INFORMATION POLICY IN CYBERSPACE

        A.    What is information?

                1.    Resource

                2.    Commodity

                3.    Perception of pattern, or

                4.    Constitutive force in society.

        B.    Is information power?

        D.    Entities that have information policies:  what, how, 
                where and who

        E.    Government information policy includes:

                1.    Literacy,

                2.    Distribution of government information,

                3.    Privatization of government information,

                4.    Freedom of information,

                5.    Protection of personal privacy,

                6.    Intellectual property rights, and

                7.    Development of information infrastructure.

        E.    Stakeholders

              2.    When should government be involved in creating
                     information?

        F.    Access to government information

                1.    Historical information policy in the U.S.

                        a.    Deposit of Congressional materials in public
                                libraries -- 1813

                        b.    Creation of Government Printing Office -- 1860

                                  2.    Federal Register Act of 1935

                                         a.     Federal Register

                                         b.    Code of Federal Regulations

           d.    Judicial information

        A.    Roles & responsibilities (from Dr. Evelyn Daniel)

                1.    Provide information,

                2.    Produce & maintain information,

                3.    Protect privacy of personal data,

                4.    Decide which information to disseminate & how to do
                        so effectively,

                5.    Regulate communication system,

                6.    Support libraries & schools,

                7.    Classify information related to national security, and

                8.    Clarify interrelationships among stakeholders (extent
                        to which information is):

                            b.    A commodity,

                            c.    A capital investment, or

                            d.    An instrument of government.

        B.    Conflict:

                1.    Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

                2.    Dissemination

        C.    NCLIS Principles of Public Information

                1.    The public has the right of access to public information;

                      The Federal Government should:

                3.    Guarantee the dissemination, reproduction &
                        redistribution of information;

                4.    Safeguard the privacy of persons who use information
                        & persons about whom information exists in
                        government records;

                5.    Ensure a wide diversity of sources of access, private
                        as well as governmental, to public information;

                6.    Not allow cost to obstruct the people's access to
                        public information;

                7.    Ensure that information about government information
                        is easily available & in a single index accessible in a
                        variety of formats; &

                        GPO access:  Monthly Catalog

                8.    Guarantee the public's access to public information ...
                        through national networks & programs such as DLP.

       D.    Threats to government information

                1.    Digitization

  E.    Some good things are happening

         1.    FirstGov.com

     2.    NIH Open access to federally funded scientific
            research publications

            http://publicaccess.nih.gov/

            PubMed Central