News

The Institute of Governmental Studies is searching for a...Read more about IGS is hiring a Spring 2026 Media and Design Student Assistant!

The Institute of Governmental Studies is searching for a detail-...Read more about IGS is hiring a 2026-2027 Events and AV Student Assistant!

The Institute of Governmental Studies is searching for a motivated...Read more about IGS is hiring a 2026-2027 Media and Design Student Assistant!

The Institute of Governmental...Read more about We're Hiring a 2026-2027 Communications Student Assistant!

Undocumented immigration is among the most debated public policy issues in the United States....Read more about Undocumented Immigrants in California: Evidence from Local Government Publications

https://careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psc/ucb/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HR...Read more about IGS is hiring an Events and Communications Coordinator!

As part of the California Local Government Documents Digitization Project, the IGS Library processed California Local Government Pamphlets: Early Municipal Governance in Practice ...Read more about California Local Government Pamphlets: Early Municipal Governance in Practice

The IGS Library (IGSL) has made remarkable progress in its multi...Read more about The Library Corner - Fall 2025 Recap Edition

Since December 2023, I’ve been pulling local government documents—usually issued by cities, towns, and regional authorities—from our library stacks, preparing them for our digitization partners, and then reshelving them once again. In the...Read more about Dusty Shelves and the Quiet Work of Democracy

Digitized in February 2025 as part of the California Local Government Documents Collection, the Loyola Corners Neighborhood Commercial Center Specific Plan (City of Los Altos, 1990) offers a vivid example of how local governments use specific...Read more about Spotlight on Local Planning: The Loyola Corners Specific Plan

This week the Institute of Governmental Studies will be conducting another of its periodic polls of the California public about major political and public policy issues facing the state. It is a legitimate non-partisan poll sponsored by...Read more about Berkeley IGS Poll in Progress this Week (Oct 20 - Oct 27)

One of my favorite parts of working with the library's document collection is getting to take in all the imagery. In his poem "A Supermarket in California," Allen Ginsberg...Read more about Student Assistant Allie Carr: Shopping For Images

Welcome back to another dive into California's local history!

If you've been following our blog on the CA Local Documents Digitization Project website, you know that the...Read more about A History of Berkeley

Dr. Smith is best known for his leadership as the Assistant to the...Read more about Harold Palmer Smith, Jr., Distinguished IGS Scholar in Residence (1935-2025)

The Institute of Governmental Studies Library (IGSL) at UC Berkeley has reached a remarkable achievement: more than 5,000 local government documents from across California have been digitized and made freely accessible to the public!

...Read more about 5000th item digitized!

On Friday, May 23rd, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. sharp. It was the day I'd been waiting for since I had graduated a few days before. I was flying to Washington D.C. for the Democracy Camp program! I messaged the group chat with my cohort last night if anyone wanted to...Read more about 2025 Democracy Camp in DC Journal

California has become the epicenter of wildfire devastation, with recent years marked by unprecedented destruction and loss of life. The state now...Read more about California wildfires: documents in the California Local Government Documents digitization collection

This week the Institute of Governmental Studies will be conducting another of its periodic polls of the California public about major political and public policy issues facing the state. It is a legitimate non-partisan poll sponsored by...Read more about Berkeley IGS Poll in Progress this Week (June 2 - June 9)