TENTATIVE PROPOSALS AS TO RECORDS TO BE INCLUDED IN AUTOMATED INDEX TO RELEASED DOCUMENTS

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Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3
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RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
8
Document Creation Date: 
December 20, 2016
Document Release Date: 
March 28, 2006
Sequence Number: 
2
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
September 16, 1976
Content Type: 
MF
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PDF icon CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3.pdf437.07 KB
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Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 I,EEMOR LNDTTM FOR DISCUSSION FROM Information and Privacy Staff SUBJECT: Tentative Proposals as to Records To Be Included in Automated Index to Released Documents 1. Purpose of Index There is general agreement on the need for the Agency to develop a system for recording the declassification and/or release, in whole or in part, of records of CIA origin. At the minimum, the system should give users the capability to: a. List. in orderly sequence declassified CIA records to facilitate compliance with the "holder notification" requirements of the National Security Council Direc- tive (II.E.) implementing Executive Order 11652. b. Do lookups, either from a terminal or by means of machine listings, to determine whether specific docu- ments have been previously released. c. Search for previously released records pertaining to a historical event, a foreign area, an organization, an individual, a project, or any other topic which night be the subject of a future request. d. Determine where copies of previously released records may be obtained. e. Compile listings of released records for the perusal of members of the public, which, according to some authorities, is a requirement of 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2). ... ADMINISTRATIVE-~~~ 0ill V Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 NI, 2. Assumptions In various meetings where the need for an index was discussed, spokesmen for other Agency components stressed their desire that the data base be all-inclusive, covering "information" (e.g., disclosures found in the reports of the various groups which investigated the CIA) as well as documents released to members of the public by the Agency in administering the Freedom of Information Act, the Pri- vacy Act, and Executive Order 11652. No component, however, has volunteered to maintain the index or to contribute sub- stantial resources toward its maintenance. We are proceeding, therefore, under the following assumptions and constraints: a. Maintenance.of the data base (i.e., selection of records, indexing, data input and verification, 'ry 5 etc.) will be the responsibility of the Information and Privacy Staff, with systems support provided by the Office of Data Processing. The Central Refer- iC ence Service will be asked to assist in devising a standardized scheme for recording bibliographic citations, which is complicated by the diverse nature of the items to be indexed. b. No additional manpower will be added to the Informa- tion and Privacy Staff, thereby limiting the coverage of the index to what can be accomplished with the manpower currently-available. (Indeed, the on-board strength of the Staff may be reduced during the coming months.) c. ?1ith rare exceptions, the file coverage will be confined to records released pursuant to Executive Order 11652, the Freedom of Information Act, and, very selectively, the Privacy Act. Any program to develop a capability for retrieving data concerning other categories of information releases (e.g., information disclosed in the Church and Rockefeller Committee reports, documents or information included in the Pentagon Papers, records released in the course of litigation, press releases, etc.) will result in a separate, but hopefully compatible, system(s). d. The system design should be such as to permit future expansion with respect to slope of coverage and data elements indexed. A0,i11' 1STRAT17 -~ L. lLy Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 x111 hJI triIiYL'L1iiL~~iallL urwLi e. Inputting of records into the existing DECAL system should be continued in the interim, with the expecta- tion that this file will be converted to the new record format as soon as a new index system is opera- tional. E. It would be desirable to retroactively index, on a time-available basis, all significant CIA records released since 19 February 1975, the date that the amended Freedom of Information Act took effect. g. The information retrieval;capabilities represented by the IPS subject case files and the automated log now under development should'be taken into account in the .design and scope of the proposed index to released records. 3. Subject !latter Coverage .Whenever a request is received which duplicates, or is very similar to, one previously processed, we must be able to identify the earlier request( s) d locate all relevant tiIes. Fy so, Coins, we would be able" o searches and reviews, and also ensure that we did not deny information to one requester which had already been released to another. At the risk of over- simplification, it can be said that any of the broad areas listed below could be the subject of repeated requests, and therefore responsive records released should be indexed or retrievable through some other system: a. Reporting and analysis on any foreign intelligence topic. b. Information maintained by the Agency on U.S. domestic organizations and institutions. c. Information pertaining to the Agency mission, functions, organization, history, etc. d. Information on programs '(such as drug experimentation) widely regarded as extralegal or falling outside the Agency charter. e. Information concerning Agency covert action programs, f. Information on public figures (U.S. or foreign; living or dead). Information on topics of proven interest (such as UFOs or the JFK assassination). ly~ 111T Approved For R1~~~1d'CA-]~~~I~fO RO P 2-3 9' Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 4. Records to be Excluded from Index Unindexed material will nonetheless be subject to a measure of control. 111th regard to those records released to the public in connection with FOIA, PA, and EO requests, the IPS case files contain lists of records denied or released in their entirety, plus actual copies of all records released in sanitized form. Moreover, documentation in these files identifies the components holding the records not physically included in the folders. Re- trieval, however, is now limited to retrieval by name of requester or case number (supplemented, of course, by the recollections of individuals who worked on the requests). Indexed material, on the other hand, will be retrievable by any combination of attri- butes (document number, document title, keywords, area code, publication date, original requester, originator, sanitized or declassified, ad inf.). The Information and Privacy Staff currently maintains a s I ATO manual log for all FOIA, PA, and EO requests. The Office of Data Processing has under development an automated logging system to replace the manual log. One of the capabilities of the automated log will be that it will be possible to search the "subject" field, probably through keywords. If this system is implemented, the automated log would thus enable us to identify previous requests for records on named projects, organizations, individuals, etc.--assuming that the search topics had been keyworded--and examine the relevant case files to determine what has been released. It is proposed that the following categories of records-- some of which are seldom involved in request responses anyway-- not be indexed: a. Open source materials. b. Unclassified records, unless released in segregated form. c. Records originated by other agencies, even though they ray contain information derived from CIA reports or concern CIA activities or personnel. d. Unclassified naps, reference aids, intelligence studies, translations of foreign broadcasts and press items, etc., released to the public through the facilities DOCEX/LC, NTIS/Cornerce, or the GPO. ., . .. rr+rs r o ~1u3iil~ii1. Za'Ai i Approved For Ref6se-2007/03/02: C DP87-E)E)E)58RE)E)E}i0O2G0002-3. Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 umrrirvritirtes~- il.c...:4~1~. a~ Us 41.. e. Speeches, Congressional tastir.ony, press releases, and similar materials not involved in requests from the public. f. Records declassified as a result of the 30-year declas- sification review program. g. Records which, if released to anyone other than the original requester, would constitute an invasion of personal privacy. 5. Records to be Included in Index Subject to the exclusions listed above, all records released pursuant to FOIA, Et), and PA requests from the public will be considered for indexing. It is anticipated that all CIA records released in connection with EO (mandatory classification review) requests will be indexed; that a large percentage, but not all, of the CIA records released in connection with FOIA requests will be indexed; and that very few of the CIA records released in con- nection with PA requests will be indexed. It will be the respon- sibility of the IPS case officer to review all releases, identify the records which meet the criteria for inclusion in the file, and set aside copies for indexing. It is expected that the types of CIA records listed below will be among the items indexed: a. Trtelliaence f ation reports and cables STAT b. Finished intelligence (intelligence memoranda and reports, situation reports, current intelligence daily and weekly periodical issuances, biographic reports, STIRs, NI Ss , NIF.s, SNIEs, etc.). The system should be designed to accommodate draft versions, as well as the final disseminated versions of certain of these series, and, of course, the nomenclature has undergone change. c. Typescript monographs--usually in the form of memo- randa--which received limited dissemination. d. Reference aids. e. Staff studies and related policy, management, investi- gative, or operational papers. TIr A~ i .'T;~r?~i1 UN- Approved For Release 2907/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-000588000100250002-3 Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 Correspondence. (Transmittal letters and memoranda containing no substantive information would not be indexed, however, unless released in sanitized fora.) g. Staff cables. Agency administrative issuances such as notices, regulations, directives, handbooks, etc. i. Maps. J. Photographs and motion picture films. .k. Agency histories. 1. Certain computer listings. in. Forms. 6. Other Options Under Consideration It has been suggested that it night be desirable to design the index system so as to accommodate references to "files" as well as individual documents. This option would be followed in instances where a large number of records has been released, many of which would not meet our standards for inclusion in the index (e.g., newsclippings or F?3IS items). Examples would be the "Rosenberg documents" and the "Kennedy assassination" documents. A variation of this approach would be to index selectively individual documents judged to be of general interest, in addition to indexing the "file" as a separate entry. If the Staff's plans for an automated log materialize, however, the file entry approach should be unnec- essary since the log would afford us the sane retrieval capa- bility. Another suggestion is that we explore the possibility of contracting out the tasks of doci.ient indexing and data input preparation. There would seen to be no security problems, and this option would greatly ameliorate the nannower problem. IPS b/16 September 1976 Distribution: Orig. - Acressee 1 - I'PS Chrono 1 'IPS Subject File A U~T -s11``x..USE'ON.Y IVL Approved For Release-2007/03/02 .-61A-RDP87-00O&&R0001-GG2-588O2-3 Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 17 August 1976 FROM . 0111ce o , e Assistant for Information, DDA SUBJECT: Meeting of the Index Working Group, 12 August STAT u1 ODP attended this meeting in the DDA conference room to provide technical guidance on our Index requirements. As a result: of their participation, we agreed that the feasi- bility study should be a joint effort between ODP and CRS. 2. A list of data elements was distributed and reviewed. The following items were agreed upon: IFa. Requester (and his organization, if known; litigants, in the case of court action). b. Source document originator/holding component. C. Document title (expanded, if necessary, to be meaningful; should include the subject of original request; should keyword geographic area and specific subjects covered in the document) . 1. Original. classification. 11uw was document released: (1.) :; in.i.tized (authority and date) or (2) declassified (authority and date). fl. Code and numbering sequence to differentiate FOIA, E.O. 11652 and PA responses. Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3 STAt i. Date of record input (to be done autor tJ~cally by the computer). 3. Also discussed was the disposition of copit of sanitized documents. Several of the people felt that the components should not maintain the sanitized copies; or their own documents but that IPS should be the office of ircord for all document sanitizations. 4. The proposed Index must have an update crip?ih i [ i.ty in order to be a dynamic research aid. If a sanitiv.k-.I docu- ment is requested a second time and more information J s released, the Index must be annotated accordingly. The latest sanitization is the most important since we w-~ot.il.d never release less a second time than we did the first. 5. This was the last formal meeting of the working group. Shortly, will send ODP and CRS the request for a joint feasibility study. Once that is done, additional group meetings may be required to coordinate the details of ..the Index. START Distribution: DI/FIO CI ODP/DDA IPS/DDA , EO/DDS&T ISAS/DDA DDO /DDI DDI Approved For Release 2007/03/02 : CIA-RDP87-00058R000100250002-3