. This article summarizes recent developments in the law, with a focus on their consequences for users at American colleges, universities, and libraries. The purpose of this study is to highlight the principal implications of an evolving copyright law and especially to assist librarians, administrators, and other policy makers. They must address these issues and devise standards of practice that avoid legal challenges but that also optimize the use of available resources. The article concludes with guidance for future concerns and planning.     

Applied science publishing in the u.s. government: failure of congressional policy

This article focuses on the period beginning in 1950–1960s, the pre–National Technical Information Service (NTIS) period, during which two key and powerful U.S. congressmen sought to establish a national clearinghouse for federally produced and sponsored applied science literature. The article examines their activities as well as the forces impeding their efforts.     

2008～2010年美国电子资源评估发展综述

电子资源已经成为高校图书馆馆藏资源的重要组成部分。基于美国研究图书馆协会电子资源评估调查,通过调查结果对美国的电子资源发展进行综述,以此来借鉴国外图书馆获取新型电子资源的方法与途径,依据ARL电子评估调查现状和存在的问题进行分析。通过电子资源的评估调查分析为高校图书馆建设电子信息资源提供参考,从不同角度借鉴联盟采购和图书馆采购方式,以期推进电子资源的共建、知识的共享。     

Freedom of information legislation and its impact on press freedom: A cross-national study

This empirical study examines the effect of the Freedom of Information legislation on press freedom by analyzing cross-sectional data at the national level of aggregate indicators across 191 countries in 2010. The prediction by two-stage least square regression found that the impact of the legislation on press freedom is determined by control of corruption, the type of political regime (democratic or authoritarian regime), and the level of national economy. For recent adopters of the legislation, it could be no more than a legislative luxury. As the legislative effect on press freedom is mostly limited to less corrupt, advanced industrial democracies, the workings of the legislation require political and economic prerequisites.     

2008～2010年美国电子资源评估发展综述

电子资源已经成为高校图书馆馆藏资源的重要组成部分。基于美国研究图书馆协会电子资源评估调查,通过调查结果对美国的电子资源发展进行综述,以此来借鉴国外图书馆获取新型电子资源的方法与途径,依据ARL电子评估调查现状和存在的问题进行分析。通过电子资源的评估调查分析为高校图书馆建设电子信息资源提供参考,从不同角度借鉴联盟采购和图书馆采购方式,以期推进电子资源的共建、知识的共享。     

Congress and freedom of information: A retrospective and a look at a current issue

When Congress refined and finally enacted the Freedom of Information Act during the mid-1960s, there were various reasons why this new law was not made applicable to the Senate and the House of Representatives. One of these was the long and impressive congressional record of publishing information regarding the activities and operations of the House, the Senate, and their officers and committees. There has been of late, however, evidence of some lapses in this tradition. Moreover, the availability to the public of the reports of the Congressional Research Service has also recently become a heightened issue. These matters are examined in this overview.     

The u.s. department of energy Information bridge: Technical reports for the desktop

The U.S. Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies have been involved in various depository programs for their technical reports for over 40 years. An online service on the World Wide Web, called the DOE Information Bridge, has recently replaced distribution of physical paper reports. The Information Bridge also serves as an archive for electronic copies of DOE-sponsored technical reports. This article explores the capabilities of the new site and examines its implications for users and librarians.     

A new version of the federal law on information: the terminological aspect

The object of discussion is the definition of the term “information” in the new federal law On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection of 27.07.2006. It is suggested that information in the normative-legal acts be defined by designation of its substantial and communicative structural formsliable to legal regulation.     

Online speech and democratic culture: a comparison of freedom of online speech between South Korea and the United States

Civil libertarian doctrine which was dominant during the twentieth century argued that the main goal of freedom of speech was to ensure that the public would be well-informed and actively engage in public deliberation. A literal extension of this claim to the Internet age often justifies the regulation of online speech under the assumption that harmful communication undermines the public interest. This study challenges civil libertarianism and proposes a new thesis of freedom of online speech, which posits that online speech should be understood in terms of a democratic culture where every individual participates freely and without restraints in the process of meaning making that constitute her/him as an autonomous individual. Based on such a theoretical concept, this study identifies three important aspects of online speech freedom – unfettered speech, anonymous speech, and participatory speech – and then compares the status of online speech between South Korea and the United States. This research suggests that a society should understand the unique nature of online speech and then arrange the legal system to fit into it.