2006 Public Access to Government Information (PAGI) Award Winners

Established in 1998, the PAGI Award recognizes persons or organizations that have made significant contributions to protect and promote greater access to government information. The Government Relations Committee (GRC) solicits nominations, reviews those nominations, and recommends from two to four nominees to the AALL Awards Committee. The Awards Committee then makes a final decision concerning the recommending nominees. A winner need not be chosen every year.

This year's winners have distinguished themselves as leaders in the field of legal information by promoting equal access to government information. The importance of public access to government information cannot be disputed. The PAGI Award recognizes this importance. The GRC and the Awards Committee thank this year's winners for their commitment to this cause.

National Indian Law Library (NILL) (http://www.narf.org): The NILL is the most comprehensive and valuable collection of Indian Law Resources available. Access is provided to tribal constitutions, codes and federal Indian law resources. NILL's director David Selden and associate director Monica Martens are to be commended for their commitment to increasing public access to NILL's print and electronic collections. The NILL is funded by the Native American Right Fund and grants.

Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists: Steve is a senior research analyst at the Federation of American Scientists and director of is Project on Government Secrecy. For the past fifteen years, he has worked diligently to reduce the scope of government secrecy, to accelerate the declassification of cold war documents, and to promote the reform of official secrecy practices. He writes and edits the Secrecy News, a valuable and timely email newsletter that informs the public, the news media, and government officials of the latest developments in secrecy, security, and intelligence policies. Catch Steve at the Annual Legislative and Regulatory Update on Sunday at 2:45 P.M.

Please attend the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, July 9 from 2:45 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. in the America's Center Room 230 and congratulate the NILL and Steve Aftergood as they receive their PAGI Award.

Eric W. Young