Local History Research Guide

Local History Writing Guides

Bringing Your Family History to Life through Social History. Cincinnati, OH: Betterway Books, 2000. [CS 16 .S862 2000].

Families and Communities: A New View of American History. Nashville: American Association of State and Local History, 1974. [F 175 .R 87].

Local History: A Guide for Research and Writing. Washington, DC: National Education Association, 1981. [D 13 .M25].

Nearby History: Exploring the Past Around Us. Nashville: American Association of State and Local History, 1982. [E175 .K94].

On Doing Local History: Reflections on What Local Historians Do, Why, and What it Means. Nashville: American Association of State and Local History, 1986. [E 180 .K28].

Public Places: Exploring their History. Nashville: American Association of State and Local History, 1987. [E 180 .D36].

Local History Research
Strategy Steps:

Guide Introduction
Choose a Topic
Find Background Information
Narrow Your Topic and Form a Research Question
Find Research Materials
Evaluate and Cite Sources
Formulate a Thesis Statement
Write the Paper

The Pursuit of Local History: Readings on Theory and Practice. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 1996. [E 160 .P87 1996].

Researching, Writing, and Publishing Local History. Nashville, Tenn.: American Association for State and Local History, 1981. [D 13 .F387].

Rethinking Home: A Case Study for Writing Local History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. [F 605.2 .A43 2002].

Underfoot: An Everyday Guide to Exploring the American Past. New York: Scribner, 1976. [E 175.7 W44 1976].

Writing Local History: the Use of Social Statistics. Nashville, 1970. [E 172 .A583x no. 7].