Bridging the Civic Information Gap: A Comparative Study of Documenters' Notes and Meeting Minutes

Abstract

The Documenters Network was founded to make local public meeting information more accessible to community residents. Public meetings and their documentation are understudied. With fewer local journalists and declining journalistic coverage, these records now serve as storytelling tools for residents engaged with local government processes. This study compares official minutes taken by city staff with notes taken by Documenters at 46 public meetings. Using a combination of content analysis approaches, it examines these records based on accessibility, transparency, and the provision of additional context. This study addresses gaps in research on meeting documentation, evaluates how effectively each type fills civic information gaps created by the decline of local journalism, and highlights their importance in fostering transparency and participation.