California Genealogical Society and Library

I’m a member of the genealogy society and I highly recommend this library for beginner to seasoned genealogists. The genealogy society offers many classes and leads trips to major libraries (e.g. Family History Library in SLC). For those of you that really liked the Who Do You Think You Are series and want to get started on your own family genealogy, I highly recommend the free Intro to Genealogy classes offered every 1^st Sat. The library is also free to the public on these days but it does tend to get busier than usual.
As far as resources, the library holds a good collection of California records but also holds records for other US states (and beyond). On certain days one can access a private phonebook collection, which is often a great source of information. And, last but not least, they have the major online genealogy subscriptions that you can access on the computers there (and possibly from your own laptop). The library volunteers are very helpful and friendly. My only complaint is that it would be wonderful if the library was larger or was open more for people that work M-​F.
Parking on Saturdays is free (get a parking pass from the front desk) and it’s really easy to walk there from 19^th Oakland BART station. If you want to spend the day, there are nearby restaurants and cafes for a quick sandwich or burrito. Or you can bring your own food and eat in the kitchen area. There are lockers provided for storage of bags and food since these are not allowed in the library areas.

This library is a great resource for genealogist and family historians. The library contains more resources for other areas than it does for California. Most of the California stuff ends up at the state library.
The library also subscribes to the major online research genealogy and history sites. There are computers and helpful people. My favorite books to look at are the city directories. Even before everyone had phones people were listed in these directories. I can go year by year and see who stayed put and who moved. Or I can go online to find a copy of a form that a 19^th century ancestor signed and print it out.
They also have educational programs on the weekends. You can join this society or pay by visit
I have people tell me «our family history was done years ago.» It usually some old aunt who researched it and it is often wrong. And it is really never done; one fact makes you look for another, one name leads to a few more. This library is the ideal place to start your research, add to it, or check if what you have is right.

Nice facility and exceptionally nice folks. Have joined, and am just starting to dig into the resources offered. The library has some interesting and unique items, and while the name might lead you to think it’s primarily California material, there’s a wealth of material covering the rest of the country.
Since I work in downtown Oakland, it would be great if they had more hours during the week (only open Thu-​Fri), but really helpful to locals that they have Saturday hours. Looking forward to spending more time researching here.

If you are doing any search, if it’s your first day or you’ve been sleuthing for awhile, this is a great place to start and this is a free class, so you have nothing to lose.
Marybeth and Craig, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
While I’m not a newbie to my families Histories Mysteries, I still learned something. I learned that what I was doing was right and I found some new sources that I wasn’t aware of and I was able to share some of my resources with some other attendees.
Thank’s Ivy R. for sharing this event with me, I had a great day with you.
I realized as we were leaving that I used to work upstairs back in the early 1980’s… small world.

I just became a member — yay! And now we’re trying to put in to works a Chinese American research day! Watch out, I’m coming to recruit YOU!