The National Association of State CIOs has issued a brief on state government transparency that describes and defines a vision of open government information. The brief recommends that State CIOs should partner with agency executives, records managers, librarians, archivists, data architects, and others to create an open system of government information. It sets out 8 Open Government DAta Principles. Data should be:

1. Complete
2. Primary
3. Timely
4. Accessible
5. Machine processable
6. Non-discriminatory
7. Non-Proprietary
8. License-Free

See the report:

A Call to Action for State Government: Guidance for Opening the Doors to State Data, National Association of State CIOs (September 2009).

Hat tip to beSpacific!

From Slashdot:

• Professor Posts "Illegal Copy" of Guide To Oregon Public Record Laws Slashdot, September 16, 2009.

The Attorney General of Oregon is claiming copyright over a state-produced guide to using public-records laws and sells the 326-page book for $25. The AG's offices says, "that's how the AG's office makes back the cost of producing the book" (A smackdown over Oregon public records, by Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian, September 14, 2009).

Bill Harbaugh, Professor of Economics at the University of Oregon, has posted scans of the guide on his website and is daring the AG to respond. He notes that the manual includes on its cover the famous James Madison quote, "A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy..." and he says that, "Given that this very quote is prominently posted on the cover of the same manual which AG John Kroger is trying to keep off the internet, I hold with those who favor farce."

Sunshine Week 2009 Survey Of State Government Information Online

The Sunshine Week 2009 Survey of State Government Information online found that while more and more government records are being posted online, some of the most important information is being left offline. And in some cases governments are charging taxpayers to access records that they already paid for, such as death certificates.

Teams of surveyors scanned government Web sites in every U.S. state to look for 20 different kinds of public records. The results were released today at the start of Sunshine Week 2009, which runs March 15-21. The study was developed by Sunshine Week, the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Freedom of Information Committee, the National Freedom of Information Coalition, and the Society of Professional Journalists' FOI Committee.

MultiMedia RSS Feeds - State of California State of California.

From the Air Resources Board to the Legislative Analysts Office, to New Opinions from the U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, lots of RSS feeds!

The Pew Center on the States has been running a "Government Performance Project" for some time. It seeks to grade the 50 states on
how well they manage their information, as well as their infrastructure, money, and people. The latest evaluation is titled Grading the States 2008 Report.

-George Wilson

[Cross posted on LegalResearchPlus.com]

On a daily basis I visit various court and other government websites, often to locate recent opinions, regulations, or agency decisions. It is a common practice for law librarians and for any researcher who wants very recent sources or does not have access to commercial databases. Admittedly it is far less often that I consider whether the case I just downloaded is an authentic representation of the court’s decision.

But consider these two examples. The first from the California Courts website and the second from the website for the First Circuit Court of Appeals:

“The Official Reports page is primarily intended to provide effective public access to all of California's precedential appellate decisions; it is not intended to function as an alternative to commercial computer-based services and products for comprehensive legal research.”

“Although every effort is made to ensure that the information contained on this site is correct and timely, the First Circuit does not warrant its accuracy. Portions of the information may be incorrect or not current. The information contained on this site should not be cited as legal authority.”

In 2007 the American Association of Law Librarians completed a survey of states' online statutes, regulations and case law to determine which states, if any, were deeming their online material to be official and/or authentic. The survey, “State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources,” is available from the Washington Affairs Office of AALL. Survey authors Richard Matthews and Mary Alice Baish concluded that while many states considered the primary legal material that they put online to be official, no state had taken steps to authenticate those materials.

In a world where online research is becoming the norm, are courts (and other government websites) really keeping up with the needs of the people they serve by not offering official and authenticated versions of their opinions online?

-Kate Wilko

FGI wishes to extend a belated Happy Anniversary to the Oregon Documents Depository Program, which turned 100 this month. To celebrate, the Oregon State Library has established a centennial anniversary website. Their introduction covers all the high points:

The State Library celebrates the Oregon Documents Depository Program Centennial!

The Oregon Documents Depository Program was founded in 1907 on a principle that still can be found in our state documents depository law today:

"It is a basic right for citizens to know about the activities of their government, to benefit from the information developed at public expense and to have permanent access to the information published by state agencies."

For 100 years, the State Library, depository libraries, and state agencies have made information about our state government available to citizens, and have preserved it for future generations.

This exhibit celebrates the Depository Program's centennial.
We hope you enjoy it and visit us often!

Four U.S. States Partner with Google to Improve Public Access to Government Web Sites