Sheila Beale asked:

"Open data is the hot topic now for local government. I work for local government, and thus far proponents on the discussion panel are in favor of keeping  government records on line on a permanent basis for the sake of government transparency and public access. As a records manager, I  have some concerns with privacy issues, retention issues, security, and the reliability of keeping electronic records on a permanent basis. I would like to hear other perspectives please."

Neither public access nor transparency considerations require that government information be retained forever.  If there are legal, regulatory, operational, or archival requirements to retain information, the local government's retention schedule should reflect that.  Like any other organization, local governments should be able to dispose of information in accordance with their retention schedule.  Just because a member of the public may request information (whether via FOIA or through other avenues), doesn't mean that a local government is required to retain it.  If information was disposed of in accordance with the retention schedule, a local government's response to a request for that information can legitimately be, "This information is not available.  It's required retention period was XX years, and the information you requested was disposed of in accordance with these requirements."

Privacy, confidentiality, and security requirements should all apply to government information and remain in force even if such information is requested by the public.  Indeed, local governments may be violating their obligations to meet these requirements by making such information openly available to everyone.

Just one woman's opinion.


Pilar C. McAdam, CRM
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Los Angeles, CA

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