March 1, 2006—In celebration of Sunshine Week, a panel of national experts will discuss the problems, the impact, and the public's response to open government and secrecy in a program broadcast by satellite at 1 p.m. Monday, March 13 to Room 443 in Oberlin's Mudd Center.

The satellite broadcast to Oberlin is free and open to the public. Mudd Center is located in Wilder Bowl behind Wilder Hall/Student Union, 135 West Lorain St.

A discussion facilitated by Reid Wood, a member of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), will follow the 90-minute national conversation. The Friends the Library invite area residents to take part in the discussion, which will originate at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C . Audience members will be able to submit questions and comments by phone and e-mail.

The Oberlin program is co-sponsored by t he College Library, the local League of Women Voters, the Oberlin Public Library, and the local ACLU.

Discussion with the national panelists will explore if policies and procedures promoting transparency can help prepare us for -- and possibly prevent -- crises such as Katrina and recent mining tragedies.

The speakers for the satellite broadcast include moderator Geneva Overholser from the Missouri School of Journalism's Washington bureau and panelists Thomas S. Blanton, National Security Archive, Georgetown University; Thomas M. Susman, Ropes & Gray; and Barbara Petersen, Florida First Amendment Foundation. More information about the broadcast is available online.

National sponsors for the program include the American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, American Society of Newspaper Editors /Sunshine Week, Association of Research Libraries, Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, League of Women Voters, National Freedom of Information Coalition, OpenTheGovernment.org, and the Special Libraries Association.

The first national Sunshine Week was created in 2005 by more than 50 journalism groups whose members wanted to initiate a conversation about why people should have better access to government records. The week was modeled after the successful Sunshine Sunday program that helped Florida citizens fight to preserve access to records in the wake of government tightening since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.