Freedom of Information

Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records (U.S. Congress House. Committee on Government Reform)
http://www.fas.org/sgp/foia/citizen.pdf
Provides an excellent overview of the FOIA and Privacy Acts with sample letters for requesting information. The Privacy Act allows individuals to view and correct personal records the federal governments maintains about their lives and activities.

Freedom of Information Act Text (U.S. Department of Justice)
http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/foiastat.htm
Reproduces the text of the Freedom of Information Act.

Principal FOIA Contacts at Federal Agencies (U.S. Department of Justice)
http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/foiacontacts.htm
A directory to FOIA officers in federal agencies.  Contact the relevant FOIA officer when making information requests.  See http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/other_age.htm for additional FOIA contacts.

Your Right To Federal Records: Questions and Answers on the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act (Published jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. General Services Administration)
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/fed_prog/foia/foia.htm
Lockwood Documents US GS 1.2: F 31/ 2/ 2004
Explains the history of FOIA, the application process, and the appeals process in the event of a denial.

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Committee on Open Government (New York State)
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/coogwww.html
Provides information pertaining to New York State's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) as well as the Open Meetings Law and the Personal Privacy Protection Law. Notable sections of this site include:

• Freedom of Information Law (FOIL)
  http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/foil2.htm
  The full text of New York's Freedom of Information statute.
• Frequently Asked Questions
  http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/freedomfaq.htm
  An overview of the types of records covered by FOIL.

• Your Right to Know
  http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/Right_to_know.html
  This publication describes the application process, and includes sample request letters.

Freedom of Information Law Requests (University at Buffalo)
http://www.ub-judiciary.buffalo.edu/foi.shtml
Describes how to make a FOIL request for records held by the State University of New York at Buffalo. It includes a description of the available records, the request procedure, and the appeals process in the event of a denial.

Other State FOI Laws (University of Missouri-Columbia. Freedom of Information Center)
http://www.missouri.edu/~foiwww/citelist.html
Links to other states' freedom of information statutes. See also the National Freedom of Information Coalition 's page at http://www.nfoic.org/web/index.htm for an alternative presentation.

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Canada: Access to Information And Privacy (Canada. Department of Justice)
http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/atip/index.html
Links to information about the Canadian Access to Information and Privacy Acts.  Key links include:

• Using the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act
  http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/atip/using.html.
• Full text of Access to Information Act ( R.S., 1985, c. A-1 )
  http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/A-1/8.html

• Access to Information Forms
  http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tbsf-fsct/tbsf-fsct_e.asp
• Info Source Publications
  http://www.infosource.gc.ca/index_e.asp
  A directory of available records.

European Union: Openness and Access to Documents (European Commission)
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgc/acc_doc/index_en.htm
Links to the texts of legal acts pertaining to open access.  See also:

• Citizen's Guide
  http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgc/citguide/index_en.htm
  Describes how to access published and unpublished European Union documents, and provides a request form.

Other Countries: International FOI Laws (University of Missouri-Columbia. Freedom of Information Center)
http://foi.missouri.edu/internationalfoi/index.html
Links to the freedom of information statutes of countries worldwide.