Position: Director of the Office of Government Information Services
Company: National Archives and Records Administration
Event Description
Accessing government records is an important part of the work of law librarians, and the Freedom of Information Act is an important tool to access government records. Miriam Nisbet, the director of the federal Office of Government Information Services, knows this well -- she was legislative counsel for the American Library Association for several years, providing advice on access to government information among other things. Ms. Nisbet currently oversees the office of the federal FOIA Ombudsman (OGIS for short) which reviews FOIA compliance across the executive branch and also works with requesters and agencies to resolve FOIA disputes. In addition to her time at ALA, Ms. Nisbet also has 17 years of experience working directly on FOIA matters for the federal government. She will discuss the FOIA and the role it plays for lawyers and law librarians in various ways, including e-discovery. Please come with questions -- we're hoping for a "roundtable" feel to this discussion.
Position: Director of the Office of Government Information Services
Company: National Archives and Records Administration
Biography
In September 2009, Miriam Nisbet became the first Director of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration.OGIS is the new Freedom of Information Act ombudsman office created by the 2007 FOIA Amendments and is charged with providing mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and federal agencies and with improving FOIA administration.Miriam previously worked for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the American Library Association, NARA, and the US Department of Justice.She received a BA degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a JD degree from UNC’s School of Law.She is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and North Carolina.