Finding information and documents at the local level can be challenging because each municipality organizes its information differently. Doing historical research can be even harder since older documents may not be online at all. Still, there are some things worth trying. (Consider reaching out to Simon for help!)
Here are some general tips for local-level research:
- Look up your city's archives. Many large US cities have some kind of archives that preserves and (sometimes) makes available historical materials.
- Find the public library's website. Many public libraries offer some kind of historical materials. Libraries at universities and colleges in or near the city are also worth checking. (For example, Temple University Libraries Digital Collections has lots of photographs and documents from Philadelphia's history.)
- Explore the city's official website (e.g. nyc.gov, lacity.gov). Try searching for the exact names of the departments and offices of interest to you and the names of their head administrators. These can be useful search terms within the official site and beyond, including news coverage and social media.
- To find city council meeting minutes and other documents, check if your municipality uses any of these common public information management systems There are a handful of platforms that are popular among local governments. If your city uses one or more of these platforms, you may be able to get access to legislative materials, meeting minutes and agendas, and other documents.
To find local legislative and other materials, try doing a quick Google search for your municipality's name plus one of the following terms in bold:
- Public meeting videos are another possible source.
- Try Youtube, Vimeo, or a Google search limited to video
- Some cities (e.g. NYC) maintain a separate site for videos from public meetings.
- LocalView - largest dataset of public meetings by city
