OMB Circular No. A-130, the management of federal information resources: Its origins and impact

An OMB circular is a policy directive that tells Federal executive agencies how they shall implement laws or presidential policies. OMB Circular No. A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources, prescribes a general policy framework within the Paperwork Reduction Act for developing uniform and consistent Federal information resources management policies. The need for the policy framework was identified by the Commission on Federal Paperwork, and reaffirmed by the General Accounting Office and the Congress. The Circular enunciates some policies regarding dissemination of information for which Congress has not provided explicit statutory guidance. The Circular is quite general in its policy statements and does not subdistinguish various categories of government information. The principal impact of the Circular will be a continuing emphasis on planning for information resources management.     

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.     

“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.     

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.     

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.     

FEDWORLD,THOMAS, AND CBDNET:: United States Federal Government Information Dissemination in the 1990s

The National Technical Information Service’s development of the FedWorld Internet site, the Library of Congress’s development of THOMAS, and the Government Printing Office’s development of CBDnet illustrate the many forces impacting federal government information dissemination in the 1990s. These forces include budgeting, congressional inconsistency, technology, political agendas, and competition. While information dissemination policy discussion and legislation, including the American Technology Preeminence Act of 1991 (the foundation for FedWorld) and the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (the foundation for GPO Access) aim to provide comprehensiveness and single point access to government information, the actual products developed show little coordination or cooperation among agencies. The products are agency driven, and provide multiple points of access. This highly decentralized information reality reflects the decentralized nature of the federal government itself. The reality is removed, however, from the goals of a singularly consistent federal government information dissemination policy.     

Reinventing (open) government: State and federal trends

Federal open records laws, executive orders on national security classification, and similar policy instruments in the states require that most records at government agencies be available to the public upon request—subject to exemptions which may entail review. Traditionally, this review has been accomplished by redaction (purging) of hardcopy. Resource limitations and increases in the number of requests demand a rethinking of the process. Offices are experimenting with optical scanning, onscreen purging, and online dissemination. Statutory and common law trends may soon require disclosure of database reports in electronic form, when so requested, rather than printouts. The dissemination of manipulable data of commercial value requires a rationale broader than the “citizenship rights” that justified the Freedom of Information Act. Online publication of agency-controlled records also demands careful planning of information systems and public networks. The issues discussed in this article are central to the establishment of an adequate policy for electronic freedom of information.     

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.     

The information highway: On ramps,checkpoints, and tollbooths

We are in the middle of a new era in public information management. Open computer networks already are making possible the dissemination of public information through systems of public and private efforts much more diverse than formerly was feasible. Information technology is beginning to be deployed to improve the methods of public participation in governmental proceedings. The article offers a comprehensive snapshot of the current policy and practices regarding the dissemination of government information in electronic form and a vision of a releasable “electronic government” for the future.     

Technology,public policy,and the changing nature of federal information dissemination: Overview of a new office of technology assessment study

Use of information technology—such as electronic document filing, computerized databases, optical disks, electronic mail, electronic remote printing, and electronic bulletin boards—could revolutionize the public information functions of the Federal government. Technology is providing many new opportunities for Federal information collection, maintenance, and dissemination, but is also raising new issues, as well as exacerbating old ones, such as equity of access to Federal public information, the private sector role in Federal electronic information activities, and institutional responsibility for Federal information collection and dissemination.Two congressional committees have asked the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to study relevant technology and policy issues, including possible future roles for the Government Printing Office, Federal executive agencies, libraries, and private firms. The OTA study process includes in-depth research and extensive outreach, and provides several opportunities for the participation of individuals and organizations interested in these topics.     

Electronic government in the age of terrorism

The events of September 11, and subsequent investigations, suggest that some public information available on the Internet could aid terrorists in planning other attacks. This article provides examples of how federal agency officials have responded to the possibility that their Web sites provide such potentially compromising information. The federal government has not yet issued a government wide policy that addresses this specific contingency. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued an Internet content advisory and the Attorney General has released a relevant policy statement on the Freedom of Information Act. Both documents are reviewed here. The removal and alteration of information has implications for citizens, as does the Bush Administration’s mixed messages on the objectives and procedures of electronic government post-September 11. This article concludes with suggestions for developing a governmentwide Web site-specific policy.     

中美信息网络传播权保护之对比研究

论文以美国《数字千年版权法》和我国《信息网络传播权保护条例》为法律范本,就两者关于信息网络传播保护的相关重要规定,包括合理使用问题、技术保护措施、I S P免责条款以及权利管理信息等条款进行对比分析,比较中美两国对于网络环境下信息传播版权保护的相同点和不同点,从而揭示美国版权法对我国版权法制订的参考和借鉴意义。     

Helping the public find information the U.S. Government Information Locator Service (GILS)

As part of the National Information Infrastructure, the U.S. federal government is establishing a Government Information Locator Service (GILS). GILS will identify and describe public information resources throughout the federal government and provide assistance in obtaining the information. It will be decentralized and will supplement other agency and commercial information dissemination mechanisms. The public will use GILS directly or through intermediaries, including the Government Printing Office and the National Technical Information Service, as well as federal depository libraries, other public libraries, and private sector information services. Direct users will have access to a GILS Core accessible on the Internet without charge. Intermediate access may include kiosks, 800 numbers, electronic mail, bulletin boards, FAX, and offline media such as floppy disks, CD-ROM, and printed works. GILS will use network technology and the American National Standards Institute Z39.50 standard for information search and retrieval so that information can be retrieved in a variety of ways. Direct users may have access to many other major federal and nonfederal information resources, linkages to data systems, and electronic delivery of information products. An Office of Management and Budget Bulletin in 1994 will provide implementing guidance to agencies. The National Institute of Standards and Technology will also establish a Federal Information Processing Standard specifying a GILS Profile and its application for agencies establishing information locators.     

《信息自由法》对"后保管模式"思想的影响

美国《信息自由法》是规定美国联邦政府各机构公开政府信息的法律，其地位近似于档案法，它不仅奠定了美国公民的档案意识。对其它国家的档案工作及档案理论的发展也产生了影响。“后保管模式”思想是在档案理论发展的过程中，随着电子件数量的增多与使用的普及而出现的，该思想对于电子时代的档案工作有着积极的启发意义。本具体介绍了《信息自由法》对“后保管模式”思想的影响。     

A model for a new approach to federal government information access and dissemination

The potential of electronic technologies to reduce costs, increase access, and decentralize federal information dissemination activities has sparked several legislative reorganization proposals. Congress has also called on the U.S. Government Printing Office to plan for a more electronic Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Realizing that developments to data were only opening salvos, the American Library Association President convened a Forum on Government Information Policy in July 1995. Representatives of several library associations developed a “Model for New Universe of Federal Information Access and Dissemination.” This article discusses the New Universe model, which includes two preliminary proposals: to reconceptualize federal information access and dissemination responsibilities and to reinvent the FDLP as a federal/ state/local library partnership program.     

Lessons learned about access to government information after World War II can be applied after September 11

The cost of unrestricted dissemination of government information to Americans' safety and security has been a topic of heated debate since September 11, 2001. The risks of dissemination seem to have skyrocketed in this age of terrorist attacks. However, the United States faced similar risks after World War II, when the secret of the atom bomb required close protection. Congress can learn from the process that the U.S. government went through to pass the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 [Atomic Energy Act of 1946. Pub. L. No. 79-585, 60 Stat. 755] during a similar time of national stress and fear and work to pass laws regulating the dissemination of information to the public. In the absence of legislative guidance, agencies have been left to restrict information as they think is best, with inconsistent and disastrous results.     

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.     

Civic librarianship: Possible new role for depository libraries in the next century?

Profound changes have been taking place throughout the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) since passage of The Depository Library Act of 1962 (P.L. 85-579). This Act codified several critical perspectives regarding the role of libraries in a system of federal government information distribution; the responsibilities shared among FDLP's participating libraries (selective libraries and regionals), as well as the proper management and policy role for the Superintendent of Documents (and, by extension, the GPO). The foundation of these perspectives, obviously, depends on the relative limitations and advantages of printing technologies and paper-based distribution systems. Within this scheme, local “ownership” of collections housed in a wide variety of private and public institutions across the nation best meets the information needs of citizens. The enactment of the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-40) shifts the FDLP's historic emphasis on local collection building and maintenance back to the Superintendent of Documents and the GPO. This article outlines several possible implications developing from this transformation.     

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。