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29 Legal Reference Services Q. 1 (2010)

handle is hein.journals/lgrefsq29 and id is 1 raw text is: Legal Reference Services Quarterly, 29:1-21, 2010 Routledge Copyright 0 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Taylor& Francis Group ISSN: 0270-319X print / 1540-949X online DOI: 10.1080/02703190903554934 Access to Online Local Government Public Records: The Privacy Paradox DAVID S. BYRNE Long Island University, Brookville, New York, USA Local governments are required to provide open access to their records as a matter of law; however, there is growing public con- cern about the security ofprivate information found in thesefiles. Before the advent of the Internet, individuals enjoyed a level of practical obscurity, as viewing public records required the time and effort of a visit to the records'physical location and prevented easy access to details of individual files. However, the introduction of the Web and the availability of digital documents have caused an unavoidable conflict. On the one band, the government is re- quired to provide the public with a transparent view of its activities by offering open access to its records, and on the other hand, local governments need to secure their citizens' right to privacy. Espe- cially since September 11, 2001, and the problems associated with identity theft, finding the right balance between accessibility and privacy is not a simple task. The purpose of this article is to re- port on the accessibility and extent of personal information found within online local government records and to understand how local governments are managing the dichotomy between providing open access to their records with maintaining the privacy rights of the public. KEYWORDS local government records, personally identifiable information, privacy, public records, social security number INTRODUCTION Do you remember Joe the Plumber? He was a regular guy until the day he was thrust into the spotlight by the 2008 Presidential Election campaign. Then Address correspondence to David S. Byrne, M.L.S., M.S. - Chief Researcher, Water- front Commission of New York Harbor, 39 Broadway, New York, NY 10006. E-mail: Dbyrne2000@yahoo.com 1

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