A recent New York Times article discussed what local restaurant owners think are the shortcomings of the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's updated database of restaurant inspection scores. Amidst the back and forth between Department of Health and Mental Hygiene staff and the restaurant owners over what was being disclosed is a reminder to public records researchers to always get beyond the data that is presented for searching.
Read MoreCourt Records Often a Good Gateway to Otherwise Private Records
A contract dispute covered recently in The National Law Journal provides another example of how otherwise non-public records can back into the public space through court proceedings.
Read MoreMore on GPO-Transition to Digital Age
Interesting interview with David Walls, now of the GPO and formerly of Yale University, in today's Washington Post.
Read MoreGPO Access
GPO Access is an online collection of federal documents that is administered by the Government Printing Office and funded by the Federal Depository Library Program. The website publishes full-text documents that are produced by the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the federal government.
Read MoreFinancial Reform Bill Establishes New Government Agency with New Set of Public Records Related to Financial Institutions
After passing in the Senate yesterday, a new financial reform bill will soon be signed into law. It outlines various provisions designed to prevent another financial downturn in the United States, including the establishment of a new federal agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Read MoreThe Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization working toward establishing permanent online access to digitized historical collections for future generations. It was founded in 1996 in San Francisco and collaborates with institutions such as the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian to build content. Many of the materials found on the Internet Archive were created online or intended for computer applications, making them difficult to come by in conventional libraries.
Read MoreWARN Act Records
Enacted in 1988, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) Act mandates that employers meeting certain criteria give advance notice of layoffs and plant closures. Since the WARN Act was first passed, many states have passed their own, state-specific versions of the WARN Act. Recently, many newspapers have taken topline WARN Act data and used it to create searchable databases.
Read MoreObtaining Records from Public Transit Systems
Because public transit is taxpayer funded, these companies are subject to state public records laws. Relevant to companies vying for contracts or riders who want to understand why fares are increasing, these records can provide insight into how public transit is operated.
Read MoreIllinois Comptroller’s Joint Database of State Contracts and Campaign Contributions
The Illinois Comptroller's Open Book is a searchable database that returns side-by-side results for state contracts and campaign contributions. The data is drawn from public records that are available separately from the Comptroller's office and the Illinois State Board of Elections, but Open Book makes it easier for researchers to search for potential conflicts of interest.
Read MoreGoogle Caffeine Web Search Indexing Now In Place for All Users
Earlier this week Google announced that Caffeine, its new web search indexing system, now provides search results for all Google search users. Caffeine indexes hundreds of thousands of gigabytes daily by continuously crawling the web to process newly published content.
Read MoreBay Area Public Employee Salary Database
The San Jose Mercury News recently launched a database reporting salary information for Bay Area public employees. This data has been available via written requests under the California Public Records Act since a unanimous 2007 California Supreme Court decision mandated public employee salary data was a public record, but this new online database makes the information readily accessible and searchable online.
Read MoreNational Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is an excellent resource if you need to compare public school systems or public universities across several states or nationwide. This division of the US Department of Education is responsible for collecting and publishing information related to elementary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions.
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