MODULE 02 // ABOUT THE DESK
A research desk for the question behind the request
Information Requirements exists because a public-records request is only as good as the homework behind it. We do that homework: what exists, who holds it, what the request must contain, how long the custodian has, and what shape the answer should arrive in.
01 // WHO WE ARE
Small desk, specific job
We are a Colorado research firm based in Centennial, in the Denver metro area. The desk is run by Kariel Bennett, and the work is deliberately narrow: we do not interpret records, argue about them or give legal advice. We map the requirements around them, so that the people who need the information — researchers, journalists, small businesses, attorneys' support staff — can ask for it correctly the first time.
Every engagement ends in the same artefact: a requirements map. It names the sources, the identifiers, the correct custodian, the statutory clock and the delivery format, and every line points at something you could verify yourself.
02 // HOW WE WORK
Three rules the desk runs on
Everything is sourced
If the map says an office holds a series, the map says where that came from: a published index, an agency retention schedule, a records officer's own page. No line rests on memory.
Specific beats thorough-sounding
A request that names one series, one date range and one identifier outperforms a request that asks for "everything related to" a subject. We write for the clerk who has to run the search.
Gaps are stated, not hidden
When an index stops at a certain year, when a custodian publishes nothing, or when the honest answer is that the record probably does not exist, the map says so in writing.
03 // WHERE WE WORK
Centennial, Colorado
The office is at 6422 S. Quebec Street, Suite 307, in Centennial, Colorado — close enough to Denver's state and county offices to visit them, quiet enough to read.
Coverage is Colorado and federal records as standard. Requests involving other states are taken on when the custodian publishes a usable index or a clear channel for written requests; when we cannot help, we say so at the first conversation rather than at the end of it.
Appointments are by arrangement, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Mountain Time. Most engagements start with an email and never need a meeting at all.
kariel@informationrequirements:~$ whois --desk
Bring us the request that keeps bouncing
Send the question, the custodian you tried and what came back. We will tell you whether a requirements map can fix it.