[Libs-Or] INFORMATION: NSA oversight group receives American Library Association award

[Diedre Conkling]

http://www.districtdispatch.org/2014/03/nsa-oversight-group-receives-american-library-association-award/

NSA oversight group receives American Library Association award
Posted on March 14, 2014 by Jazzy Wright

ALA Immediate Past President Maureen Sullivan (left) with Eileen Cooke
Award recipient Udi Ofer (of the ACLU-New Jersey).

Today, the American Library Association awarded President Barack Obama's Review
Group on Intelligence and Communications
Technologies<http://www.dni.gov/index.php/intelligence-community/review-group>the
2014 James
Madison Award <http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/james-madison-award> during
the 16th Annual Freedom of Information Day in Washington, D.C. The
Presidential Review Group received the award for calling for dozens of
urgent and practical reforms to the National Security Agency's unlawful
surveillance programs. Watch the Madison Award
ceremony<http://www.newseum.org/programs/2014/0314-conference/national-freedom-of-information-day.html>

Calling on the government to enhance public trust, the President's Review
Group produced a thoughtful report with a blueprint showing how the
government can reaffirm its commitment to privacy and civil liberties--all
without compromising national security. In the report, the Review Group
emphasized the need for transparency and effective oversight, and made
recommendations intended to protect U.S. national security and advance
foreign policy. Additionally, the Review Group asked the U.S. government to
demonstrate the validity of claims that secrecy is necessary.

The award, which is named in honor of President James Madison, honors
individuals who have championed, protected and promoted public access to
government information and the public's right to know national information.
The American Library Association has long been a supporter of open access
policies that increase the amount of research made available to the public.

Members of the Review Group include Richard Clarke, former national
security official under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; Michael
Morell, former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Geoffrey
Stone, law professor at the University of Chicago Law School; Cass
Sunstein, professor at Harvard University and Peter Swire, professor at the
Georgia Institute of Technology.

Additionally, the Open Government
Project<http://www.aclu-nj.org/theissues/opengovernment/opengovernanceproject/>of
the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey received the Eileen
Cooke Award<http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/eileen-cooke-state-local-madison>for
improving citizen access to public records and meeting files. The Open
Government Project has increased public awareness of government
transparency by developing educational materials, offering informational
seminars to community organizations, and providing free legal
representation to individuals unlawfully denied access to public records or
public meetings.





http://www.districtdispatch.org/2014/03/nsa-oversight-group-receives-american-library-association-award/




-- 
*Diedre Conkling*




* Lincoln County Library DistrictP.O. Box 2027Newport, OR 97365 Phone &
Fax: 541-265-3066 <541-265-3066>Work email**: *
*diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org* <diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
* Home email: **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>

 "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
your attitude."--Maya Angelou
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