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Showing posts from September, 2017

Work Begins on Consolidated FOIA Request Portal

Yesterday the Justice Department’s Office of Information Policy (OIP) announced the completion of the discovery phase of its development of a National FOIA Portal. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was enacted in 1966 and created a presumptive right of public access to government documents. In practice, however, obtaining those documents has not always been easy. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 sought to streamline the process by directing the Department of Justice and the Office of Management and Budget to create an online portal that would allow members of the public to submit FOIA requests to any agency from a single website. In other words, a one-stop shop for FOIA.  The OIP has issued a report on its findings and recommendations for the project. The portal will be developed on GitHub with opportunities for feedback from the public.  

Research Recess!

During the 2017 Fall Semester, the O'Quinn Law Library reference librarians will offer a series of lunchtime talks on legal research topics. The sessions will be given at 5:00 p.m. Mondays and 12:00 p.m. Tuesdays from September 25 through October 24. FOOD AND BEVERAGES PROVIDED FOR THE FIRST TWENTY ATTENDEES! Please visit the following link for more information: http://www.law.uh.edu/libraries/publications/brownbags.htm . 1. Federal Legislative Research Monday, 9/25, 5:00-5:45 (room 1 BLB) Tuesday, 9/26, 12:00-12:45 (room 1 BLB) Robert Clark, Reference and Research Librarian 2. Resources for Legal Practice Monday, 10/2, 5:00-5:45 ( room 109 BLB ) Tuesday, 10/3, 12:00-12:45 (room 1 BLB) Katy Badeaux, Reference and Research Librarian 3. Legal Technology for Lawyers Monday, 10/9, 5:00-5:45 (room 1 BLB) Tuesday, 10/10, 12:00-12:45 (room 1 BLB) Emily Lawson, Reference and Research Librarian 4. Power Searching on Westlaw, Lexis Advance, and Bloomberg Law Monday