The Associated Press: First Freedom of Information ombudsman appointed
First Freedom of Information ombudsman appointed
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives appointed a veteran open government advocate Wednesday to be the first Freedom of Information Act ombudsman, empowered to mediate disputes between people who request data and the agencies that have it.
Miriam Nisbet, who now heads the information society division of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, was chosen to direct the Archives' new Office of Government Information Services, acting Archivist Adrienne Thomas announced.
"While the federal FOIA mediator's office is still a long way from mediating its first FOIA dispute, it took a big step forward today," said Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, a coalition of nine media groups, including The Associated Press. Blum said Nisbet "is a longtime advocate for open government, and this is a promising start for those who want the FOIA to work better."
Thomas said Nisbet "has dedicated her entire professional life to working for open access to government records."
Nisbet, who is still in Paris wrapping up her UNESCO duties, said she was excited to be part of "a new approach to make the Freedom of Information Act work better." She is expected to open the new Archives office in September.
Nisbet's U.N. office supports libraries and archives in developing countries and promotes new communication technologies for education, science and culture. Before joining the U.N. in 2007, she was legislative counsel of the American Library Association. In the mid-1990s, she was special counsel for information policy at the National Archives. And from 1982 to 1994, she was deputy director of the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy, which decided which department documents could be released under FOIA and the Privacy Act and provided guidance to the entire federal government on how to implement FOIA.
The FOIA ombudsman's office was created by the OPEN Government Act of 2007. Besides mediating disputes, it is authorized to review how well agency's comply with the act and recommend policy changes to the president and Congress.
On the Net:
- National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/
The Associated Press: First Freedom of Information ombudsman appointed
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