National Archives and Records Administration -- NARA

This place reminds me of a prison. Can’t imagine what the workers there are like. If they are like the old lady at the front who was a complete b word, than no thanks. Most of the workers who work there are paid under what the gov should pay them, and than laziness runs ramede here. Asked to have help the weird looking lady couldn’t be bothered. Terrible place.

I’m a big fan of reading, which comes in handy since you have to do quite a bit of it before they let you into the research room. I went through binders and binders of stuff trying to figure out where I could find what I was looking for and then another one on rules to follow when going inside the research room.
The friendly staff make up for the creepiness of having tons of cameras watching you and there are nice little lockers and a coat rack to store your stuff. The list of things you couldn’t take into the room sort of reminded me of the dress code for prison visits but not as nit picky. Pencils, paper, and copier are available for use inside the research room.
I pored through books, documents, and thanked the fine State of California for teaching me to read cursive handwriting. People in the olden days had such fancy penmanship!
It’s a bit difficult to find the office. I basically studied the crap out of a map before coming (I don’t use GPS) and while I was there, I heard the staff take a call from someone who got lost. Just call for assistance if you get lost. Apparently, it’s quite common and the people who work here are really nice and helpful.
Try to do as much background research on what you need before coming and give them a call before coming. It’s not required but it will make your visit tons easier.

While this place is quite far from me, I find it helpful to go. You are able to use the computers free and have complete access to
etc. No need to by a membership. In addition, you can look at old census records, on Microfiche and other old records. You can not bring your backpack and purse in, but, they do provide lockers inside and it cost 50 cents. Since this location is on the west coast, they do not have the records if your family is from or came in on the East Coast. But, you can look it up on ancestry, etc.
The lady who was working there was helpful and they do have printers and copy machines. Make sure to bring plenty of change.

I am in the process of researching family immigration history and started my search here, after having some basic questions answered by a family mbr. I was able to access two family files. I still have a long way to go. The person who helped me was really great. I was able to get my questions answered, pretty quickly.
I will come back to give an update later as the search continues!

As an experienced genealogist I can say you’ll be hard pressed to find a better place. NARA helped get me hooked on this many years ago. The staff is top notch and they are willing to help those at all levels. As mentioned it is good to walk in there with some basic ideas/​questions on what you are looking for, and they can help from there.
As a point of reference, if you are looking for any records relating to Asia/​Pacific Islands — this will be the place for you!

Awesome archive. You can’t go in blindly of course, get your research bearings on before coming here so you have a specific request in mind upon arrival. This is a duplicate listing for the same NARA which I have reviewed here:
Besides, I just went again a couple of months ago and found some genealogy treasure: an ORIGINAL marriage certificate signed with photos of my fiancé’s great grandma and great grandpa from 1926. Along with that was their original wedding party photo, 8×10 at that! Even Bill, who is a very experienced and super awesome NARA researcher, was surprised to find such great original documents, and said these were very rare. See, that’s what you get when you go the Archive location that houses original local documents that have yet to be scanned and digitized for the world to see. Buried treasure. I love it. I get such a thrill when I track down something like this, it’s like crack for a genealogist.

History at your fingertips.
The civil servants who work at this facility are surrounded not just by our nation’s history but by our regional local history. We went here for a research project and discovered aerial photographs that had been declassified from World War II. Being a history nerd, I was thrilled to hold historical original documents in my hands as I searched through boxes and boxes of papers.
The staff is great and if you call ahead and provide them with parameters for what you are looking for they will have the materials set aside and waiting for you when you come in. The duplication of records is tricky and you need to discuss those details with the staff before you arrive so you can plan accordingly. It is one thing to read a book about history. It is an entirely different experience to read through the documents that the writers consult prior to writing a history book!

Each NARA branch only maintains regional records, so this branch only has Northern California records. I didn’t find the staff as helpful as at a typical genealogy venue.