Research Research

My Public Affairs Reporting class went to the library to learn how to research public records. I discovered a lot of resources I was unaware of, and how to access them. The USF Tampa library has a plethora of research tools and tangibles.

The government records librarian, Cheryl McCoy, created this great resource page specifically for JOU 4181, Public Affairs Reporting. All the links she put up, are very direct to where one may need to go, or will redirect the researcher/journalist if need be. I will be using Cheryl's "Course Guide" frequently until I can no longer access it.

Unfortunately, when it comes to searching the Pinellas County website, I was already familiar with it, and its public records search. However, I did learn that a helpful tool can be the Pinellas County Sherriff's Office website, in addition to the criminal courts records search available through the Pinellas County website.

I also love the Clendinen Virtual Library. I love that I can directly access the current edition of the local newspapers. The Times website is too hard to navigate through sometimes. I found reading/searching the newspaper through Clendinen is much less of a headache.

I learned that the "Sunshine Laws" translates to a government under the sun--almost everything government related is open to the public--it can't hide from the sun. I also learned to access public records through the Attorney General's office. I never would have thought to go there. I also learned that there are Vital Records accessible through the state website that will give birth, death, marriage licenses, etc.

It was an eye opening class. There are tons of resources available that I didn't know about or think about, and I'm sure there are even more that I will discover on my path as a journalist.