SHASTA COLLEGE LIBRARY 11555 Old Oregon Trail  *  PO Box 496006  *   Redding, CA 96049-6006

Course:HIST 177, Local History of Shasta County
                    HIST187, Oral History of Shasta County

Curator and Instructor: Dottie Smith
Library Contact: Carolyn Salus Singh

The Shasta College Library is open to the public, but an adult must accompany children under 12. Residents of the tri-county area who are 18 years of age or older and possess a California Driver’s license or ID may obtain a Shasta College community card.  Community cardholders may borrow books for 2 weeks with one 2 week renewal (this is the same borrowing privilege that is granted to our students).  Two self-service photocopiers and two microfilm reader-printers are available. Copies cost 10 cents per page.  Prints from the computers are also available for 10 cents per page.

Locating Books, Videos, and Audiocassettes

Locating Information: Newspapers on Microfilm and History Journals

Internet Links

Citing Your Sources: MLA Style

Shasta College Library Information

Sample subject searches include:
 

Library of Congress Classification is used to arrange books on the shelves.  Suggested Call Numbers for Browsing Shelves:
 

 

Be sure to browse the Reference and Oversize shelves as well as the book stacks.

• Boggs, Mae Helene Bacon. My Playhouse Was A Concord Coach, 1942.

[Shasta College Reference F861 B65 1942]
[Shasta County Boggs Collection 979.4 B]

• Carr, John.  Pioneer Days in California, 1891.

[Shasta College Stacks F 865 C31, additional copy in Rare Books]
[Shasta County Boggs Collection 979.4 C]
 
• Frank, B.F. and H.W. Campbell. The History and Business Directory of Shasta County, 1881.

[Shasta College Reference F 868 S49 F8]
[Shasta County Boggs Collection 979.424 F]
 
• Giles, Rosena A.  Shasta County California: A History, 1949.

[Shasta College Reference F 868 S49 G5]
[Shasta County Boggs Collection 979.424 G]

• Index to the Covered Wagon and Shasta Historical Society Yearbook, 1943-1989

[Shasta College Ready Reference F 868 S49  C671 1989]
[Shasta County Boggs Collection 979.424 INDEX 1989, 1994]

• Kutras, George C.  Shasta California: A History, 1849-1888 (Masters Thesis), 1956.

[Shasta College Rare Books F869 S49 K8 1956]
[Shasta County Boggs Collection 979.424 K]
 
• Mackey, Margaret G. Early California Costumes, 1769-1850, and Historic Flags of California

 [Shasta College Reference GT617.C2 M3 1949]
 [Shasta County 391 M]

• Peterson, Edward.  In the Shadow of the Mountain

[Shasta College Stacks F868 S49 P4, additional copy in Rare Books]
[Shasta County Boggs Collection 979.424 P 1970]

Newspaper indexing, an onerous and costly process, is neither profitable or practical.  While the Shasta College Library does have indexes for over 150 years of the New York Times and a few decades of the San Francisco Chronicle, indexes for local papers have not been published.  Researchers are encouraged to browse the reels of significant years. Another option is to visit the the Record Searchlight offices in Redding.  The Record Searchlight's Library offers a computer archive of papers published 1991 to present and a clipping file of stories published from 1970 through 1991.  The Record Searchlight welcomes visitors by appointment only on Thursday afternoons from 1 pm - 4 pm.  For further information, contact Diane Evans, Record Searchlight librarian, ph (530) 225-8297.

The Shasta College Library also has extensive microfilm runs of three national and regional newspapers: Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, and New York Times.

California Newspapers on Microfilm

Anderson Valley News 1910-1944 (Nov-Dec 1940 missing); Mar 2, 1966 - Apr 4, 1968	Redding Record Searchlight and the Courier  Free Press Jan 5, 1942 - Dec 31, 1952; Jan 1967 - May 10, 1975
Anderson Valley News Apr 18, 1968 - Apr 30, 1970	(Redding) Republican Free Press Apr 22, 1883 - Apr 7, 1888
Corning Advance 1922 - 1927	(Redding) Searchlight (Redding, CA) Jan 29, 1895 - Dec 13, 1898 May 23, 1901 - Jan 4, 1942 (Jul - Dec 1912 missing)
Corning Daily Observer 1960 - Nov 1, 1991	(Redding) Weekly Free Press 1889 - Apr 3, 1891; Apr 15, 1893 - Apr 14, 1894
Corning Observer Dec 22, 1988 - Jun 15, 1913; Dec 14, 1916 - Dec 31, 1926; Nov 4, 1991 to date	Sacramento Bee Feb 1857 - Dec 1991 (note: 1984 to present available online through the Shasta College Library webpage)
(Corning) Observer Jun 12, 1913 - Dec 7, 1916	(San Francisco) Alta California Jan 1, 1958 - Oct 1865
Modoc County Record 1960 to date	San Francisco Chronicle Jan 1970 - Jun 1992 (note: 2000 to present available online through the Shasta College Library webpage)
New York Times Sep 1851 - Dec 1992 (note: 1851  to present also available online through National Newspapers (Proquest) on the Shasta College Library webpage	San Francisco Chronicle Index 1976 - 1990
New York Times Index Sep 1851 - Dec 1988	Shasta College Lance 1960 to date
Record Searchlight (Redding) May 12, 1975 to date	Shasta Courier Mar 12, 1853 - Dec 14, 1872 (Shasta); Jan 8, 1909 - Jul 31, 1952 (1937 - 1943, missing) (Redding)
Red Bluff Beacon Mar 1857 - Feb 1864	Shasta Dial Jul 9, 1936 - Jul 2, 1942
Red Bluff Daily News 1954 to date	Shasta Herald Jun 4, 1859 - May 30, 1861
(Redding) Courier Free Press Mar 1906 - Nov 1907	Shasta Republican Oct 20, 1855 - May 28, 1859
(Redding) Daily Free Press Sep 1, 1896 - Dec 14, 1900	Trinity Journal 1973 to date
(Redding) Free Weekly Press Apr 4, 1888 - Apr 14, 1894	Weekly Shasta Courier Dec 21, 1872 - Nov 4, 1905
(Redding) Morning Searchlight Nov 30, 1897 - May 22, 1901	Weekly Trinity Journal 1856 - 1972
(Redding) Reading Independent Oct 9, 1879 - Jul 22, 1880

Newspapers of the Japanese American Relocation Camps (on microfilm)

Heart Mountain Sentinel     Nov 7, 1942 - Jun 2, 1945	Pomona Center News     Jun 30, 1942 - Aug 8, 1942
Pacific Citizen     Jun 4, 1942 - Mar 25, 1944	Santa Anita Pacemaker     Jun 9, 1942 - Sep 9, 1942

Journals of Local Interest (in print)

California Historical Society Quarterly     Bound: 1932, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1944,     1946 - 1970	News from Native California     Open Stacks: Mar/Apr 1989 to date
California History     Bound: 1978 - 1990     Open Stacks: 1991 to date	Pacific Discovery     Bound: 1952 - 1971     Open Stacks: 1972 - Summer 1993
California Journal     Bound: 1970 - 1997     Open Stacks: 1998 to date	Pacific Historian     Bound: 1957 - 1976     Microfiche: 1977 to Spring 1987
Californians    Open Stacks: 1986 - Sept/Oct 1992 (incomplete)	Pacific Historical Review     Bound: 1932 - 1976     Microfiche: 1977 - 1992
Klamath Echoes     Bound: 1964-1978

Internet Links
The Librarians' Index to the Internet (www.lii.org) is a classified list over 9,000 websites that have been previewed by librarians (and if you can't trust a librarian, who can you trust?). A subject search using the term california genealogy yields 4 websites.  Other terms to try are: vital statistics, registers of birth, and emigration and immigration.

Additional sites of interest:

Shasta Geneaological Society - http://www.rootsweb.com/~cascogs/
This site includes US Census Indexes for Shasta County for the years 1850, 1852, and 1920, cemetary records for 5 cemetaries in Shasta County, and list of unique publications. Genealogical research projects for individuals are done on a modest fee basis. Contact the Society for details regarding your research project.

Shasta Historical Society  - http://www.shastahistory.org/
Founded in 1930 to collect pioneer stories, the Shasta Historical Society is now devoted to preserving the ongoing history of Shasta County and environs.  The Society is creating an indexed, searchable, digital image database.  Some of these images are available online.

Shasta County Library - http://shastacountylibrary.org/
The Shasta County Library has an extensive collection of historical newspapers on microfilm.  Library staff are willing to locate, duplicate, and mail obituaries and brief articles.  To use this service, send a complete description of your information needs along with a self addressed, stamped envelope to: Reference Department / Shasta County Library / 1855 Shasta Street / Redding, CA / 96001.  A donation to the Library to help defray labor and materials costs is always welcome.

High Sierra History - http://www.tahoenet.com/tdhs/
Lots of information about this part of the Wild West, including the city of Truckee, the Donner Party, Railroads (with some biking and hiking info), and a biography of Chief Truckee, a Paiute Indian chief. The Early Truckee Database contains property, cemetery, census, voter, and tax records; a Local History Index; and some genealogy/family tree entries. There's also a feature allowing you to contact some descendant s of emigrants, sightseeing information, and extracts from the Truckee-Donner Historical Society's newsletter. This is a commercial site.

Historical Photograph Collection, Meriam Library, CSU Chico -
http://cricket.csuchico.edu/spcfotos/photos2.html
This digitized library of photographs, drawn from the historic photograph collection of CSU Chico's Meriam Library, is keyword searchable.  Browsing headings include: county, name of person or place, and photographer.

State of Jefferson - http://www.jeffersonstate.com/jeffersonhome.html
In 1941, counties in Northern California and the south of Oregon banded together to form a 49th state. Yreka,  California was designated the capital, and Judge John C. Childs of Del Norte County, California, was elected governor. The WWII effort halted the movement, but it survives today as "a state of mind." Here you can read current and past news articles and the "Jefferson Proclamation of Independence," find out about local events and recreation, and see photographs and descriptions of the State of Jefferson scenic by-way Highway 96.

Shasta County - http://ceres.ca.gov/geo_area/counties/Shasta/
California Environmental Resources Evaluation System.

Siskiyou County Schools History - http://sisnet.ssku.k12.ca.us/~imcftp/schoolhistfirstpage.html

Citing Your Source: Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

Books

• The official guide for this style is:

Joseph Gibaldi's MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed.  (Reference Desk LB2369 .G53 1999)
• Another helpful (if not official) book is:

Andrew Harnack's Online! : A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources  (Reference TK 5105.875 .I57 .H364 2000)

Websites
• Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Guide (official)
• Online (companion website to Andrew Harnack's above mentioned book)
• Guide for Writing Research Papers based on MLA Style (Capital Community College)
• Modern Language Association (MLA) Style: examples (Monroe Community College)
• MLA Citation Format (Rochester Institute of Technology)
• MLA Style Guide:examples (University of Southern Mississippi)

Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement (Dartmouth College)

• Current hours are posted on the Library Hours web page.  Come visit!
• All of the resources listed on this page are available via the Shasta College Library web site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.