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California: State Resource Guide

This guide provides access to digital materials related to the state of California at the Library of Congress, as well as links to external websites and a selected print bibliography.

Introduction

California was admitted as the 31st state of the union on September 9, 1850 and by the early 1960s it was the most populous U.S. state. The Gold Rush brought thousands of immigrants both foreign and domestic to California. This and later mass migrations, combined with the state's natural riches, assured Calfornia's success as it developed its diversified agriculture and industry, fisheries, forestry, and mining industries, aircraft plants and shipyards, tourism and recreation, the film industry, and the technological sector epitomized by Silicon Valley.

This guide compiles links to digital materials related to California such as books, government documents, manuscripts, maps, motion pictures, photographs, sheet music, and sound recordings that are available throughout the Library of Congress website. In addition, it provides links to external websites focusing on California and a bibliography containing selected works for both general and younger readers.