Government Information Quarterly

CONTENTS

HAE-YOUNG RIEH HWANG

The United States and other western nations may inadeqately understand Korean Scientific and technical information (STI) policy. The tendency in the United States is to focus on Japan and to view Korean STI within the Japanese context. Such simplistic views distort the role and importance of Korean STI. This article provides an overview of Korean science and technology, including the governmental infrastructure. Following an examination of the current information policy problems facing Korea, the article offers recommendations for improving access to Korean STI policy. At the same time, the article serves as a reminder: Korean STI contributes to economic competitiveness and merits greater attention in the literature of international STI policy.

RICHARD M. LASKA

The Office of Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency, conducts research in health and environmental effects of environmental pollutants and develops methodologies and technologies that will improve environmental quality. The office informs the general public of its research results and transfers its methods and technologies to those communities of users charged with carrying out environmental improvements. This article supports EPA's policy for free dissemination of research results and finds it consistent with legislative and administration requirements and court interpretations relating to user fees. The conclusion is that it is not feasible for ORD to establish a user fee program for its publications. Enviromnental regulations are the basic mission of the agency, and to achieve its goals, there must be a mechanism in place to provide information to those who are being regulated.

SHIRLEY M. RADACK

Since the mid-1960s, standards have been important tools for improving the Federal government's use of computer and related telecommunications systems. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been charged with developing standards guidelines, and technical methods that are needed by Federal government organizations. The merging of computer and telecommunications technologies and the increasing complexity of systems will make standards for the interconnectivity of systems, portability of computer software, and the protection of computer information important NIST initiatives for the future.

JANE E. KIRTLEY

After nearly three years of litigation, the Thatcher government lost its battle to perma- nently enjoin publication of former intelligence agent Peter Wright's Spycatcher, in British newspapers. The Law Lords' judgment was based on recognition of the futility of attempting to prohibit dissemination of allegations about MI5 which were already widely available elsewhere in the world. But immediately after the decision, the government took far-reaching steps to ensure that its official secrets would remain secret.

DIANE E. SHERWOOD

Because there is no clear philosophy on the role of the Federal government in the dissemination of its own information, and because dissemination technologies are changing so rapidly, agencies conflict on how to disseminate information. This article examines specific agency attempts to disseminate its data in a way that satisfies its constituencies, OMB, and the private sector. Specifically the Securities and Exchange Commission's release of EDGAR, the Department of Commerce's Patent and Trademark Office's recent lawsuit of trademark records, and the Deparunent of Defense's problems with Fedlog are cited. Statements and policy recommendations from recent Congressional hearings are also included.

SANDY I. MORTON

With a new Administration at the helm and the 101st Congress in place, prospects are good for a coordinated effort within the government to establish viable information management strategies for the 1990s. This article, adapted from testimony given by the Special Libraries Association, to the House Subcommittee on Government Information, Justice, and Agriculture in May, 1989, addresses government information dissemination policies and practices and offers recommendations for the future.

GWEN RUBINSTEIN

This article discusses the problem of quantifying information and the elaborate system of numbers that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget uses to measure paperwork. The article notes the shortcoming of the information Collection Budget and encourages its elimination.

Hae-young Rieh Hwang is a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College in Boston. She received her Master's degree in Library and Information Science from Simmons College. Before coming to the United States, she worked as a reference and document control librarian at the Korea Power Engineering Company Library in Seoul, Korea, for 3 years. She also got a M.Ed. degree in Library Science Education at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

Jane E. Kirtley is Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, an association of reporters and editors dedicated to protecting the First Amendment interests of the news media. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University. A former newspaper reporter, she has practiced law in Rochester, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Sandy I. Morton is Director, Government Relations and Fund Development for the Special Libraries Association (SLA), Washington, D.C. One of her major functions is to monitor U.S. and Canadian legislative and regulatory activities to determine their impact on the special library/information profession. Previously, Ms. Morton worked for former US. Senator Charles Mc. Mathias, Jr. (R-Md.) for more than 10 years on both his personal and committee staffs. Ms. Morton has authored articles on such issues as the FBI Library Awareness Program and sensitive, but unclassified government information.

Shirley M. Radack is a Supervisory Computer Specialist for the National Computer Systems Laboratory (NCSL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), formerly the National Bureau of Standards. She assists the director of NCSL in planning and evaluating NCSL's government-wide programs to develop standards, guidelines, and technical methods for computer and related telecommunications systems. As manager of NCSL's program coordination and support activities, she is responsible for the review, approval, and publication of Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), liaison with Federal agencies on standards issues, and NCSI's information and outreach activities. She has received the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Gwen Rubinstein is senior program associate of OMB Watch, a public interest research and advocacy group in Washington, D.C., that monitors administrative governance issues, particularly those involving the Office of Management and Budget.

Diane E. Sherwood did her undergraduate work at Mundelein College in Chicago, Illinois. She received her M.A. in English literature from New York University and the Ph.D. from Loyola University, Chicago. She is a Fulbright grantee, having studied in France and an honorary Woodrow Wilson grantee as well. She taught at Amundsen-Mayfair Junior College for the Chicago Board of Education and was Instructor, then Assistant Professor, of English at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle Campus. She has published scholarly articles on Doris Lessing in journals such as the MLA. Currently Dr. Sherwood lives in Washington, D.C., where she writes on high technology, business and trade, the environment, and public policy. She writes a monthly column, "Federal Scene" for Information Today, and her work often appears in Government Executive Magazine.

Harold B. Shill heads the Evansdale Library and is Associate Professor of Library Science at West Virginia University. He has testified before congressional committees on various occasions, is past chair of the Association of College and Research Libraries' Legislation Committee, and has served as Federal Relations Coordinator for the West Virginia Library Association since 1983.

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Revised May 11, 1997 jmg