The IGS Library is one of the nation’s major collections in public administration, public affairs, and public policy. The library holds more than 400,000 volumes and is a depository for California local government documents.
We are a fully circulating library and you may check out selected monographs for three months at a time.
The library covers three broad subject areas: institutions, the political process and policy making, and public policy issues.
To search for IGS materials from 1983-current, please use the UC Berkeley Oskicat Catalog. Our materials from this time will also appear in the UC-System wide Mevyl Catalog.
Loan Periods and Check-Out Limits:
Undergraduate Students: 1 Month, 100 Maximum
Graduate Students: 3 Months, 200 Maximum
Faculty: 6 Months, 300 Maximum
Visiting Scholars: 1 Month, 20 maximum
Library Staff: 6 months
Regular Staff: 1 month
Most of the IGS collection is held in closed stacks in the basement of Moses Hall. To access these materials, fill out a paging slip at the Information Desk, and a library aide will bring them to the reading room. Some material is held at the Northern Regional Library Facility (NRLF) in Richmond, California, and can be requested online via OskiCat or through the IGS reference desk.
The monographs from 1983 to current are generally circulating. Patrons needing material over several days may have it held at the Information Desk.
1918-77 Collection
Earlier materials can be found onsite through our subject book catalog (1918-77), subject card catalog (1978-83), and author card catalog (1918-83). These catalogs will require staff assistance and we recommend calling, emailing, or checking in before you come in to search for earlier materials.
1983-current
Records for items cataloged since 1983 can be found in Oskicat and Melvyl. For help deciding which catalog to use, see Guide to Library Catalogs.
To request an item from our collection, fill out one of our blue paging slips (available at the reference desk) with call number, title, and any other relevant information. Give it to the staff member at the desk and they will bring it up from the stacks for you.
Graduate Students: Place Materials on Reserve
If you are asked by the instructor put items on reserve at IGSL, please contact Circulation Supervisor Paul King at pking@berkeley.edu with a list of items.
We'll also put private copies of monographs and readers on reserve. Just ask.
Reserve titles will be available for checkout for use in the reading room. Reserves will check out for two hours with the option of a renewal.
To place titles on reserve at other libraries on campus, please visit the main library Placing Materials on Reserve page and follow the instructions.
bCourses
Select "All Courses" to access your bCourses page for PS 171. With bCourses, you can also create your own reserves page, check your grades, create a calendar, and more. area to create links to Library and web resources, upload digital works, and more. Click the Help button at at the bottom of the bCourses main menu for more information.
The IGS Library's BookScan station allows you to:
Scanning is free. Printing from the scan station is 8 cents a page for black/white, 60 cents a page for color.
The reading room scanner gives you the option of viewing your scan job as you work.
To send print jobs from any of the public computers in the libraries, you must have the following:
Print from your laptop or portable device using PrinterOn, the campus wireless printing service. Follow the instructions here: http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/printing.