Nixon Watergate grand jury testimony released by National Archives.
Read MoreSocial Media as Research Tool-Sunlight Foundation Lobbyist Twitter List
Sunlight Foundation has compiled a list of federal lobbyists using Twitter. Great illustration of how to use social media for research purposes.
Read MoreFaye Dunaway's Day in Housing Court Illustrates How Case Files are Built
Faye Dunaway's day in NYC Housing Court arrives; shows how court case files are built and documented
Read MoreNY Times Public Editor Weighs in On "Author Line" Disclosure, Calls for More
NY Times Public Editor calls for increased income source transparency for expert op-ed authors
Read MoreHistorically Significant Grand Jury Proceedings May become Public
AG Eric Holder has petitioned to make historically significant grand jury proceedings public in some circumstances.
Read MoreNYT First Mention Highlights Utility of Newspaper Archive Search
New York Times digital archive points the way on digitizing old content for searchable access
Read More2012 Statistical Abstract Released
Not quite as exciting as when the new phone book is here (the new phone book is here) but close: 2012 Statistical Abstract published
Read MoreRequest for FBI Watch List a Good FOIA Primer
FBI Watch List FOIA response very instructive on what is and what isn't released under FOIA.
Read More401k Annual Reports Available Online and By Employer
Find out how much is in a company's 401k plan and whether all of its employees participate using the Department of Labor Form 5500 search engine.
Read MoreLegiStorm Update -- Great Resource for Records on Congress
LegiStorm keeps improving and is positioned as the premier site for Congressional expense and other data. Worth a look.
Read MoreCalifornia Watch Lobbying Interest Database
California Watch -- the independent journalism collaborative founded by the Center for Investigative Reporting and staffed by top shelf journalists -- has created a database that enables researchers to input California bill numbers and learn which interests lobbied on the measures. This data is drawn from California Form 635 on which registered lobbyists declare what measures they have lobbied, along with the aggregate amount they have spent on lobbying. Prior to the California Watch system going live, researchers could access the data by interest group (i.e., by reviewing each lobbyist's filing) but not by measure number. So, this tool will enable a whole new type of analysis.
Read more about the system and some noted limitations here.
Novel Use of Public Records -- Cincinnati Designers Print 1950s Mug Shots as Notebook Covers
Last week, we commented on NARA’s planned destruction of bankruptcy and federal court records from the period between 1970 and 1995. Be confidant that NARA will undertake the destruction in a manner that actually leads to the records being destroyed. Not so with a number of mug shots from the1950sthat were “destroyed” by the Alameda County (CA) Sheriff’s Department. Rather than shred the mug shots, the department threw them in a dumpster. From the dumpster the photos made their way to a flea market and ultimately into the hands of two Cincinnati-based designers who have digitally altered them (substituting “Cincinnati” for “Alameda County” in the place identifier and enhancing the photos) and are now using them as notebook covers.
Contacted by The New York Times about the matter, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department affirmed that arrest records are public records in California and not subject to copyright but otherwise didn’t address the privacy debate surrounding the mugshot notebooks.
Want a notebook or to learn more about the designers? Try their Facebook page here.