Author archives

Record Number of FOIA Requests Received by Federal Gov’t in 2003

“The total number of Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act access requests received by all federal departments and agencies during Fiscal Year 2003 was 3,266,394. This is 863,456 more than the number of requests received during Fiscal Year 2002, an increase of nearly 36%, and it marks the first year in which the three-million-request level has …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents

Finalists for Sweeping Electronic Records Archives Project Announced

August 3, 2004 press release – National Archives Names Two Companies to Design an Electronic Archives “Today, Archivist of the United States John W. Carlin announced the two companies (Lockheed Martin and Harris Corporation) that will lead the way in designing a technological solution to the challenge of preserving electronic information across space and time.”

Subjects: E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research

Yahoo and Ask Jeeves Make Searching Local Easier

“Yahoo! Local Beta – Find businesses and services near you….combines the best of Yahoo! Yellow Pages, Yahoo! Maps and Yahoo! Search…” From Chris Sherman, Yahoo Targets Google, Yellow Pages with New Local Search Ask Jeeves Teams With Citysearch to Create Leading Local Search Experience Yahoo!, Ask Jeeves Bow Local Search Tools

Subjects: Search Engines

Creating Search Queries to Generate RSS Feeds

Tara (Research Buzz) is just terrific. See her posting today on keyword-specific RSS feeds from headlinenews.com. This type of feature is also available from FindForward (formulate a query and choose “Get RSS” from the drop-down menu, and you will be provided with a url to enter into your aggregator), and Topix.net (after you have generated …

Subjects: RSS

Hearings on Counterterrorism and News on Terror Alerts

U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs hearing: Assessing America’s Counterterrorism Capabilities, August 3, 2004. Link to Member Statements and Witness Testimony Related news, from the Washington Post and New York Times respectively (both requiring registration): Pre-9/11 Acts Led To Alerts and Reports That Led to Terror Alert Were Years Old, Officials Say.

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents

DOJ Flip-Flop on Destroying Gov’t Docs.

As a follow-up to my July 25 posting, Depository Libraries Directed to Destroy DOJ Pamphlets, from the American Library Association, Department of Justice Rescinds Order for Libraries to Destroy Documents and ALA welcomes Department of Justice decision to rescind destruction request. For reference, here is a link to the GPO’s initial directive: SuDocs Letter – …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Geico Sues Google and Overture For Trademark Infringement

“GEICO has filed suit against two major Internet search engine operators, Google Inc. and Overture Services Inc…claiming trademark infringement, alleging that the search engine operators violate trademark rights by allowing other insurance companies to advertise to consumers who display an interest in obtaining information relating in some way to GEICO by using the registered trademark …

Subjects: Patent and Trademark, Search Engines

Tool Against ID Theft Underutilized

Consumers in two states (California and Texas) may now use a “security freeze” to block access to their credit reports without their authorization, which they can provide to the credit bureau via a PIN (personal identification number). Vermont and Louisiana residents will be able to opt-in next summer. This ID theft deterrent does not have …

Subjects: ID Theft, Privacy