<div dir="ltr"><div><a href="http://www.districtdispatch.org/2014/06/ala-joins-others-supporting-transparency/">http://www.districtdispatch.org/2014/06/ala-joins-others-supporting-transparency/</a><br></div><div><br></div>
<div><h1 class="">ALA joins others in supporting transparency</h1><div class=""><span class="">Posted on </span>June 27, 2014<span class=""> by </span><span class="">Jazzy Wright</span></div> <div class=""><p>The American Library Association (ALA) recently joined other civil liberties groups, Internet activists and nonprofits in supporting the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014, a bill introduced to increase the public’s ability to access to government records via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). On Thursday, a coalition of advocacy groups sent an <a title="link" href="https://mail.alawash.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=ykEqWzNsOUSa-cTbec19BFV1g0sPZtEIwXnqunbOTMFrz4LzuGueJAubluug0l_FWd9WV7lwVoY.&URL=http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/FOIA-Improvement-Act-sign-on-letter-2014-06-19.pdf" target="_blank">open letter</a> (pdf) to Congress, welcoming the new bill.</p>
<p>Patrice McDermott, executive director of OpenTheGovernment.org, said that “passage of the FOIA Improvement Act would be a significant step toward the Administration’s promise of an ‘unprecedented’ level of government openness.”</p>
<p>The legislation, which was introduced in the Senate, requires agencies to weigh the public interest in the release of a requested document and of make it clear that the exemption does not cover records that are more than 25 years old.</p>
<p><a title="link" href="https://mail.alawash.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=ykEqWzNsOUSa-cTbec19BFV1g0sPZtEIwXnqunbOTMFrz4LzuGueJAubluug0l_FWd9WV7lwVoY.&URL=http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/FOIA-Improvement-Act-sign-on-letter-2014-06-19.pdf" target="_blank">Read the full letter</a></p>
</div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.districtdispatch.org/2014/06/ala-joins-others-supporting-transparency/">http://www.districtdispatch.org/2014/06/ala-joins-others-supporting-transparency/</a><br>
</div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div><em><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';font-size:10pt">Diedre Conkling</span></em><i><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';font-size:10pt"><br><em><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS'">Lincoln County Library District</span></em><br>
<em><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS'">P.O. Box 2027</span></em><br><em><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS'">Newport, OR 97365</span></em><br><em><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS'">Phone & Fax: 541-265-3066</span></em><br>
<em><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS'">Work email</span></em></span></i><em><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';font-size:10pt;font-style:normal">: </span></em><a href="mailto:diedre@lincolncolibrarydist.org" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';font-size:10pt"><font color="#0000ff">diedre@lincolncolibrarydist.org</font></span></i></a><i><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';font-size:10pt"><br>
<em><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS'">Home email: </span></em></span></i><a href="mailto:diedre08@gmail.com" target="_blank"><em><span style="color:blue;font-family:'Comic Sans MS';font-size:10pt">diedre08@gmail.com</span></em></a></div>
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<span>“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.”―Maya Angelou</span><span></span></h6><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';font-size:10pt"></span></div>
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