[Michlib-l] FOIA Requests

[Kelli Perkins]

I don't believe legitimacy is a qualifying question in FOIA. Per the website, there are allowable exemptions and you can determine, with your lawyer, whether the request breaches any of those. They primarily have to do with invasion of personal privacy and you'd likely have to look at case law to determine what you can stand on. Otherwise, it's a law and you must comply.


https://www.foia.gov/faq.html#exemptions


What is the Presumption of Openness and Who Issues Guidance to Agencies on the FOIA?

The FOIA provides that when processing requests, agencies should withhold information only if they reasonably foresee that disclosure would harm an interest protected by an exemption, or if disclosure is prohibited by law. Agencies should also consider whether partial disclosure of information is possible whenever they determine that full disclosure is not possible and they should take reasonable steps to segregate and release nonexempt information. The Office of Information Policy at the Department of Justice is responsible for issuing government-wide guidance on the FOIA as part of its responsibilities to encourage all agencies to fully comply with both the letter and the spirit of the FOIA.



Kelli Perkins
Collection & Digital Resources Manager
Herrick District Library
300 S River Ave, Holland MI 49423
616.355.3718
kperkins at herrickdl.org




________________________________
From: michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org <michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org> on behalf of Leslie Burke <Leslie.Burke at kzoo.edu>
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2017 8:10:35 AM
To: Nancy Studebaker-Barringer; michlib-l
Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] FOIA Requests

I think my concern is that they’re asking for so much personally identifiable information. I’d be less likely to resist if the data requested didn’t include personal information.
The data, for legitimate use, could be just as valuable with position names (e.g. Library Director, page, etc.) without including personal names linked to all the data. If someone really needed to follow up on an actual person, they could do that with minimal effort, but to aggregate personally identifiable information into who-knows-what kind of database or source they’re creating seems like a privacy invasion more than a “transparency” issue. Perhaps we, as library researchers, need to investigate who these groups are and what they do with this information.

My own opinions,
Leslie

Leslie D. Burke
Collection Development & Digital Integration Librarian, Library
Kalamazoo College
1200 Academy St
Kalamazoo, MI 49006
p 269.337.7144
f 269.337.7395
Leslie.Burke at kzoo.edu<mailto:Leslie.Burke at kzoo.edu>
More in Four. More in a Lifetime.
No one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something – What’s your Green Dot?
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leslieburke/<http://www.linkedin.com/in/leslieburke/>
Twitter: librarygal2go; K’s Library on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kalamazoocollegelibrary

From: michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org [mailto:michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org] On Behalf Of Nancy Studebaker-Barringer
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2017 7:37 AM
To: michlib-l <michlib-l at mcls.org>
Subject: [Michlib-l] FOIA Requests

We received the FOIA request from OpenTheBooks that has been much discussed. We complied and sent info as requested. We use Quickbooks and it to about 20 minutes for the bookkeeper to export a report and make a few changes as requested. We have about 25 employees.

I don't understand why there is so much resistance to just responding to the request. It seems some folks are spending more time trying to wiggle out of it or outsmart the folks making the request - than it would take to just comply and fulfill the information request.

I believe in the value of transparency in government- even when it's inconvenient or uncomfortable for me and mine.

NSB
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