I don’t see why—in 2012—you still have to ask for public records to gain access to them.

It made sense in the old days, when you simply couldn’t access documents without asking first. They were stored in filing cabinets, and some poor clerk had to get up and retrieve them for you before you could read them.

You’d think those days would be long gone, two decades after the Internet went mainstream. But even in an age where your grandmother has her own blog, public institutions require you to send in a request so a paid staffer can retrieve your document for you.

There’s also some lingering apprehension about things being “too accessible.” People don’t want divorce papers and FBI profile available to nosy neighbors and information brokers by the mere click of a mouse.

This is silly.

If a police blotter is public enough to let anyone read it at the station, it’s public enough to put online. If you’re worried about who reads it, don’t make it all public.

I propose an Online Public Records Accessibility standard (it comes with a free catchy acronym) for public institutions to adopt. Here’s what it might look like.

1. Any public content committed to a fixed medium shall be accessible through a website.
2. People should not need to “log in” to a website to access public records.
3. Hyperlinks leading to public records should be styled 12 pt font or higher, and should be visible without user interaction.
4. Documents should be directly available for download within 3 clicks of the website’s front page.

That wasn’t so hard, was it?

What would you add to such a standard? Do you think we need one?