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February 6, 1998
M-98-05
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE AGENCIES
FROM: Franklin D. Raines
SUBJECT: Guidance on the Government Information Locator Service
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3511) directs the
establishment of the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) to
help the public and agencies locate and access information throughout
the Federal Government. GILS can also assist agencies in complying with
aspects of the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. 3301) and the Freedom of
Information Act as amended in 1996 (5 U.S.C. 552). Policies such as
OMB Circular No. A-130, "Management of Federal Information Resources"
(61 F.R. 6428, February 20, 1996) also describe agency responsibilities
to help the public locate government information and to ensure
management and accountability of agency programs.
OMB Bulletin 95-1, "Establishment of Government Information Locator
Service," which guided the initial startup of GILS, has expired;
nonetheless the agency responsibilities outlined above continue.
Agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Treasury,
the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Government Printing Office
have already demonstrated outstanding initiative and leadership. All
agencies will now be describing GILS progress in their annual reporting
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. (See OMB Bulletin No.
98-03, November 18, 1997). Agencies should also routinely solicit
feedback on their GILS performance, results, and plans from significant
public stakeholders and user communities. Agencies should implement
their parts of GILS on the Internet as described in FIPS 192-1, and
should link their GILS records to the underlying information resources
to the extent that they are accessible on the Internet and its World
Wide Web.
The Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council has an important role in
the development and implementation of GILS policy. I ask that the CIO
Council work with the Government Information Technology Services Board
to focus on training agencies in GILS best practices; further developing
the U.S. Federal GILS guidelines, search standards and subject
keywords; coordinating "one stop" access to multi-agency government
services; and coordinating with intergovernmental and other related
initiatives.
Posted by:
Peter Weiss
<peter_n._weiss@oa.eop.gov>