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AMST/ANTH 100 - Hear, Here: The Oral History of Williamsburg

A word of caution when looking for local information

Remember: finding local information about Williamsburg can be difficult, and often the ideal information you'd love to have simply won't exist. One strategy for finding this kind of information is to consider what relevant data points/news stories/government or organization information might be captured somewhere online, and consider who might have it, instead of starting with what would be amazing to find.

For instance, if you're considering speaking about LGBTQ+ history in Williamsburg and want to know how many Williamsburg residents consider themselves part of that community, consider whether documentation of LGBTQ+ identity actually gets captured on an individual level (hint: it doesn't - no government entity would require people to identify themselves in that way). What information could you gather instead? News stories about queer families/organizations? Research whether there are any LGBTQ+ orgs in the area? 

The following sources can get you started, but depending on your topic you will likely need to use Google and the Libraries to find additional government/organizational/news websites. If you're having any trouble, don't forget you're not alone in this. Ask for help from a librarian or your professor. 

Relevant Williamsburg Sources

Newspapers

Governmental Websites

Demographic/Voting Databases

A few examples of potentially useful Williamsburg organizations: