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(FWD) NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #43, October 18, 2001



NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 7, #43, October 18, 2001
by Bruce Craig <rbcraig@nccph.org
National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCCPH)
*****************

1.   Ashcroft Orders Greater Caution With FOIA Releases
2.   More on NARA Request for Comment on GRS 20 Public Citizen Petition
3.   Report: Meeting of the Department of State Historical Advisory Board
4.   News Bits and Bytes: New Copyright Office Search Engine; Smithsonian
Convenes Meeting on September 11 Events; American Battlefield Protection
Program 2002 Grants Competition


1.  ASHCROFT ORDERS GREATER CAUTION WITH FOIA RELEASES
In a memo dated October 12, 2001, on behalf of the Bush Administration,
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft issued a new policy statement directing
federal agency heads to exercise caution in releasing records to journalists
and others under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  In the
statement that supercedes a 1993 memorandum issued by Attorney General Janet
Reno, agencies are urged to "carefully consider" issues such as threats to
national security and the effectiveness of law enforcement in responding to
FOIA requests. According to the memo, "Any discretionary decision by your
agency to disclose information protected under FOIA should be made only after
full and deliberate consideration of the institutional, commercial, and
personal privacy interests that could be implicated by disclosure of the
information." Ashcroft promised agencies that legitimately decided to turn
down requests made under FOIA will have the full backing of the Department of
Justice.

FOIA has frequently been the vehicle for journalists, historians, and others
to reveal government wrongdoing and waste and abuse, as well as a mechanism
to gain a better understanding of the contextual realm of agency decision
making.

Caesar Andrews, President of the Associated Press Managing Editors, believes
that public access should not be weakened, although "during these  very
volatile and sensitive times there will be information that needs to be kept
classified."  Nevertheless, the NCC would be very interested to learn of any
instances of FOIA denials made to members of the historical community because
of the provisions spelled out in the new FOIA memo.  To report instances,
please contact the editor at the e-mail address in the masthead.

The new guidelines can be accessed at
http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foiapost/2001foiapost19.htm For purposes of
comparison, Attorney General Reno's 1993 memorandum may be found at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/clinton/reno.html

2.   MORE ON NARA REQUEST FOR COMMENT ON GRS 20 PUBLIC CITIZEN PETITION
In the last NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 7, #42, October 11, 2001) we reported
that NARA is seeking comments from Federal agencies and the public on a
petition for rulemaking received from the Public Citizen Litigation Group
(Public Citizen). The petition requested that the Archivist amend certain
NARA rules concerning text documents created in electronic form. NARA hopes
the comments will assist the agency in determining whether a regulatory
amendment should be proposed, whether some other action should be taken
(e.g., issuance of guidance to Federal agencies in a NARA Bulletin), or
whether no changes should be made to NARA's regulations and other issuances.
We now have a little more in-depth information to report on this request.

Public Citizen's petition requests that NARA amend rules concerning the
management, scheduling, and preservation of text documents created in
electronic form, including the provisions of General Records Schedule 20 (GRS
20) as they relate to word processing and e-mail. Under present rules, GRS 20
does not require that those record types be kept in electronic form and
instead permits agencies to retain copies of printed electronic records and
delete the electronic version. Public Citizen argues that printing of
electronic records does not preserve some key electronic elements such as
descriptive information, annotations, and hyperlinks.

NARA's request for comment includes three proposals suggested by Public
Citizen.  They relate to definitional matters concerning the nature of
"electronic information systems"-  issues surrounding the organizational,
functional, and operational circumstances in which documents are created
and/or received and used, specifically as they relate to the existing
definitions of "content," "structure," and "context."  Comments are also
being sought on the nature of "hidden information" and also on a variety of
records management issues relating to the retention and disposal of
electronic records.

Comments are due by January 8, 2002 and must be sent to Regulation Comments
Desk (NPOL), Room 4100, Policy and Communications Staff, National Archives
and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.
An electronic copy of the Public Citizen petition under 5 U.S.C. 553(e) to
the Archivist of the United States for rulemaking is available for review at
http:www.nara.gov/nara/petition.html. For further information, contact Nancy
Allard at telephone number 301-713-7360, ext. 226.

3.  REPORT: MEETING OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE HISTORICAL ADVISORY BOARD
On October 15, 2001, the open session of the meeting of the Advisory
Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation was convened at the
Department of State in Washington, D.C.   After a discussion relating to CIA
proposed deletions, the Committee approved the release of the modified
version of minutes of its June 2001 meeting.  The approved minutes include a
discussion of current declassification disputes with the CIA, a
forthcoming retrospective volume on the Congo, and National Security Agency
declassification activity in support of FRUS.  The minutes have been posted
by the Federation of American Scientists on their web page at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/advisory/state/hac0601.html>)

During the meeting chaired by Robert Schulzinger, Marc Susser, Departmental
Chief Historian, reported on a variety of issues relating to the activities
of the History Office (HO).  He stated that four new historians have been
added to the staff, and that a joint State/CIA historian position now appears
in limbo as does a proposed declassification specialist position. He reported
that four volumes of the FRUS series have been released in 2001 and that one
more (the last volume documenting the Kennedy Administration) is anticipated
to be released by year's end.  Susser stated that work continues on the
review of materials at the Ford presidential library and efforts are underway
to expedite the transcription of the Nixon tapes. The Chief Historian also
stated that the HO has been called upon by the Secretary to provide several
background papers on terrorism.

Susser also mentioned that meetings continue with representatives of the CIA
on a variety of matters including the pending release of the disputed FRUS
volume on Greece (now tentatively scheduled to be made public in December).
There was discussion of the report to Congress required under provisions of
Senate Foreign Relations Committee report 107-60 (see NCC WASHINGTON UPDATE,
Vol. 7, #38, September 20, 2001).  Finally, the subcommittee on Electronic
Records gave a brief report stating that a pilot project with the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) relating to some 10,000 State
Department electronic cables should be up and running early next year.

Brian Dowling of the Office of Information Records Management gave a report
on the work of his office with respect to State Department review of records
under Executive Order 12958.  Dowling stated that his operation was
processing some 1.2 million pages per month.  He handed out a statistical
report which showed that the Department was moving forward with its
declassification review of its 25-year-old or older paper records.

After about two hours  the Committee rose and shortly thereafter reassembled
again in closed session.  Scheduled topics of that portion of the meeting
included an update on the status of the declassification review of Nazi War
Criminal Records and Japanese War Crimes Records, and a discussion of the
FRUS series including ongoing problems still in need of resolution with the
CIA.

4.   NEWS BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 - New Copyright Office Search Engine: The U.S. Copyright Office has
announced the availability of a new Web-based search method for finding out
about the copyright status of millions of books, music recordings, movies,
software, and other works.  Users can search copyright records dating back to
1978.  Members of the public may access the service through the Copyright
Office web site at: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/search.

Item #2 - Smithsonian Convenes Meeting on September 11 Events: The National
Museum of American History and the Museum of the City of New York convened a
meeting last week of some 70 historians, librarians, archivists, and historic
site managers to discuss a coordinated national effort to determine how
museums should remember the terrorist attacks of September 11. A national
steering committee was formed to establish guidelines and to plan a
commemorative event for next September 11.  An electronic bulletin board,
where people can share ideas about exhibition directions and public programs,
reportedly is also in the works.

Item #3 - American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) 2002 Grants
Competition: The National Park Service's ABPP has opened its 2002 grants
competition for projects that lead to the permanent protection of endangered
battlefield lands.  Non-profit organizations, federal/state/local agencies,
tribes, colleges, and universities are all eligible to apply.  Projects
eligible to receive funding include site identification and documentation
(including preparation of historical research, resource surveys, National
Register nomination forms, and GIS/GPS mapping); planning and consensus
building projects (preparation of preservation plans, land studies,
management, and interpretive plans) and interpretation and education projects
(including outreach materials such as brochures, school programs, and
interpretive signing). No matching funds are required; the average award last
year was $22,700, though grants as large as $117,000 historically have been
awarded.  The application deadline is January 11, 2002.  For guidelines and
an application form, contact Glenn Williams, Grants Manager, at (202)
343-9563 or tap into: http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/2002grants.htm
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * *
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