The Library Corner - Spring 2024 Edition

March 22, 2024

Accessing our Historical Collections 1920-1983

Did you know that IGS Library historical materials collected before 1983 are not readily discoverable in UC Library Search, the UC library catalog??

In addition to policy reports, pamphlets, books and journals, the IGS Library has an extensive historical collection of state and local government information. Library staff utilize our knowledge of the collection along with several analog tools or “card catalogs” to assist researchers with uncovering materials for their work.

We rely heavily on the Author Catalog when we have a known author or want to explore what we have in our collection from a particular city, county, state or federal government agency. Additionally, we use the Subject Headings and Subject Catalog to identify materials by topics and keywords.

The Subject Catalog, produced in 1970 by GK Hall, is a reproduction in book form of the IGSL's subject card catalog. The holdings are from our 'historical collection' or titles collected by the library from 1919 to 1970. Each page has 3 columns of ~ 12 cards in each column. Noting that there are many materials in the collection that were published before the Institute (then called the Bureau of Public Administration) was established in 1919 at UCB.

All volumes have been digitized through UC Berkeley’s participation in the Google Book Project and are open to all for searching and viewing online through HathiTrust Digital Library

Volume 1 features a very good overview and history of the collections written by former Library Director Barbara Hudson; as well as the List of Subject headings used by IGS (please be advised there are subject heading terms included that today we consider problematic, harmful, and outdated), and a list of serial titles that the Library used to analyze (i.e. librarians did article level cataloging for the journals on this list - this predated many print and online abstracts and indexes for these serials).

There is an additional supplement, in 5 volumes, that have not yet been digitized and are available in print at the IGS Library Reading Room. The supplement includes titles that were added between 1970 and 1975. We hope to digitize these volumes in the near future.

Subject Catalog of the Institute of Governmental Studies Library University of California Berkeley Volume 1, grid of images of library catalog drawers

Subject catalog of the Institute of Governmental Studies Library, University of California, Berkeley. First supplement. (1978). G.K. Hall. Available in print.

Highlight a Historical Section:

California Department of Corrections, Educational Programs

A researcher recently inquired about the history of educational programs in California prisons. Luckily, the IGS Library has a rich archive of California corrections materials collected over the 20th century! These include reports by the California Department of Corrections (CDCR), a range of prison newspapers, corrections journals, and academic papers. The foundation for education programs for the rehabilitation of adult offenders in California was laid by the State Legislature in 1944 when the Prison Reorganization Act (1944-45 SB 1)was passed. Whereas previously there had been no central integrative agency, the Prison Reorganization Act of 1944 allowed the CDCR to develop a unified policy for the study and rehabilitation of inmates in the adult penal institutions. Prison Programs provide comprehensive educational programs, treatment programs, and pre-release rehabilitative programs for incarcerated individuals. These programs have historically focused on group and individual counseling, academic and vocational education, pre-release education, physical fitness, recreation, and religious instruction.

Selected images from our California corrections collection:

Preparing men for industry : California's Correctional Industries Commission

Author: California

Print Book, English, [1963]

Publisher: Dept. of Corrections, Youth and Adult Corrections Agency, [Sacramento], [1963]
Call no. unreadable

The C.V.I. crossroads
Vol. V, no. 3, Dec. 1951

Author: California Vocational Institution

Journal, Magazine, English

Publisher: [California Vocational Institution], [Lancaster, California]

JK2460 C73Cv.n

Narcotics and hypnotics in California; usage trends and recommendations for controls, a report.

California. Board of Corrections.

1953

JK2460 C73bc.na Jan. 1953

Probation supervision and training.

California. Board of Corrections.

1964

JK2460 C73 bo.pe 1963

Check out these books!

A Selection of Newly Acquired and Cataloged Materials available at IGS Library!

Do you have any book purchase sugzgestions for the Library? Email us at igsl@berkeley.edu.

Buolamwini, Joy. Unmasking AI : My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines. First edition. New York [New York: Random House, 2023. Available in Print

Burrell, Barbara C. The Women of 2018 : The Pink Wave in the US House Elections ... and Its Legacy in 2020. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2021. Available in PrintChachra, Deb. How Infrastructure Works : Inside the Systems That Shape Our World. New York: Riverhead Books, 2023. Available in Print

Edwards, George C. Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America / George C. Edwards III. Fourth edition. Cambridge, United Kingdom ; Cambridge University Press, 2024.Available in Print

Green, Joshua. The Rebels : Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Struggle for a New American Politics. New York: Penguin Press, 2024.Available in Print

Lupu, Noam, and Jonas Pontusson, eds. Unequal Democracies : Public Policy, Responsiveness, and Redistribution in an Era of Rising Economic Inequality. Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cambridge University Press, 2024.Available in Print

Reynolds, Molly E., and John Clifford Green, eds. Financing the 2020 Election / Edited by Molly E. Reynolds and John C. Green. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, 2023. Available in Print

Weber, Jeremy G. Statistics for Public Policy : A Practical Guide to Being Mostly Right (or at Least Respectably Wrong). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2024. Available in print

Spring 2024 IGS Library Exhibit: Vote! (Election Night)

Part of the IGS Library’s mission is to provide the UC Berkeley community with resources that help them understand elections including how to register to vote, casting your vote, and navigating local, state, and federal races. This year, the library featured an exhibit encouraging students to Vote!, a newly acquired book on Primary Politics, and information on candidates running for State Assembly and Senate districts that include Berkeley.

In addition to the exhibit, the library’s website features a new guide for the state’s single primary election measure: Proposition 1. Included is a description of the proposition, non-partisan analysis, official voter information, political endorsements, and financial contribution records. The library’s ballot measure guides have been providing online users essential information on state propositions since November of 2000!

IGS Library Election Exhibit case during March 2024 California Primary Election

Whiteboard in the reading room now available!

The board is available for students to use while studying AND to collect important feedback from our library visitors!