Since its inception in 1966,the Freedom of Information Act has required federal agencies to make certain categories of records"available for public inspection and copying." Subsequently, the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996 required the creation of virtual reading rooms, accessible through the Internet.

Produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian, Foreign Relations of the United States is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication.

Many of the Presidential Libraries, administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries under the National Archives and Records Administration, provide access to scanned, declassified documents.