We at the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) hear you loud and clear! The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging FOIA professionals and requesters alike in unprecedented ways. Amid all the uncertainty, one thing is certain: response times are likely to increase. It is more important than ever to keep the lines of communication open. One … Continue reading Setting Expectations in Extraordinary Times
If you are a government Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) professional with an interest in technology and innovation, we need you! In response to a recommendation from the 2016-2018 term of the FOIA Advisory Committee, the Archivist of the United States proposed that the Chief FOIA Officers (CFO) Council partner with the Chief Information Officer … Continue reading New Technology Committee Members Needed
As the sun sets on Sunshine Week, we hope you will continue to celebrate access to information with some interesting reading. First, a reminder that OGIS published its 2020 Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2019 highlighting the work we do as FOIA Ombudsman to make the process work better for all through dispute resolution and … Continue reading Sunshine Week in the Age of Social Distancing
The following post is written by Meredith Doviak, our National Archives colleague who is helping us assess methods agencies use to prepare documents for posting on agency FOIA reading rooms. In the decades since Congress amended FOIA in 1996 to expand the role of the agency FOIA reading room, the expectations and use of Federal … Continue reading Assessing FOIA Reading Rooms
Public spaces at the National Archives are closed, but OGIS is pleased to continue operations online — including publication of our 2020 Annual Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. As OGIS Director Alina Semo notes in her message to readers, despite challenges faced in FY 2019, OGIS managed to reduce our backlog by 50 percent … Continue reading OGIS Report on Fiscal Year 2019 Now Available
We are excited to announce that Senior US District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton of the US District Court for the District of Columbia will join us on Monday March 16th for Sunshine Week at the National Archives. While we regret that Senior US District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth, along with his biographer, Adam … Continue reading Sunshine Week at the National Archives Update
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the National Archives must cancel both of the events scheduled for Thursday, March 12, 2020: National Declassification Center: Reflecting on our Beginnings, Forecasting our Future and the Multi-Agency Forum: Using FOIA to Access Intelligence Community Records. We apologize for the last-minute change in plans. Last week, in preparation for … Continue reading Upcoming Intelligence Community FOIA Forum Canceled
All government agencies create and obtain records as they carry out their day-to-day duties. The types of records vary by agency. In the Intelligence Community (IC), many of these records are classified due to the sensitive nature of the agencies’ work and the obligation to protect the sources and methods used to collect and process … Continue reading Please submit your questions for the upcoming Intelligence Community forum!
Eagle Release During Migratory Bird Day 2005 (National Archives ID: 166690378) Looking for ways to bolster the use of technology within the FOIA process? Check out a report from the Technology Committee (Committee) of the Chief FOIA Officers Council (Council) to the Council Co-Chairs that discusses FOIA Information Technology (IT) best practices and recommendations. In … Continue reading Chief FOIA Officers Council’s Technology Committee Releases Best Practices and Recommendations
Please mark your calendars and join us for several upcoming events in the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The FOIA Advisory Committee meets from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday March 5th to consider proposed recommendations from the FOIA Advisory Committee’s three subcommittees: Records Management, Time/Volume and Vision. Meeting … Continue reading Mark Your Calendars!
