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What are your tips for journalists when working with a librarian for the first time?
Hines: Remember that librarians are trained information professionals who can help you fact check or track down information for a story. We have advanced knowledge about search techniques and strategies, and know of archives and digital collections you may not even know exist. We also know what to do next when something doesn’t come up easily in a Google search. And yes, there IS a lot you can do.
Be very clear about your expectations. For example, do you just need a quick recommendation for a data source, or do you need help finding and evaluating a particular piece of information?
Communicate your deadline up front. Exactly when do you need this information? This way we can tell you right away if we can accommodate you or perhaps refer you to someone who can. The thing about librarians is that once we get started — it’s hard for us to stop. So, if you don’t give us a deadline you may end up receiving emails with additional resources for weeks afterward.
Can you share examples of records or databases that journalists can access through their local libraries without submitting an open records request?
Hines: I always recommend that journalists go to their local library’s website and look at the digital databases and resources they offer — many of which can be used remotely just by logging in with a library card number. You may be surprised by the selection.
I know of public libraries that subscribe to databases for finding full-text scholarly research like Academic Search Complete and platforms for finding background data on newsworthy topics like Gale’s Opposing Viewpoints. Many provide access to robust news archives, allowing you to easily search for prior coverage without hitting a paywall.
Several public libraries pay for tools like Data Axle which is a directory of business, healthcare, and residential listings.
For finding government information, the sites www.govinfo.gov and catalog.gpo.gov are good resources. If you have access to an academic library — many public academic libraries will give you guest access to their subscription databases while in the building.
You can see if they have databases like Policy Commons — a platform that preserves and curates reports from NGOs, think tanks, and government agencies. Or VoxGov, which provides access to documents, press releases, and social media posts from all branches, offices, agencies, and elected officials of the U.S. Federal Government.
And one of my favorite Google search hacks: Entering your keywords before site:gov to bring back content from only government websites. You can also narrow by date.
What are your tips for journalists when interviewing subject matter experts?
Hines: Many academic libraries have subject specialist librarians who are experts in how to conduct research and find information within a certain discipline. For example, our government information librarian is a whiz at knowing what agencies produce certain kinds of information and the best ways to access that information.
If you are covering a story that heavily dips into a certain area, consider searching for the nearest large academic library to you and looking at their subject librarian list. From there, you can reach out with questions or to ask to meet for a research consultation. I just did this the other day with a journalist over Zoom.
Remember that most librarians can connect you with data sources and research, and even help identify experts to interview, but shouldn’t be the subject of an interview themselves — unless you are writing a story about libraries or information literacy.
What advice do you have for journalists for reviewing a large number of files or data on a tight deadline?
Hines: I often tell journalism students to look for secondary sources that may have already synthesized a large amount of data for you.
For example, a systematic review paper gathers and analyzes all the published scholarship surrounding a particular research question and provides a consensus and key takeaways. Or you can sometimes find government and industry reports related to large data sets that have pulled together trends and themes complete with nice visualizations.
How does one find such sources? You know what I’m going to say — ask a librarian! Many academic libraries have data analysis guides like this one from the University of Texas at Austin.
See more tips from Hines on how journalists can partner with librarians to get the story.
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