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Public Records and the Public Trust Panel Discussion [5/3]



Public Records and the Public Trust:
President Bush?s EO 13233 and its
Implications for Government Information Policy

For Immediate Release: April 18, 2002
Contact: dumerer@wam.umd.edu

In November 2001, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13233,
?Further Implementation of the Presidential Records Act,? which
effectively removes control of access to the records of past presidents
from the Archivist of the U.S. to the President.  A great deal of
protest and debate from archivists, historians, media representatives
and civil liberties activists followed the issuance.  Despite assurances
to the contrary, those in opposition to it say EO 13233 is an attempt to
remove important evidence of executive branch activity from public
scrutiny.  They argue specifically that the executive order is designed
to deny access to public records that by law should be available to the
public at large, and that it abrogates the Presidential Records Act of
1978.  And more broadly, they see it as being one more piece of a
broader Bush administration policy of ? public information lockdown.?

Expert panelists from varied professional backgrounds will discuss their
views on this important topic Friday May 3, 2002 from 1:30 to 4:30 at
the University of Maryland at the McKeldin Library Special Events Room.
The event is planned and sponsored by the Student Archivists at Maryland
in cooperation with the University of Maryland College of Information
Studies.

Panelists include:

Thomas Connors, Society of American Archivists Council Member, who gave
his expert testimony at a hearing in New York City regarding the mayoral
records of former Mayor Guiliani.  The SAA has also formerly spoken out
against President Bush?s executive order; an editorial appeared in the
Washington Post on [what date].

Dr. Bruce Craig is the Executive Director of the National Coordinating
Committee for the Promotion of History, has a long history of promoting
access to historical documentation, and has spoken on this topic in
other forums.

Lee Strickland is Information and Privacy Coordinator at the Office of
Information and Privacy, Central Intelligence Agency, and adjunct
professor at the University of Maryland College of Information Studies.

This event is open to the public

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