The purpose of this paper is to suggest realistic guidelines that balance public access to government information and the need to protect sensitive data. Emphasis is on lessons learned from a 1979 case where the government attempted to prohibit the Progressive Magazine from publishing an article about making a hydrogen bomb and government…

For the first time ever, Executive Order 12958 signed in 1995 established a process to greatly reduce the huge number of classified federal records accumulated since World War II. Although some progress was made under it, subsequent orders and legislation significantly decreased its effectiveness. The U.S. government must take certain actions now…

Reviews the history of electronic information services; examines the role of the Commission of the European Communities in this area; provides details of the Information Market Policy Actions (IMPACT) program; and describes efforts to overcome barriers to accessibility to information services in Europe, including language barriers. (LRW)

The Regulations.gov Online Rulemaking Project is 1 of the 24 e-Government Initiatives on the President's Management Agenda (PMA), which was announced by the White House in 2001. The Regulations.gov Web site is the central electronic rulemaking portal for the federal government. Through a single Web site, citizens can search, view, and comment on…

Discusses the political process that occurred among professional trade associations, government agencies, and public interest groups concerning the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (WINDOW bill). Highlights include the politics of information; the Paperwork Reduction Act; and the role of the ALA…

Discussion of the dissemination of government information focuses on the debate concerning public versus private access to government information; efforts of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS); electronic access and the need for printed documents; and joint efforts between government agencies and the private sector to charge for…

Discusses the origins and development of the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) initiative as well as expectations for its implementation. In addition, it considers the contributions of the National Archives and Records Administration in establishing descriptive standards for GILS data elements to enhance public access. (Author/LRW)

Describes Counting California, a Web-based system providing open access to economic and social data on California produced by federal, state, and local agencies through a single interface. Also explains the DDI (data documentation initiative), a developing metadata standard for describing social and economic data, and gives example of systems that…

Provides a bibliography of recent publications about government information from the literature of librarianship, archives, information technology and management, and public policy. Discusses traditional government roles and new models for information management, services, and resources; information infrastructure; access to government information…

As the People's Republic of China plays an increasingly important role in international politics and trade, countries with economic interests there find they need to know more about this nation. Access to primary information sources, including official statistics from China, however, is very limited, as little exploration has been done into this…

The Sheppard-Towner Act, popularly known as the Maternity and Infancy Act of 1921, was one of the first pieces of federal legislation designed to address the concerns of nationally enfranchised women voters. The Act also represented one of the earliest instances of U.S. women acting as producers and consumers of government information. In response…

The State Library of North Carolina is responsible for ensuring public access to North Carolina state government publications and maintaining a permanent state documents depository collections. Over the last 7 years, state agencies have increasingly disseminated information in digital formats via the Internet, posing challenges for the State…

Describes the development of a new interface called GPO Gate for accessing the Government Printing Office (GPO) WAIS (wide area information server) databases, GPO Access. Highlights include development and use of GPO Gate at the University of California, San Diego, and implications for public service. (Author/LRW)

Examines factors influencing access to and use of the Internet: technical characteristics of information technologies, user preferences for information resources, institutional arrangements controlling provider/user relationships, and psychological factors affecting information processing. Suggests individual internet users support policies that…

Discusses use of the Internet by end users to gain access to federal government information and examines the traditional Government Printing Office/depository library model of information dissemination to assess the impact of the Internet model on the future viability of the FDLP (Federal Depository Library Program). (Author/LRW)