The Art of access (2010)

Second edition, by David Cuillier and Charles N. Davis (CQ Press, 2019) Knowing the public records law is only half the job; this book is about the other half, getting an official to actually hand the records over. Cuillier and Davis treat access as an art that needs an organized approach and an understanding of human behavior, and they work through finding which records exist and where to ask, dealing with the officials who hold them, handling a denial and knowing when to use more forceful options. They also explain how to get data and whole databases. At under 250 pages it reads quickly, and it pairs naturally with a state-by-state guide to the law itself.