Technology Committee Publishes Paper on FOIA Searches
By Kirsten Mitchell, The FOIA Ombudsman, Oct. 8. 2021
There is a wide gap in public understanding of agencies’ abilities to search their electronic archives and databases for records responsive to FOIA requests and the reality of agencies’ capabilities, according to a new paper, “FOIA Searches: Key Challenges and Findings,” published by a working group of the Chief FOIA Officers Council’s Technology Committee.
Other key findings of the FOIA Searches working group are that the strategies and tools federal agencies use to conduct searches vary greatly, and email searches remain a challenge for agencies.
The paper also provides tips for requesters including searching FOIA Libraries and the web before submitting a FOIA request which could either negate the need for a request or help develop and scope a new one.
Read more here.
P.S. See also DOJ/OIP’s October 1st article on FOIA Post.