While the majority of public records begin as government documents, there are instances when private records are backed into the public record via court filings.

As the amount of information available online increases and people become more reliant upon the Internet for information, technology companies are developing new features for search engines that can process an incomprehensible amount of data into organized, user-friendly results. New search features are constantly developed to deliver targeted results and ultimately make Internet research as efficient as possible.

With the ever-increasing availability of freely accessible government datasets, developers are seizing opportunities to reprogram these public records into Internet applications that are more relevant for the general public. One such trend is hyperlocal news web sites, such as EveryBlock. EveryBlock aggregates (and makes searchable) civic information from multiple public records dataset.

After being hired by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last June, World Wide Web creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee last week launched a free web site that offers access to a wide range of data from the British government.  The web site, Data.gov.uk, has been heralded for offering the public unprecedented access to government information ranging [...]

An institution that receives a majority of its funding from the state is typically then subject to state freedom of information laws. Following is an overview of each state’s law regarding requesting public records from publicly funded institutions.