Aircraft tracking sites like FlightAware assist with the verification of an individual's whereabouts - whether that individual is the athletic director at a major university or a high ranking corporate officer dropping in on a potential acquisition or merger target. When combined with other data points (i.e., a coaching search is underway or the plane landed in the small airport next to the company's biggest competitor), this information could be used to deliver solid analysis.
Read MoreLearning Where Records Live
The California Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) just released its 2011 Cal Facts report, providing an overview of government spending and the performance of state-funded programs. In addition to publishing numerous policy-based reports, the LAO publishes studies that provide roadmaps for public records researchers.
Read MoreAcademic Community Using Crowd-Sourcing to Transcribe Handwritten Documents
The New York Times recently reported that British scholars are experimenting with crowd-sourcing to expedite the transcription of 40,000 handwritten documents by philosopher and British social critic Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832).
Read MoreAmerican Community Survey Data Available For Download and As Interactive Maps
Last week, the American Community Survey (ACS) released its first dataset of five-year estimates for population and housing trends nationwide. The New York Times compiled the five-year estimate based on data collected between January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2009, into a set of interactive maps called "Every City, Every Block."
Read MoreCalifornia Court Salary Database Now Available Online
The Bay Area News Group recently released a database compiling salary data for judges and other California court employees.
Read MoreGoogle Books Makes Content of Millions of Books Searchable
The launch of Google Books has made the content of seven million books available and searchable.
Read MoreComparison of Worldwide Public Records
To sum up our worldwide public records series, we've prepared a chart comparing key aspects of the laws enacted in the US, Canada, the UK and India.
Read MoreUnited Kingdom: Freedom of Information (FOI) Act
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act was enacted in 2000 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to replace a 1994 code that outlined voluntary guidelines for releasing government information. Its guidelines extend to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Scotland has its own Freedom of Information Act.
Read MoreIndia: Right to Information (RTI) Act
Freedom of information laws were first adopted at the state level beginning in 1997. These statewide laws set the precedent for the Indian Parliament to implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2005. The RTI Act has since mandated government transparency for all of India except for the states of Jammu and Kashmir, which instead enforce individual state laws.
Read MoreOnline Resource for Canadian Legal Records
Established by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the non-profit Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) provides Canadian legal records available free of charge on the Internet. CanLII maintains an online database compiling legislation with decisions issued by Canadian courts, boards and tribunals.
Read MoreCanada: Access to Information Act
Canada's Access to Information Act was enacted in 1983 under the Pierre Trudeau government to establish public access to government documents. In addition to the federal act, each province has also passed individual freedom of information laws to govern provincial and local level agencies.
Read MoreCalifornia City and County Employee Salary Data Now Online
As promised last August in response to the Bell salary scandal, State Controller John Chiang has collected salary data for all California city and county employees to create an online database. This data has always been public information, but few local governments had made it readily available.
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