For immediate release:
March 10, 2010

For more information, contact:
Prue Adler
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
prue@arl.org

ARL to Co-Sponsor Discussion and Webcast on Open Government

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries joins OpenTheGovernment.org and seven other nonprofit organizations to host a discussion on open government in theory and in practice at the Center for American Progress in Washington DC. This in-person event will take place on Friday, March 19, 2010, noon–2:00 p.m. EDT, and will also be available as a live webcast.

On his first full day in office, President Obama committed his Administration "to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government." To help meet that goal, the Administration has issued an Open Government Directive and a new Memorandum on Freedom of Information Act and Attorney General Guidelines. The Administration has also launched an expansive effort to open up government data to developers, advocates, and the public via Data.gov. During this program, the 5th annual Sunshine Week webcast, leading experts on transparency issues from inside and outside government will discuss if and how these initiatives have made the federal government more open, and what remains to be done.

For a full list of the program details, including a link to the webcast and program speakers, please visit http://www.openthegovernment.org/article/articleview/420/.

The event is hosted by OpenTheGovernment.org, the Association of Research Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Center for American Progress, League of Women Voters, National Freedom of Information Coalition, Special Libraries Association, Sunshine Week, and the Sunlight Foundation.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.