Which guideline suggests becoming familiar with the library and its resources?

• A. Use public records and private sources
• B. Find as much information on your own
• C. Learn and follow established procedures
• D. Become familiar with the library and its resources

Answer: (D)

Becoming familiar with the library and its resources is about building a reliable route to information. Knowing how to use the library—its catalogs, databases, reference materials, periodicals, government documents, and how to get help from librarians—lets you locate relevant records efficiently and verify facts through credible sources. In investigative work, this proactive familiarity often provides access to sources not easily found through casual searching, including specialized databases and primary documents. While other practices—pulling from public records and private sources, digging for information on your own, or following established procedures—are important, they don’t specifically center on tapping the library as a structured information hub, which is the core idea of this guideline.