Information & Ethics committee  It actually enhances their ability to work with the next user who comes in, because they know more about what we have than they did before that. Citizen archivists share their information. It's not as if we're giving away the keys to the kingdom in terms of processing or describing.

Information & Ethics committee  Okay, then I'm speaking to the cultural change. I can speak from my own experience as an agency head. I've been on the job now for 15 months, so the open government directive came at an opportune time for a new guy coming in to take over an agency. It gave me the luxury of creating a new organization and a new culture that for the first time empowered the staff to contribute to thinking about the future.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm sorry for shuffling papers. That “releasing all we can” came from me in the context of the national declassification standard that has been established here at the national archives. The executive order from the President that established the centre specifies two categories of content that must be protected: weapons of mass destruction and national security.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes.

Information & Ethics committee  Ferriero rhymes with stereo.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Murphy. Greetings to members of the committee. I am David Ferriero, the national archivist of the United States. As you indicated, Pam Wright, who is our chief digital access strategist, is with me also. Pam also represents the National Archives on the White House cross-agency working group on open government.

Information & Ethics committee  Of course. Sorry. I'll go back to the President's address. On his first day after inauguration, President Obama addressed his staff, saying that: Our commitment to openness means more than simply informing the American people about how decisions are made. It means recognizing that government does not have all the answers, and that public officials need to draw on what citizens know. ...