“ Each agency shall establish one or more FOIA Requester Service Centers (Center) , as appropriate, which shall serve as the first place that a FOIA requester can contact to seek information concerning the status of the person’s FOIA request and appropriate information about the agency’s FOIA response. The Center shall include appropriate staff to receive and respond to inquiries from FOIA requesters; (ii) The agency Chief FOIA Officer shall designate one or more agency officials, as appropriate, as FOIA Public Liaisons, who may serve in the Center or who may serve in a separate office. ”

“ The effective functioning of our constitutional democracy depends upon the participation in public life of a citizenry that is well informed. For nearly four decades, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has provided an important means through which the public can obtain information regarding the activities of Federal agencies. ”

“ Under the FOIA, the public can obtain records from any Federal agency, subject to the exemptions enacted by the Congress to protect information that must be held in confidence for the Government to function effectively or for other purposes. (b) FOIA requesters are seeking a service from the Federal Government and should be treated as such. ”