The Los Angeles Public Library's California Index is just one of many informative research databases available through the library's Electronic Neighborhood.  The Electronic Neighborhood is described as an "unique one-stop information resource for information on California and regional history topics."  Through the Electronic Neighborhood, indexes and visual resources, previously only available from library terminals, have been made available to users via the internet.

The California Index is one of the most useful research databases currently available for those interested in the history of Los Angeles.  The result of many years of effort, the index was originally a card catalog of 3" x 5" cards assembled and maintained in the library's history department.  Dedicated librarians assembled this index by pouring through old newspapers, books and periodicals and recording the mention of people, places and events in the state, with emphasis on Southern California.  The old index cards have since been scanned, digitized and organized into a searchable database.  Using the database, the citations can be used to look up the original resources, and often provide a certain measure of useful information themselves.  Many of the citations are now linked to the original documents, which have also be digitized and may be read online or downloaded.

The index is searchable by keyword - such as a community name or a subject, like the name of a park, school, or building.  One may also combine terms to narrow a search, or search under a specific name.  A large portion of the database is biographical, allowing you to search by a persons first, last or full name.  Note that trying various different combinations will provide differing results.  Many of the entries are linked to a biographical data sheets filled out by the individuals themselves.

Try it out.  The California Index can be accessed via the LAPL website at: http://www.lapl.org/resources/en/california_index.html