In this response to the issues and alternatives for the proposed privatization of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) as presented in the "Federal Register" of April 28, 1986, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) rejects outright the proposal to privatize all of its functions, and expresses its preference for keeping…

Created at the Library of the University of California, Berkeley, by a task force on machine readable data files (MRDFs), this policy provides guidance to materials selectors in acquiring MRDFs through purchase, gift, lease, network, or other cooperative arrangements. The guidelines offer a collection development framework and identify problems to…

This brochure outlines the general provisions of the Personal Privacy Protection Law (Public Officers Law, Article 6-A, sections 91-99) which became effective on September 1, 1984, and is intended to protect each individual's privacy by regulating the manner in which the state collects, maintains, and disseminates personal information about its…

Describes the information policy framework prescribed by OMB Circular No. A-130, which introduces the distinction between access to information and information dissemination. The discussion covers the use of electronic collection and dissemination of government information, together with the need to safeguard privacy and public access to…

It is not legally permissible for depository libraries to impose user fees upon library patrons who want government information which is available in electronic format. Publishing federal agency is responsible for costs of furnishing access to the database, and Government Printing Office is obligated to pay the costs of conveying that information…

This report presents an evaluation of the general controls over the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) information system maintained and operated by a contractor for the U.S. Department of Education (ED), which administers FFELP. The evaluation found that ED's general controls over the FFELP information system did not adequately protect…

This oversight hearing was held to review the status of the 21-year-old Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) program, which is administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) in the U.S. Department of Education, and to hear administration proposals for the redesign of the ERIC system. This report of the hearing…

This testimony discusses ways in which some federal government agencies use technology to provide the public with cheaper, faster access to a wider range of information which can be searched and manipulated in ways never possible on the printed page. Technologies included in the discussion are compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM), electronic…