A series of stories reported by Mississippi journalists during last week’s “Sunshine Week” observance lamented that Mississippi is not keeping pace with other states in placing on the Internet information of interest to consumers that is contained in public records.

It should be acknowledged that great strides have been made in what people can readily find out about their government online and about service-related firms that are inspected by or who must file reports with state regulators.

Want to know how much U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson spent in the last election? It’s on the Internet.

Want to find out what contracts the Mississippi Department of Transportation has entered? It’s on the Internet.

Want to look up a City of Vicksburg ordinance, a state Supreme Court decision, a pending piece of legislation? Want to see if an inmate is still in prison? All are on the Internet.

And lots more.

The Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure provides a form that can be printed out and faxed or mailed in to file a formal complaint against a doctor. The attorney general’s Web site provides instant connection to its consumer protection division. Want to see if your favorite restaurant has been cited for roaches in the kitchen? The Mississippi Department of Health inspectors’ reports are online.

More could and should be done.

The biggest problem with open records and open meetings in Mississippi continues to be attitude. There are officials who, for purposes of self-protection, believe the less the public knows the better. And there are those who understand and honor the fact that they serve in positions of public trust and have no fear of accountability.

The attitude is set at the top. The last pro-openness governor Mississippi had was William Winter who left office 25 years ago. Gov. Haley Barbour has a record of being guarded in what he believes should be public information. Contrast that with his fellow Republican, Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida, who has continued the push in that state toward as much openness as possible. To that end he created a commission charged with finding ways to make it faster and easier for people to be informed and implemented most of the recommendations. Barbour should do the same to set a new tone in Mississippi.

Red herrings often raised are cost and intrusion on personal privacy. The cost should be minimal, since records gathered in digital form can be linked to the Internet sites agencies already have. Privacy is important, but few records of value to consumers have protected personal information.

It’s an area where Mississippi has no excuse to be last and, with a modicum of leadership, could quickly move to first.