Writers’ Inspiration Guide
Whether you’re attempting NaNoWriMo or taking your time, the California State Library can help with your research and inspire your writing. Here are a few sources that might prompt some story possibilities. Need more ideas? Ask A Librarian!
General
- California State Library catalog
- Our subscription databases
- California State Library collections on the Internet Archive
- California State Library collections on Calisphere
- The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Reality
Newspapers
- Newspapers on microfilm in our California History Room and Information Services Section
- Our newspaper databases, including historic S.F. Chronicle and L.A. Times
- California Digital Newspaper Collection
History and Genealogy
- Our history and genealogy databases
- City and county directories and telephone directories
- Census data and historical decennial census volumes
- Oral history interviews archived in the California History Room
- Historic photographs and postcards, including many available through our online catalog
- The Congressional Record
- Laws and court cases in the Witkin State Law Library for those exciting trial scenes