How to Find Out About Local Government is a guide to sources of information on local government in Britain, including libraries and record offices, public relations and information bureaux, and societies and institutions. Other sources covered in this monograph are education and training facilities, research, books and documents, periodicals, manuscripts and records, and audiovisual materials such as films, radio, and television. This book consists of 11 chapters and opens with an overview of local government in Britain, followed by a discussion on libraries and record offices as sources of local government information. The reader is then introduced to other information sources, including public relations and information bureaux, societies and institutions, books and documents, periodicals, manuscripts and records, and audiovisual sources. Sources of information on local government in Scotland are also considered, including yearbooks. Finally, published literature on comparative local government is evaluated. This guide will be a useful resource for political scientists, politicians, and local government officials as well as the general public interested in local government.

1. The purpose The purpose of this study is to gain an insight into and make an introductory comparison of the structure of local government in many countries throughout the world. More specifically the aim is to define and describe in a comparative fashion the various organs of local government and their relationships. The need for, as well as the obstacles encountered in, such a survey are perhaps equally obvious. It is said that he who under stands only his own language knows none. It may just as easily be contended that he who understands only his own govern mental institutions knows none. Governmental comparisons are useful not only to find out how others are governed but also to more fully comprehend the role which one's own governmental institutions play. 1 From a pragmatic point of view there is a still further value in making comparisons of local governments. Local government institutions are constantly undergoing changes. The changes are both formal and informal; they may be evolutionary and revolu tionary. A comparative study of local government can help many countries to take advantage of the experiments and experiences of others. From the beginning of recorded history there are indications of man borrowing heavily from the institutions of his neighbour in organizing his own institutions. In local govern ment there are several examples of countries which have set up their local government systems by wholesale copying the model of another.

Excerpt from Local Government in the United States Recognition is accorded in this work to the funda mental importance of a comparative point of view by de voting the first chapter to a brief survey of the systems of local government in England and France. The treatment is necessarily sketchy, but it is hoped that it will suffice to give the busy reader at least a' background for view ing our own system in a comparative light. For the reader or student with time and inclination to enter more minutely into the matters treated in the introductory chap ter ample references are given. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

When asked about government, young readers are apt to discuss the president or the U.S. Capitol. But they likely overlook state government and local government, the two components of the U.S. government that are most relevant to their lives. In this volume, state and local governments are at the forefront. Readers will learn about the levels of government, what state and local governments are responsible for, the leaders of state and local governments and how they run them, and how kids can get involved in government.