The California Genealogical Society, celebrating their 120th Anniversary this year, has a library located in Oakland, California. They are open three days a week, Thursday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Non-members can research for free on the first Saturday of the month, however, the research fee for other days is only $5.

The library is filled with books and periodicals from all over the United States, with the bulk from New England, Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest. Other areas with good coverage is California and family histories. Check the catalog at California Genealogical Society on Worldcat. The entire catalog is part of WorldCat. Special collections include city directories from all over California, especially Oakland and San Francisco, a manuscript collection, and a vertical file collection. The manuscript and vertical files can be searched.

The library computers have internet access and several subscription websites (Ancestry, Fold3, AmericanAncestors, NewspaperArchive, Vital-Search, and HistoryGeo). For more information about the library, see CaliforniaAncestors.org/CGS Library.

The society also has classes on many genealogical topics. An introduction class is taught on the first Saturday. Other classes can be found on their Events Calendar. The research team conducts genealogical research for others. There are databases on the website and the research team can do the lookups.

On weekdays, parking is a little scarce but there are parking lots and garages nearby, as well as metered parking on the street. The 19th Street Oakland BART station is two blocks away. On Saturdays, the parking lot in the rear is available free for visitors to the library with a special permit that can be obtained in the library.