The Memory Hole has put online the full text of the 1956 Coolidge Committee report on classified information, an early governmental report on overclassification and leaks. I especially appreciate the deeper context provided by author Susan Maret, an adjunct professor of library science at the University of Denver (who created the On Their Own Terms: A Lexicon with an Emphasis on Information-Related Terms Produced by the U.S. Federal Government mentioned a while back on Secrecy News).
“…as government secrecy expands, more public officials become privy to classified information and are faced with the choice of whether or not to leak … growing secrecy likewise causes reporters to press harder from the outside to uncover what is hidden. And then in a vicious circle, the increased revelations give government leaders further reasons to press for still more secrecy.
–Sissela Bok, Secrets. New York: Vintage Books, 1989, p. 184 and 248.
On a side note, the memory hole has been frequently mentioned in the docs community as a potential partner. If librarians are really serious about this potential, I would strongly suggest that you donate to the memory hole.
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