FamilySearch Library

File:LDS genealogy library slc utah.jpg The Family History Library  Welcome to the Family History Library Page E-mail: FHL@FamilySearch.org 35 North West Temple Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-3400 801-240-2584 or 866-406-1830 Library Background • Founded in 1894 to gather genealogical records and assist members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with their family history and genealogical research • Largest library of its kind in the world • Open to the general public at no charge • Visited by an estimated 1,900 patrons or more each day Family History Resources Records Collection • The collection includes over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 742,000 microfiche; 310,000 books, serials, and other formats; 4,500 periodicals; 3,400 electronic databases. • The Ancestral File database contains more than 36 million names that are linked into families. • The International Genealogical Index database contains approximately 600 million names of deceased individuals. An addendum to the International Genealogical Index contains an additional 125 million names. These names have been patron submitted or extracted from thousands of original birth, christening and marriage records. • The Pedigree Resource File database contains over 80 million names that are linked into families. • Records available are from the United States, Canada, the British Isles, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. • In 2003, the collection increased monthly by an average of 4,100 rolls of film, 700 books, and 16 electronic resources. • A majority of the records contain information about persons who lived before 1930. • Approximately 200 cameras are currently microfilming records in over 45 countries. Records have been filmed in over 110 countries, territories, and possessions. Patron Resources • 202 patron computers • 509 microfilm readers • 36 microfiche readers • 28 microfilm and microfiche copiers • 4 microfilm scanners • 15 book copiers • Seating capacity for 396 at tables • Orientation and research classes Personnel • Currently 125 full-time and part-time professional staff • Approximately 400 trained volunteers Parking and Transportation For a Family History Library area pay-parking lots map click here. For TRAX (light rail) and bus public transporation information click here. Guides Johni Cerny, and Wendy L. Elliott, The Library: a Guide to the LDS Family History Library (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 1988). J. Carlyle Parker, Going to Salt Lake City to Do Family History Research, 3rd ed. (Turlock, Calif.: Marietta Pub., 1996). Family History Centers • Family history centers are branches of the Family History Library. • Over 4,000 family history centers operate in more than 88 countries. • Local family history centers are staffed by helpful volunteers. • About 100,000 rolls of microfilm are circulated to family history centers each month. • Click here to locate the nearest family history center, or call 866-406-1830 in the United States and Canada. Online Resources • FamilySearch is the online web site which hosts:  • The Ancestral File. • The International Genealogical Index.  • The Pedigree Resource File database.  • US Social Security Death Index  • Vital Records Index  • 1880 United States • 1881 British Isles • 1881 Canadian Census • Record Search is a pilot web site hosting many more databases that have been indexed through the FamilySearch Indexing program.  FamilySearch Web Pages FamilySearch The Library Catalog Substitute Repositories If you cannot find a source you need at the Family History Library, try one or more of these substitutes. Repositories with very large genealogical collections Library of Congress - largest library in the world including "one of the world's premier collections of U.S. and foreign genealogical and local historical publications," in the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) - preserves and documents United States federal government and historical records, including American Indian papers, federal censuses, U.S. passenger arrival lists, passport applications, federal land, military and war records, and some naturalizations. Allen County Public Library - home of the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), more than 350,000 printed books and 513,000 items of microfilm/fiche including family histories, censuses, city directories, passenger lists, military records, local histories, American Indians, African Americans, Canadian, British, and German collections. Repositories with significant Latter-day Saint collections Church History Library and Archives - documents the history of the LDS Church from 1830 to now with diaries, "manuscripts, Church records, photographs, oral histories, architectural drawings, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, maps, microforms, and audiovisual materials." Daughters of Utah Pioneers - the Museum displays artifacts, and the History Department collects and preserves about 100,000 histories of pioneers who set out for, settled, or were born in Utah Territory before 10 May 1869. Utah State Historical Society - thousands of family histories, photographs, books, manuscript collections, telephone directories, maps, newspapers, yearbooks, and periodicals are available in the Research Center and online. Sources

International Genealogical Index (FamilySearch) - free

National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.