The California Genealogical Society (CGS), organized in San Francisco on February 12, 1898, is the premier genealogical resource in Northern California. The Library is rich in genealogy reference materials, both standard and unique, covering people and places in California and the rest of the country. The Society offers research services, online genealogical indexes and databases, and a research library housing over 38,000 books.
The CGS Library is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, so when you access FamilySearch from our network, you’ll have access to many of the restricted image collections—those marked with FamilySearch Locked Image Icon in the FamilySearch catalog—that you can’t view at home.
Although its roots are in California, CGS has created a research library with books and other resources covering every state in the country as well as some international material. The library maintains a collection of original, often one-of-a-kind manuscripts, containing pedigree charts, letters and information not available anywhere else; there is also a substantial collection of family histories. Our library is located at 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, CA. Please register in advance if you would like to visit us.
CGS offers a wide variety of programs. There are classes at every level of expertise, from introductory genealogy to specialty topics. Special Interest Groups offer deeper exploration of a topic in the company of others who share the same interests. Field trips and research trips introduce groups to local and national resources. Subscription software is available for use at the library, and research services exist for those who need further assistance.
Every year we host world-class speakers on topics of interest to our members and to the community. The Board of Directors is committed to offering speakers, classes and events that focus on diverse cultural and ethnic groups so that everyone in our community will find useful information. The CGS website, besides providing information about current programs, contains one-of-a-kind genealogical indexes and databases. Both the blog and the eNews help keep our members informed about our activities, as well as those of allied organizations, and about current topics in genealogy. The California Nugget, which appears twice a year, publishes articles by members covering such topics as innovations in genealogy, introduction to little-known sources and repositories as well as stories about California ancestors and history.
In 2023 we will be celebrating our 125th anniversary with special events throughout the year and a celebration at the Lake Temescal boathouse in the fall. Look for notices about that upcoming special event.
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