A majority of agencies have not even issued proposed implementing regulations. We are told that some agencies still delete E-mail as if it were not a federal record. Some who now realize that electronic mail is significant still print it out in order to respond to FOI requests, rather than provide it in electronic format asked for by many requesters. Most have not yet established the comprehensive electronic reading rooms the Act anticipated. Existing electronic reading rooms are often information poor.
Backlogs are the rule rather than the exception.
The only dif ference is that now a requester receives a phone call or letter saying the agency can't get you the records within 20 days, as opposed to 10 days in the past. It still takes weeks or months or years to finally get the records. We have watched some experienced agency FOI officers respond enthusiastically to the mandates of the Act, building robust Web pages filled with useful information. They have worked closely with information resource managers to develop electronic informat ion that is easily accessible to users and that will meet their needs. By affirmatively making useful information routinely available, they will reduce the burdens involved in processing formal FOI requests.