Government Information Quarterly
Volume 16, Number 3, 1999
To Archive or Not to Archive: The Message of a
(Somewhat)
Meaningless Question
Megan Sniffin-Marinoff ............................................. ##
ARTICLES
Implementing the European Union Data Protection
Directive
1995 in UK Law: The Data Protection Act of 1998
Andrew Charlesworth .......................................
##
Federal Depository Program at the Crossroads: The
Library
Administrator's Perspective
David C.R. Heisser
................................................................. ##
Federal Information in the Networked
Environment: A
Perspective from the Coalition for Networked Information
Joan F. Cheverie
.....................................................................
##
Electronic Government in South Korea:
Conceptual
Problems
Sung-Don Hwang, Younghoon Choi, and
Seung-
Hwan Myeong ................................................... ##
SPECIAL FEATURE
Next Generation Internet and Related Initiatives
Glenn J. McLoughlin
......................................................$
To the Editor
About the Authors
Reviews
Andrew Charlesworth
ABSTRACT: The issue of personal data protection has grown in importance with the ever more ubiquitous role of the computer in modern society. While the unfettered collection and use of manually stored personal data by government and commercial organizations also held risks for the privacy of the individual, the use of computerized records allows the creation, combination, and analysis of personal data in ways that would previously have been uneconomical or simply unfeasible, Thus, the informational privacy of the individual is at risk more than ever before, and the potential consequences of abuse of that privacy have been ever more critical. The national data protection laws of the 1970s and the 1980s have proven inadequate to deal with the challenges posed by technological developments in the 1990s, and, with the increasing globalization of commerce, there is increasing need for an international consensus on future approaches. The European Union (EU) has taken a protective regulatory approach with strict rules on the collection, use, and transfer of personal data enshrined in the Data Protection Directive. Member States of the EU have to implement the Directive by October 1998, and the UK has implemented it with a root and branch overhaul of its existing data protection legislation, in the form of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Data Protection Directive has a strong extra-territorial element, however, and has not been met with unanimous support outside the EU. A particular opponent has been the United States, which while willing to impose legal constraints on the use of personal data by government, is currently disinclined to impose similar restrictions on U.S. commercial interests. The personal data privacy approaches of the EU, UK, and United States all demonstrate different priorities and influences, which suggest that true consensus may still be some way off.
David C.R. Heisser
Abstract: Rapid transition of the Federal Depository Library Program to a mostly electronic environment and U.S. Government Printing Office standards for computer hardware and public services in depositories have raised the specter of mass exodus of libraries from the program. This study examines libraries' commitment to the program and how they are coping with changing information formats and public service demands, from the perspective of senior administrators responsible for allocating resources and setting service priorities. The author visited 24 depositories in three geographical regions and interviewed library directors and documents librarians. Administrators' statements give evidence of great willingness to continue as depositories and belief that costs must be borne for access to electronic information generally, not just government sources. There are serious doubts, however, about the program's future as universal Interne access diminishes the special advantages of depository status. Directors express firm conviction that there will continue to be an important role for government information specialists in libraries.
Joan F. Cheverie
ABSTRACT: The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) has had a long-standing interest in U.S. government information and the potential that the network offers to scholars, researchers, students, and citizens. This article is based on a CNI paper whose goal is to guide institutional leaders (e.g., library directors, chief information officers, and chief academic officers) in higher education in the development of strategies for providing access to, and services, for, U.S. federal information using the rapidly expanding global information infrastructure. The paper is not a policy paper nor does it propose a new Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) model. Its aim is to identify issues for the higher education community and to raise questions regarding sustainable access and services in order that federal information remains a viable resource in the evolving technological environment. Institutions of higher education that have provided access to, and services form these materials are finding that they need to rethink their policies and practices to keep pace with the changes in electronic production and dissemination of federal information. Likewise, there is a concurrent need to focus people and investments on re-engineering their service programs so as to continue making federal information widely available.
Sung-Don Hwang, Younghoon Choi, and Seung- Hwan Myeong
ABSTRACT: How do government officials conceptualize electronic government? Will the electronic government come true by means of complex technology? What purpose(s) will electronic government serve? Using a survey given to 69 Korean government officials in charge of administration informatization, the authors answer those questions. These officials perceive electronic government as much in terms of technology as they do in terms of effect. However, on the technology side, electronic government is predominantly associated with the use of complex technologies. On the effect side, electronic government is primarily associated with serving the internal use of government operations.
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