The Library Corner - Fall 2025 Recap Edition

December 15, 2025

IGS Library Corner – Fall 2025

A Year of Big Milestones, Fresh Spaces, and Expanding Access

IGS Library and Internet Archive Digitization Project aka LoCal Dig Project

The IGS Library (IGSL) has made remarkable progress in its multi-year California Local Government Documents Digitization Project—known internally as LoCALDig. After kicking off digitization in 2024, we’ve worked with our partner, the Internet Archive, to surpass 6,000 digitized items by December 2025 These materials span everything from early municipal planning reports and police and fire manuals to community development proposals and regional planning documents—essential sources for understanding California’s civic past and present.

Explore the growing digital collection: https://archive.org/details/igscalocalgovdocs

To celebrate these advances, the library hosted two exhibits in 2025:

a selection of five local document publications, with three above and two below scanned through the IGS LoCALDig Project

February 2025: A curated in-library display highlighted the range and depth of local government documents—from mid-century zoning booklets to coastal development plans.

IGS LoCALDig Library Exhibit Collection - East Bay Hills Fire Reports

June 2025: A special exhibit focused on wildfire recovery and resilience planning, featuring materials from cities, counties, and regional agencies. As California faces longer dry seasons, extreme heat, and persistent drought, these documents illuminate how local governments are preparing, legislating, and innovating in response to climate pressures.

Highlights from the LoCalDig Project Blog

Outreach accelerated this year. IGSL staff, Internet Archive partners, and our student assistants collaborated on a series of blog posts that highlight collection gems, search strategies, and behind-the-scenes project updates. These pieces help scholars, students, and the public understand how to access and use this rapidly expanding archive.

And don’t miss our newest feature: a short form, dynamic video and blog post created in collaboration with the IGS communications team and our talented student assistants. The piece showcases the enduring civic importance of the LoCALDig collection—especially in a moment marked by political polarization, institutional uncertainty, and renewed attention to government transparency and the long-term availability of public information.

Democratizing Access: The Life Cycle of a Government Doc in the LoCalDig Project

Student Assistant Habiba Hesham Geweifal: What the Project Means to Me

April 17, 2025

I initially encountered the IGS Student Library Assistant position during my study abroad program in Morocco. Through this program, I visited al-Qarawiyyin, the oldest standing library in the world, and had the opportunity to explore preserved books dating centuries before us. As I...Read more about Student Assistant Habiba Hesham Geweifal: What the Project Means to Me

Dusty Shelves and the Quiet Work of Democracy

December 2, 2025

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

Library Renovation: A Fresh Space for Scholarship and Community Events

This summer, the IGS Library completed a major refresh of our reading room—a heavily used study and research space. The renovation introduced new carpeting, a more open and flexible layout, and a fresh coat of paint, all designed to create a brighter, more welcoming environment. These updates support the diverse ways our community engages with the library, from quiet study to collaborative research.

Whether it’s hosting departmental events, providing specialized reference support, or simply offering a calm place for undergraduates to study during busy weeks, the new space better reflects the library’s role as a dynamic academic hub.

Proposition 50: A Historic Moment in California Redistricting

2025 has been one of the most turbulent political years in recent memory. Redistricting battles across the country set the stage for California’s Proposition 50, placed on the November 4, 2025 Special Election ballot. The measure, backed by Gov. Newsom, proposed implementing new, legislatively drawn congressional district maps beginning in 2026—a major shift with implications for representation, electoral competition, and political accountability. In response, the IGS Library continued its longstanding role as a source of trusted, nonpartisan information by producing a comprehensive ballot proposition guide that clearly explains the measure’s origins, core provisions, fiscal effects, and the legal and political developments that led to its appearance on the ballot.

To give voters deeper context, the guide also synthesizes the major arguments advanced by supporters and opponents, highlighting the competing narratives around transparency, institutional authority, and the future of redistricting in California. Readers can explore myriad non-partisan sources, legislative analyses, and statements from public officials that shaped the statewide debate—all curated to help voters understand not just what Proposition 50 would do, but why it emerged at this moment. An accompanying endorsements table further illuminates the political landscape by compiling the positions of advocacy groups, political parties, editorial boards, and civic organizations, offering a quick snapshot of who lined up where.

Together, these resources remain essential tools for voters navigating California’s fast-shifting political terrain.

Check out these books!

A Selection of Newly Acquired and Cataloged Materials available at the IGS Library and online.

Applebaum, Anne (2020). Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism. Doubleday. Available online and in print.

Ayón, David R, and George L Pla (2025). Forging Latino Power: The Politics of Inclusion, Backlash, and Resistance. Berkeley Public Policy Press, Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley. Available in print.

Diamond, Larry Jay, Edward B. Foley, and Richard H. Pildes, eds (2025). Electoral Reform in the United States: Proposals for Combating Polarization and Extremism. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. Available online and in print.

Hickman, Timothy, and Catherine Hickman (2024). How to Get Elected to State & Local Office: A Beginner’s Guide. Timothy R. Hickman. Available in print.

Judge, Brian (2024). Democracy in Default: Finance and the Rise of Neoliberalism in America. Columbia University Press. Available online and in print.

Lewis, Michael et al (2025). Who Is Government? : The Untold Story of Public Service. Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Available online and in print.

Madrigal, Alexis (2025). The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City. MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025. Available in print.

Nicolaides, Becky M (2024). The New Suburbia: How Diversity Remade Suburban Life in Los Angeles after 1945. Oxford University Press. Available online and in print.

Roady, Peter (2024). The Contest over National Security: FDR, Conservatives, and the Struggle to Claim the Most Powerful Phrase in American Politics. Harvard University Press. Available online and in print.

Schafer, Josephine Gatti, and Bruce D. McDonald, eds (2025). Engaged Learning in the Public Service Classroom. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Available online and in print.

Smoller, Fred (2019). From Kleptocracy to Democracy: How Citizens Can Take Back Local Government. Cognella Academic Publishing. Available in print.

Topics

IGS Library topic page, News topic page