Free information
Been a bit quiet on the blogging front recently – my new job (encompassing my old job plus that of the retired University Archivist) is keeping me extremely busy…
However in the last week I’ve come across some really useful commentary on Freedom of Information from different perspectives, and have also recently finished “Freedom of Information: open access, empty archives?” (ed. Flinn & Jones, Routledge 2009 – volume details; British Library inter-library loan much more cost-effective!!) – more on that volume later.
FoI Man – an FoI officer based in London; I guess working in local government. His blog blurb says
Why am I writing anonymously? Well, apart from rather enjoying the image of myself in lycra tights, cape and mask, I think I can write, to use an FOI phrase, in a “free and frank” manner. I don’t intend to use this blog to publicly criticise my own employer. Neither do I want to ‘leak’ information. This is about challenging attitudes more generally, and using examples to illustrate broader principles about openness, confidentiality and so on. I can do that much more easily if my views aren’t associated with any single person or organisation.
He’s also on twitter – @FoIManUK.
The next one is not anonymous – the journalist David Higgerson. Although it’s a blog about journalism, David also blogs about FoI because “I believe [the act] is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal as journalists, and one which should be used more frequently.”
Obviously the Campaign for Freedom of Information has long been a great source of information and opinion.
