Choose Privacy Week seems as good a time as any to address the topic of public records. Are there certain types of records that are not publicly available, but which you think should be? Have you ever wondered about the differences between the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act?
Here are several resources available in the Law Library that may help to answer these questions and more:
- The Public Records Act Deskbook: Washington's Public Disclosure and Open Meetings Laws, published by the Washington State Bar Association (Reference Area, KFW462.5.P8 .P83 2006). Includes information on the legislative history and public policy behind Washington State's Public Records Act, what constitutes a "public record" under state law, and exemptions to the Public Records Act.
- A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records: Second Report by the Committee on Government Reform (Classified Stacks, KF4774 .U55 2005). Covers the scope of both FOIA and the Privacy Act, how to make requests for access to records under both acts, and what types of records are exempt from disclosure. It is also available online; just follow the hyperlink in the library catalog.
- The Federal Information Manual: How the Government Collects, Manages, and Discloses Information under FOIA and Other Statutes, by P. Stephen Gidiere (Classified Stacks, KF5753 .G53 2006). Addresses topics such as federal agency collection of information, electronic records and federal public websites, and reasons for the withholding of agency records.
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