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FWD: NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 6, #29, September 1, 2000



Apologies for the formatting; I am currently in an unfamiliar email
environment--Holly Hodges


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NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol 6, #29, September 1, 2000
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig3@juno.com> of the National Coordinating Committee
for the Promotion of History

1.  CIA Compelled to Disclose Records
2.  Library of Congress Publishes Annual Report; National Research Council
Report Chides Library
4.  News Bits and Bytes: NARA Publishes Proposed Rule - Urges Public
Comment; DOD Report on Declassification Secured via FOIA

1.  CIA COMPELLED TO DISCLOSE RECORDS
In early August the National Security Archive (NSA) won a partial summary
judgement in a U. S. District Court against the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) . The Court's decision establishes a new precedent that effectively
challenges that agency's traditional policy of refusing to "neither confirm
or deny" the existence of certain CIA-prepared information when responding
to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

In this instance, back in May 1995, the NSA filed a FOIA request for the
biographies of nine former Communist leaders of Eastern European countries
(seven of whom are now dead).  Drawing upon the so-called "Glomar" claim
(named after a lawsuit over access to records relating to the ship Glomar
Explorer in which the CIA won the right to "neither confirm of deny"
information when responding to information sought under a FOIA request) the
CIA refused to confirm or deny the existence of the biographies.
Consequently, the NSA filed suit in May 1999 in an effort to compel the
agency to release the information.

In the court's ruling, Judge Kollar-Kotelly found that the CIA had already
admitted the existence of the biographies in a detailed article declassified
in 1994 and hence could not claim the information did not exist. The judge
found: "To hold that the CIA has the authority to deny information that it
has already admitted would violate the core principles of FOIA without
providing any conceivable national security benefit."  While the decision
does not completely nullify the CIA's ability to use the Glomar claim when
responding to future FOIA requests by historians, journalists, and others,
it does establish a precedent that could help to compel that agency to be
more responsive, particularly when it can be established that the item being
sought via a FOIA request does exist.

2.  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PUBLISHES ANNUAL REPORT; NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
REPORT CHIDES LIBRARY
On August 29 the Library of Congress (LC) released its 180-page annual
report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999. The report highlights
the activities of the LC in Washington D.C. and its national and
international outreach programs. Of particular interest to the
historical/archival community is the report on the National Digital Library
Program - 18 new multimedia historical collections and four library
exhibitions have been added to the American Memory website.  At year's end,
approximately 2.5 million Library of Congress items and some 85,000 items
from collaborating institutions were online.

For years the arrearage of unprocessed materials has been a concern of
Congress.  That arrearage now stands at 19.8 unprocessed items - a decrease
of about 50% from the time of the initial arrearage census taken in
September 1989.  The report also highlights several important new
collections that have been added to the Library's holdings including items
relating to Supreme Court Justices Harry Blackmun and Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
In addition, various maps, papers and documents relating to the early
history of the United States have been acquired.  Copies of the annual
report are available from the Superintendent of Documents, PO Box 371954,
Pittsburgh, PA 15250; cite stock number 030-000-00286-5 when ordering.

In a related LC matter, a National Academy of Sciences report commissioned
by the Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, warns that the LC could
become a "book museum" if the Library doesn't improve its ability to respond
to the Internet and other new technologies. While the 207-page report
entitled "LC21: A Digital Strategy for the Library of Congress" commends the
LC for its National Digital Library Program, it calls on the Library to
acquire and preserve works such as websites that are "born digital."  The
report prepared by the National Research Council (the chief operating arm of
the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering) also takes the Library to
task for not being "sufficiently involved in the wider international
community of research and practice surrounding contemporary librarianship."
The report states that the Library lacks vision and is not thinking far
enough ahead to enable it to act strategically and coherently.

Library employees have been asked to read the Councils's report and give
feedback in anticipation of the LC issuing a response in December.  Once the
response has been finalized, Library officials plan to request comments from
peers, external communities, and Congress. Interested parties can examine
the report on the National Research Council website at
<http://www.nap.edu/books/0309071445/html/>.

3.  NEWS BITS AND BYTES:
Item #1:  On August 23, the National Archives and Records Administration
published a proposed rule in the Federal Register designed to revise and
reorganize the agency's regulations that govern access to NARA archival
holdings (36 CFR, Part 1254) and NARA's own operational records (36 CFR,
Part 1250) through the Freedom of Information Act. The proposed rule also
incorporates changes mandated by new provisions in the Electronic Freedom of
Information Act Amendments of 1996 (EFOIA).  The proposed rule may be
accessed via GPO access:
<http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a000823c.html> (Scroll down to
subtitle "National Archives and Records Administration" -- "Proposed Rule")
Comments are due by October 23, 2000.

Item #2:  "Operations Security Impact on Declassification Management Within
the Department of Defense" - a report prepared for the Assistant Secretary
of Defense back in 1998 and recently secured through a Freedom of
Information request argues that insufficient attention has been given to the
potential for inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information in the
declassification process. The report also states that "a great deal of
material can certainly be declassified within 25 years." According to the
Federation of American Scientist's Project on Government Secrecy, the report
provides "a quaint, unvarnished view of the mind set of certain security
officials."  The report is posted on
<http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod_opsec.html>.

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