The Sacramento Bee
Editorial Library
WHO Customers | Library Staff
WHAT LASR | Photos | Books | CD-ROMs | Microfilm and Microfiche | Clippings |
Online Information | Internet | Intranet
WHERE Location
WHEN Hours
HOW Contacting the Library

Customers

The Editorial Library serves primarily Sacramento Bee news staff, but other Bee departments are welcome to visit the Library to use books, micorfilm and newspapers. The facility is not open to the public. Calls from the public requesting copies of published stories should be directed to Beesearch, 326-5566. BeeSearch charges $5 plus tax for computer printouts of LASR stories and $10 plus tax for microfilm copies. The BeeSearch voice mail is open 9-3 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday.

Library Staff

Pete Basofin, library manager
Becky Boyd
Jason Coughran
Monica Jackson
Roberto Romero
Cecelia Weaver

LASR

LASR is the computerized database of Bee staff and wire stories published since Jan. 1, 1985. LASR is accessed using the SII-Coyote editorial terminals. Stories may be retrieved by searching on words and phrases found in the text of the articles. LASR is easy to learn and use. Contact the Library for a 40 minute orientation.

Photos

The Library maintains a small collection of print photographs arranged by personal name and subject. Since 1993, wire pictures have been stored in the AXS computer database. Except for a some published items, most Bee staff pictures are kept in the Photo Department in negative files. Generally the only new pictures filed in the Library are publicity handouts of TV shows, movies and musical groups. Please use the Photo Checkout form whenever borrowing images from the Library.

Books

The Library houses more than 1,000 reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, statistics, directories, biographical resources, histories, etc.). These items have been classified with the Dewey Decimal System. You may search for books by title or keyword with this
intranet catalog.

CD-ROMs

The Library provides several important CD-ROM products which may be used on desktop computers in the newsroom and library. These include PhoneDisc national reverse directory, 1990 Census stats for California places, California Consumer Affairs Department directory of professional licensees, California Equalization Board directory of sales tax payers, and TRW property tax records.

Microfilm and Microfiche

Microfilm rolls of complete Sacramento Bee editions from 1857 to present are available in the Library. Also available are microfiche copies of Bee clippings arranged by subject heading. About one-third of the clipping collection is preserved as microfiche. The rest are in paper files. The Library microfilm reader/printer can produce photocopies of both microfilm and microfiche items.

Clippings

Most Bee articles prior to 1986 are housed in clipping files in the basement cage. These are organized by topic with names of people and businesses separate from other subjects. The age of these files varies from topic to topic. Generally they go back to 1960-70. Please ask the Library Staff to retrieve paper clippings.

Online Information

The Library subscribes to a number of commercial online services, including DataTimes, NEXIS/LEXIS, Dialog, Dow Jones. These databases provide access to many newspaper, magazine, wire, and governmental databases. Also available are two people investigation tools.

Internet

The Internet World Wide Web is accessible from most PCs and Macs in the newsroom and Library. Contact the Library for training. The Newsroom
home page contains lists of Internet sites of importance to journalists.

Intranet

Editorial Library Intranet resources are accessible through the same web browsing software you use to search the greater Internet. The only difference is that these databases may be used only within the Bee building. Currently there are three Intranet databases:
Sacramento Bee Library Book Catalog, Sacramento Region Voter Registration Records and Sacramento County Criminal Index.

Location

The Editorial Library is currently located on the 2nd floor, back of the Newsroom adjacent to the Sports Desk.

Hours

The Editorial Library is open 24 hours a day, but is staffed for a limited number of hours:

Monday-Friday, 7-7 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday, 7-3 p.m.

Please note: the Library is unable to respond to research requests on the weekends, except for important breaking stories. We would appreciate research requests submitted no later than 6 p.m. on Friday.

Contacting the Library

Requests of the Library Staff may be be made in-person or by phone (321-1108), however the most efficient way to communicate is by SII e-mail to the LIBRARY message group.