Freedom of Information Resources

Below is a list of websites that provide information, reports and analysis on a broad range of freedom of information and open government issues. If you know of another that’s not on the list, please send a link to pweitzel@asne.org.

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U.S. Government
Office of Government Information Services: OGIS was created by Congress to review Freedom of Information Act policies and to work with the requesters and agencies when there are disputes.

Office of Information Policy: This Justice Department unit that provides guidance to agencies on compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. Its FOIA Post has information on FOIA litigation, guidelines to agencies and various reports.

Guide to the Freedom of Information Act: This is the Justice Department’s guide to agencies on procedural requirements, use of exemptions, and litigation considerations. It provides a detailed analysis of the key judicial opinions on the FOIA.

FOIA.Gov: A Department of Justice site providing general information and data on the Freedom of Information Act, including annual reports from the various departments and agencies on their performance in handling FOIA requests.

President Obama’s memorandum on FOIA: Signed when he took office, this memorandum calls on all agencies, in handling information requests, to adopt a presumption in favor of openness.

Attorney General Holder’s directive on FOIA: The attorney general’s follow up to the president’s memorandum, it reverses previous guidance to agencies and tells agencies not to deny a FOIA request simply because they can legally do so.

Data.gov: The federal government’s dashboard. The site displays information on and links to what agencies have designated as high value, databases. It also lists states and cities with similar database websites and highlights apps developed by citizen data users to manipulate specific data sets.

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Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: The most comprehensive single site on open government issues and free resources at both the federal and state levels. Information includes:

• Digital Journalist's Legal Guide with everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights, is culled from all Reporters Committee resources and including exclusive content on digital media law issues.
• The Open Government Guide is a compendium of state open government laws, searchable by topic and allowing for comparison of state laws.
• Open Government News Updates with the latest news, plus links to a variety of resources.

The First Amendment Center:  With offices at both Vanderbilt University and the Newseum in Washington, D.C., the center explores free expression issues, including freedom of information.

Collaboration on Government Secrecy: The site presents information on and links to a wide range of documents and digests on FOIA and on federal secrecy and pseudosecrecy, related litigation and court decisions.

The Associated Press: The FOI News page features a variety of reporting investigations by the AP using public records or involving open government issues.

Society of Professional Journalists: The organization's blog, FOI FYI, provides frequent reports on federal, state and local freedom of issues. Its Project Sunshine focuses on threats to public access and open government with representatives in each state.

The Poynter Institute: This journalism training center provides a bibliography of First Amendment and freedom of information publications.


Secrecy News: A newsletter from the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy that is also available by RSS feed.

Sunlight Foundation: A non-profit organization focused on using the power of the Internet to increase government transparency and to create websites and online tools that improve individual access.

OMB Watch: The non-profit research and advocacy organization presents a variety studies and reports on federal government transparency and accountability issues.

Open the Government: The website for this coalition of organizations concerned about government secrecy and pushing for greater transparency offers critiques of federal agency policies and performance.

Project on Government Oversight: Investigates government corruption, misconduct and conflicts of interest and champions good government reform, often using FOIA.

The National Security Archive: An independent, non-governmental, research institute and library at The George Washington University. It collects and publishes declassified documents and other federal government records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

The Society of Environmental Journalists:Its Watchdog Tipsheet reports on access to information issues of interest to environmental journalists.

Government Attic: An electronic collection of thousands of historical and news-related government documents and FOIA logs from various agencies.

TRAC: The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse has been filing FOIA requests for  datasets on the regulatory and enforcement activities of federal agencies since 1989.  Their many reports are posted by category.


National Freedom of Information Coalition: The coalition is an alliance of state open government organizations.

Freedom of Information Center: is a comprehensive FOI library, the oldest in the nation.

Student Press Law Center: A leading resource for student-focused information access issues and resources for action

WikiFOIA: There’s viewer supplied information on open records and meetings laws, litigation, and legislation in each of the states.

Radio-Television Digital News Association: In addition to its other materials, the site has a guide to state laws and rules on cameras in courtrooms.

Right to Know Network: Focuses on access to government-held data on the environment, health and safety. There are searchable environmental databases.

Art of Access: A companion to a textbook of the same name, the blog offers strategies for accessing public records and commentary on FOI news. It is edited by David Cuillier, a journalism professor at the University of Arizona and Charles Davis, who teaches media law at the University of Missouri.