William B. McAllister received his Ph.D. in Modern European and Diplomatic History from the University of Virginia. He has conducted research at over three dozen archives in five countries. For two decades McAllister served in historical researcher and supervisory positions at the Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, during which he held a security clearance that enabled him to conduct archival research of classified documents in secure settings. He has published three books, multiple articles and chapters in edited volumes, and produced a variety of unclassified and classified studies for the U.S. government.

This workshop outlines essential information about how archives function and explains how to utilize archival institutions’ websites to locate documents and finding aids online. The presentation portion will focus primarily on holdings at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland and some other U.S. government sites, but will also provide information about non-government archival institutions. Participants will then immediately engage in a workshop experience, exploring online research sources specific to their topic. 

NB: Participants should bring a laptop to the session to maximize their workshop experience.