Article
Searching FOIA Libraries for government information
Government Information Quarterly
(2020)
Abstract
FOIA Libraries are the repositories for many documents released under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), i.e., “responsive documents,” by federal agencies and their sub agencies. Awareness of search terminology for FOIA Libraries or electronic reading rooms can assist the public and researchers to locate publicly available government information, including responsive documents. Responsive documents are the responses to FOIA requests that can be posted (in full or with redactions) by federal agencies. FOIA responses may not be easily findable by major web search engines. The goal of this article is to educate readers about government and non-government FOIA resources and declassified document repositories for discovery. It is important for researchers, journalists and citizens to use “FOIA Libraries,” “Electronic Reading Room,” or “FOIA tag” to search for documents concerning government activities and operations that are released under the FOIA on the web. In addition to aiding in the research process, access to responsive documents information furthers democratic goals of transparency and supports findability of government information by the public.
Keywords
- FOIA,
- Freedom of Information,
- digital literacy,
- government information,
- open access
Disciplines
Publication Date
January, 2020
DOI
10.1016/j.giq.2019.101417
Citation Information
Lisa DeLuca. "Searching FOIA Libraries for government information" Government Information Quarterly Vol. 37 Iss. 1 (2020) ISSN: 0740-624X Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lisa_deluca/54/