Hiding in Plain Sight

The records of other Texas governors are stored at the Texas State Library and Archives, but George W. Bush has placed his papers at his father's presidential library at Texas A&M University, thereby "putting them in the hands of a federal institution that is not ordinarily bound by the state's tough Public Information Act," reports the New York Times. "That law, among other things, assures anyone who requests state records a reply within 10 days. Officials at the Bush library say the best they can do, given staffing and other priorities, is 90 days, and some requests have taken longer." Archivists who rely heavily on freedom-of-information requests, say Bush is deliberately making it difficult for the public to access records of his administration. "Who needs a shredder when you have Daddy's presidential library?" said James Newcomb, an official with the Better Government Association in Chicago.