jan05b.indd


Ber nadette Murphy W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e  

Access to Government Information 
The ALA Washington Office works to sup­
port equal, ready, and equitable access to 
information collected, compiled, produced, 
funded, and/or disseminated by the govern­
ment of the United States. We believe that 
access to government information is essential 
to preserving a functioning democracy. But 
despite our best efforts, we’re losing on many 
fronts in the battle for open government. 

Save the date for the fi rst-ever 
national Sunshine Sunday 
What is Sunshine Sunday? Sunshine Sunday 
is a day dedicated to highlighting the value 
of public access to government information 
and the dangers of ever­expanding govern­
ment secrecy. 

With financial support from the Knight 
Foundation, the first­ever national Sunshine 
Sunday is planned for March 13, 2005. We 
are seeking to educate the public about the 
importance of access to information at the 
federal level. Our goal is to show how access 
to government information affects people in 
their everyday lives. Sunshine Sunday will be 
the kickoff for a week’s worth of activities 
related to open government. 

The American Society of Newspaper Edi­
tors (ASNE) is spearheading this project but is 
reaching out for broad support and involve­
ment through the Coalition of Journalists for 
Open Government. The Sunshine Sunday 
steering committee includes more than 50 
representatives of major journalist groups and 
media organizations, including the Society of 
Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters 
and Editors, AP Managing Editors, the Newspa­
per Association of America, the National News­
paper Association, and the First Amendment 
Center. Also serving on the steering committee 
are top executives of the Associated Press and 
most major newspaper groups. 

Bernadette Murphy is communications specialist at 
ALA’s Washington Offi  ce, e-mail: bmurphy@alawash. 
org 

A Sunshine Sunday Web site is being 
developed to support the project. It will 
include a tool kit for editors and news di­
rectors that will explain ways to participate 
and offer a range of downloadable materi­
als, links, and resources. A partnership with 
the American Library Association opens the 
door to Sunshine Week programs on First 
Amendment/FOI topics at libraries across 
the country. We are also hoping to include 
public service ads and a component aimed 
at students. 

How can I get involved? 
We are looking for stories about average folks 
who have benefited from freedom of informa­
tion. For example: the persistent grandmoth­
er who fought to gain access to environmen­
tal records that showed a hazardous waste 
dump near the senior center, or the parents 
who battled to get state driving records that 
showed their kids’ school bus driver had 
multiple drunk driving convictions. Please 
send examples to wrofoi@optonline.net. 

We also need volunteers to serve as state 
or regional coordinators for our Sunshine 
Sunday effort. You’d be responsible for con­
tacting editors and others in your area to urge 
them to participate, to keep a list of those 
who agree to take part, and to help us collect 
the content published or broadcast during the 
week of Sunshine Sunday. ASNE will be mak­
ing the initial contact with editors about the 
project and publicizing its Sunshine Sunday 
Web site. In addition, background materials 
and talking points will be prepared to help 
state coordinators in their contacts; other as­
sistance will be available as required. 

Questions? Suggestions? Willing to help? 
Please contact Ray Ollwerther, national co­
ordinator for the Sunshine Sunday project, at 
wrofoi@optonline.net or at (732) 845­4668. 

For more information on the importance of 
open access to government information, see 
ALA’s “Key Principles on Government Infor­
mation” at: www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOis­
sues/governmentinfo/keyprins.htm. 

January 2005  61 C&RL News 

www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOis
mailto:wrofoi@optonline.net
mailto:wrofoi@optonline.net