Use COAST the library online catalog to find books and their location. Search by title, keyword or subject. TIP: The best way to search COAST is by Subject. Consider the following subjects: public administration (with another 25 recommended subjects); municipal government (with 13 additional subjects); political planning (use this for public policy); or urban policy (with 15 other related subjects).
Another way to get a good selection of books is to browse the shelves by call number areas. This includes H61 to H97 policy sciences; HJ11 to HJ9995 public finance; HT65 to HT400 urban affairs, city and regional planning; JF1321 to JF1699 public administration; JK765 to JK766.5 public employee and performance; and JS39 to JS8350 local government.
Check out the list of new books in public policy and administration.
If either of these searches does not produceresults, clink on Repeat Search in Link+ at the top of the page. This providesmore books you can borrowwithin three days and checkout for three weeks.
To find government information, use COAST's search specific collections for government documents. The better Subject for documents is civil service. To find California State documents use the State Library's California Public Policy Bibliographies of 2001, 2003 or the New State Documents monthly. Great source toarticles, websites and reports on subjects like latino issues, migration, state budgets, arts, sports, etc.
These books include key references (i.e. other sources to find information) to start your research.
Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy edited by Jack Rabin. This two-volume encyclopeidadeals mainly with federal adminstrative policy and legal issues. There is a very short list of references at the end of each entry.
International Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Administration edited by Jay M. Shafritz. This four-volume encyclopedia covers public policy theories, programs and leaders in the field. It is an excellent starting place, especially with lengthy references at the end of each entry/chapter.
California Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) providesfiscal and policy advice to the Legislature in a nonpartisan way. Searchable by subject, date or proposition information.
California Research Bureau Reports (CRB) provides nonpartisan research services to the California Governor and his staff, to both houses of the legislature, and to other state elected officials. It provides reports and memoranda on current policy issues, including the history of the issue, experiences and proposals in other states, case studies and examples, data analysis, and development of legislative proposals.
International Dictionary of Public Management and Governance by Gambhir Bhatta is a dictionary of terms.
Encyclopedia of Leadership edited by George R. Goethals, Georgia J. Sorenson, and James MacGregor Burns. This four-volume encyclopedia covers leadership with biographies, theories and concepts, and styles.
Handbook of Public Administration edited by Jack Rabin. This electronic book provides helpful information for public administration.
Annual Review of Political Science by AR provides full-text critical reviews on politics, law, public policy and public adminstration. This is searchable because it is online.
Reader's Guide to the Social Sciences edited by Jonathan Michie.A two-volume encyclopedia dealing with broad issues that include public policy and administration. Each entry have a short reference list.
If Link+ in COAST did not work, you can search other library catalogs, especially if you live close to another library, see what they have to borrow. REALLY hard to find materials taketimeto get, use the Interlibrary Loan Services. They will get an electronic version of the for you, but plan since it takes about 7-10 working days.
You will find several good reports by the Public Policy Institute of California. Many deal with water supplies, housing shortages, housing developments, economics of California, etc.
Many local government documents are online. They tend to be codes or ordinances, but check them for city council minutes, etc.
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