Government Information Quarterly
Volume 8, Number 1, 1991
Finding Government Information: The Federal Information Locator
System (FILS)
Gary D. Bass and David
Plocher ............................................... 11
OMB and the Development of a Government-Wide Information
Inventory/Locator System
Charles R. McClure, Ann
Bishop, Philip Doty, and Pierrette Bergeron .......
33
Electronic Census Products and the Depository
Library Program:
Future Issues and Trends
Peter Hernon and Charles R. McClure
................................... 59
SPECIAL FEATURES
In Support of a Data Protection Board in the United
States
Marc Rotenberg
.............................................................................. 79
Privacy Issues in the Information Age: What Corporations Need to Know
Louise
Potvin....................................................................... 95
On Public Access to Electronic Information: Will the
"Public" Step
Forward, Please?
Vincent
DeSanti......................................................................... 101
Helping America Compete through More Effective Use of Scientific
and Technical Information: An Opportunity for Office of Science
and Technology Policy Leadership
Fred B. Wood
................................................................................... 105
Contributors .................................................................................... 113
Reviews
John A. Shuler, Editor
"An Active Instrument for Propaganda:" The American Public Library
during World War I
By Wayne A. Wiegand
Reviewed by Harold C. Relyea ...................................................... 115
Federal Lobbying
Edited by Jerald A. Jacobs
Reviewed by Sever M. Bordeianu ....................................................... 116
Federal Statistical Data Bases: A Comprehensive Catalog of Current
Machine-readable and Online Files
Compiled by William R. Evinger
Reviewed by Ellen Calhoun .......................................................... 117
Florida's Information Policy: Problems and Issues in the Information Age
Reviewed by Mary Redmond ....................................................... 117
Guide to Federal Government Acronyms
Edited by William R. Evinger
Reviewed by Michele T. Ruhlin .................................................... 118
Guide to the Records of the United States House of Representatives
at the National Archives, 1789-1989, Bicentennial Edition
By Charles E. Schamel, et al., under direction of Donald K. Anderson
Guide to the Records of the United States Senate at the National Archives,
1789-1989, Bicentennial Edition
By Robert W. Coren, et al., under direction of Walter J. Stewart
Reviewed by Deborah Mongeau .................................................... 119
Helping America Compete: The Role of Federal Scientific
and Technical Information
Reviewed by James M. Matarazzo ..................................................... 120
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970
Reviewed by Donna L. Burton ...................................................... 121
Order without Design: Information Production and Policy Making
By Martha S. Feldman
Reviewed by Robert M. Shaw ........................................................ 122
The Seven Power Summit: Documents from the Summits of Industrialized
Countries 1975-1989
Compiled and edited by Peter I. Hajnal
Reviewed by Bert Chapman .................................................... 123
200 Years of U.S. Census Taking: Population and Housing
Questions, 1790-1990
Reviewed by Peter Hernon ............................................................. 124
List of Titles Received .................................................................. 124
Gary D. Bass
David Plocher
In 1977, the Commission on Federal Paperwork observed that "the Federal Government does not know what information it collects, with what frequency, from whom, and for what uses." To remedy this, the Commission recommended the creation of a Federal Information Locator System (FILS). Mandated by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, FILS exists today in name only. This article describes the ill-fated history of FILS and presents a vision of what FILS still can be--a series of linked computer systems maintained by Federal agencies to improve the management of information resources and facilitate public access to government information.
Charles R. McClure
Ann Bishop
Philip Doty
Pierrette Bergeron
Access to U.S. public information could be enhanced by developing and implementing a government-wide information inventory/locator system (GILS). Based on a policy analysis of 51 legislative and regulatory instruments, interviews with a range of spokespersons for various stakeholder groups and responses to a request for public comments on GILS, some preliminary design criteria and recommendations for such a system can be identified. Overall, there is wide support for the Office of Management and Budget to move forward by assisting in the design and implementation of such a system.
Peter Hernon
Charles R. McClure
This article reports on a study that reviewed the types of electronic media in which census products intended for depository library distibution appear. Paper copy distribution for census publications remains important. In fact, the depository librarians interviewed regard paper copy and CD-ROM as the primary distribution formats. Electronic bulletin boards, in the future, may assume third place among the primary distribution formats. The article also identifies key issues related to increasing access to information via the depository library program and reviews some scenarios for the provision of government information products to library clientele. The study suggests that libraries are including more electronic services and are providing for remote access to library collections and services. Howecver, a number of key issues require attention if future electronic census products are to have increased access through the depository library program.
Marc Rotenberg
The development of commercial products containing detailed compilations of personal information underscores the need for the establishment of a Data Protection Board in the United States. Computer technology facilitates the exchange of personal information, but responsibility for the proper use of personal data lies with the organization that collects the information. Whereas other countries have moved aggressively to establish reasonable safeguards to protect individual privacy through the creation of data protection boards and privacy commissions, the United States has failed to adopt similar measures. A privacy protection commission was a key component of the original privacy protection scheme developed by the Congress in the early 1970s but was never enacted. Recent public polling data suggests that the creation of a similar board today would be supported by a wide majority of Americans.
Louise Potvin
This article discusses guidelines adopted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that pertain to privacy protection and the transborder flows of personal data.
Vincent DeSanti
This article addresses both the Department of Agriculture's Electronic Dissemination of Information System and the Environmental Protection Agency's TRI. In response to charges that both systems inhibit public access, the General Accounting Office was asked to investigate. It found the charges lacking in substance.
Fred B. Wood
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is authorized by statute to provide policy leadership on all aspects of the Nation's science and technology infrastructure, including scientific and technical information (STI). STI is important to maximizing the return on the annual Federal investment in research and development, improving U.S. innovation and competitiveness, and solving national and international problems in fields such as medicine, climate change, energy, defense, and agriculture. Until recently, OSTP has paid little attention to STI. OSTP now has a golden opportunity to establish itself as a major policy-making, coordinating, and leadership presence in STI. This will require OSTP staff commitment to STI issues and new or upgraded interagency coordinating and external advisory mechanisms on STI.
Gary D. Bass is Executive Director of OMB Watch, a non-profit research and advocacy organization that monitors the Office of Management and Budget, and follows issues of Federal government information policy.
Ann Bishop received her master's in library science from the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, where she is currently enrolled as a Ph. D. student. She has been involved in several projects concerned with information transfer and retrieval systems for researchers in scientific and technical disciplines. She has published a number of papers and book chapters related to Federal STI policy.
Philip Doty is completing a Ph. D. degree in information transfer at the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University. He received a master's in library science from Syracuse University. He has published several papers related to Federal scientific and technical information policy. In addition to U.S. government information policy, his research interests are geoscience, information, social epistemology, and the economics of information.
Peter Hernon is Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College, Boston. He received his Ph. D. from Indiana University in 1978. He teaches courses related to government information, information policy, research methods, statistics, and the evaluation of library services. He is the founding editor of Government Information Quarterly and the author (or co-author) of 25 books and more than 60 articles. Together with Charles R. McClure, he received the Best Book award fom ASIS in 1987. He is also past chair of the Library Research Round Table and has conducted numerous research studies at the national level.
Charles R. McClure is Professor at the School of Infornation Studies, Syracuse University. He earned his Ph. D. from Rutgers University in Library and Information Services. He has served as principal investigator for a number of studies funded by the American Library Association, the National Technical Information Service, National Science Foundation, and others. His co-authored study, funded by the Office of Technology Assessment, on the National Research and Education Network, ,as the recipient of the ALA's 1990 Jesse H. Shera award for the best research paper in library/information science. He has witten extensively on topics related to U.S. government information management and policies, as well as the planning, evaluation, and management of library and information centers.
David Plocher is formerly OMB Watch staff attorney. He is currently Assistant Counsel, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, U.S. Congress, Washington, DC.
Louise Potvin received a bachelor's degree in law from the "l'Universite de Montreal," a master's degree in comparative medical law from the Institute of Comparative Law of McGill University (Montreal). She received a doctorate in comparative civil law from the same Institute, has two thesis advisors from the London School of Economics and Politi- cal Science, and did extensive research in French law in Paris. She is currently working as legal counsel with the Information Law and Privacy Section of the Canadian federal department of Justice.
Marc Rotenberg is the Diector of the Washington Office of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. He was formerly counsel to the Subcommittee on Technology and Law of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was founder of the Public Interest Computer Association in Washington, DC. He has testified in Congress on privacy, access to information, and computer security. He was also an expert witness in the District of Columbia proceeding on Caller ID. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School.
Fred B. Wood serves as a Senior Associate at the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), United States Congress. At OTA, he has directed a number of studies on computer-based information technology and policy, law enforcement, and civil liberties. Prior to joining OTA, Dr. Wood held positions at the George Washington University Progr am of Policy Studies in Science and Technology, Harvard Business School, and IBM Corporation, among others. He holds a doctorate and a master's degree in business administration, and a B.S. in electrical engineering.
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