Michelle Mitchell's Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Michelle Mitchell?
My interest in access to information for those strongly influenced by a crime was the 2-24-1976 murder of my then Earl Wooster HS English teacher's daughter, Michelle Mitchell. Her family had given me and John Picollo a small $500 a year Memorial Scholarship in her name which I used to attend the University of Nevada, Reno in the Fall of 1976. My actual birthday is 2-24.
I had started looking for materials to help my fellow English students at Earl Wooster HS. My first option was the downtown Reno Washoe County Public Library. I did this that weekend around February 28, 1976.
I still do that with new libraries of all kinds even in 2023. See what they have for survivors/victims of crimes and their families/friends/neighbors, etc. But now in 2023 and before that there are many useful resources on the Internet.
This was assuming that very few library users would go ask the reference librarian for help with this and not for NOTHING.
Checked libraries for this kind of help in a number of states while earning four degrees from three schools while also taking courses in other states or just taking extra classes.
Often did not find much that would be of any use unless you had training in using a law library.
I did spend much of the 1990s writing many victim/assistance providers across the US and asking them what they would like to see in their State's libraries. And then sharing these with as many people/organizations, etc., as my stamp, envelope, photo-copying budget would allow.