§ 1.2 Public reading rooms.

(a) Components within the USDA maintain public reading rooms containing the records that the FOIA requires to be made regularly available for public inspection in an electronic format. Each component is responsible for determining which of its records are required to be made publicly available, as well as identifying additional records of interest to the public that are appropriate for public disclosure, and for posting and indexing such records. Each component shall ensure that its reading room and indices are reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. (b) A link to USDA Electronic Reading Rooms can be found on the USDA public FOIA website. (c) In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2), each component within the Department shall make the following materials available for public inspection and copying (unless they are promptly published and copies offered for sale): (1) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases; (2) Those statements of policy and interpretation which have been adopted by the agency and are not published in the Federal Register; (3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public; (4) Copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have been released to a person pursuant to a FOIA request under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3), and have been requested three or more times; and (5) Copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have been released to a person pursuant to a FOIA request under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3), and which because of the nature of their subject matter, have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records. Components shall decide on a case by case basis whether records meet these requirements, based on the following factors: (i) Previous experience with similar records; (ii) The particular characteristics of the records involved, including their nature and the type of information contained in them; and (iii) The identity and number of requesters and whether there is widespread media, historical, academic, or commercial interest in the records.