In 2018, in recognition of our 120 years of existence and looking forward to the future, we completed a five-year strategic plan that will help guide the society in the coming years. Goals include expanding our educational offerings, sustaining our outreach activities and continuing to improve our library to better serve our members.
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 extensive international materials, totaling over 38,000 reference materials. The Library maintains a collection of original manuscripts, containing pedigree charts, letters and information which are not available anywhere else; there is also a substantial collection of family histories. The Library is currently housed at 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, CA.
CGS offers a wide variety of programs. There are classes at every level of expertise on topics ranging from how to get started in genealogy to the latest DNA techniques. Special Interest Groups permit 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 a special section devoted to members’ stories about their first family member to arrive in California.
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 one-of-a-kind genealogical indexes and databases, and a research library housing over 38,000 reference materials from California, the United States, and around the world.