FamilySearch Library

United States Utah Archives and Libraries Family History Library

Guide to FamilySearch Library ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Welcome to the Family History Library page Announcements Global Family Reunion Block Party Join us at the Family History Library on Saturday, June 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Global Family Reunion Block Party. Click here for more information. New Service As an added convenience to our guests, flash drives and earphones will be sold in the copy card vending machines on each floor, starting on May 1st. The vending machines accept cash or credit cards. New Guest Services Model The reference areas on the B1 International floor, the B2 British floor, and the U.S./Canada 2nd floor have been remodeled. Need help? Ask someone with a blue lanyard for help with research. Ask someone with a red lanyard for collection questions. Look for these lanyards: For research help For collection help To prevent wasting your time standing in line waiting for research assistance, we have implemented a paging system to connect you with the needed expertise. Facebook: Website Address: Family History Library 35 North West Temple Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-3400 Telephones: 1 801-240-6996; 1 801-240-6996 Classes, Hours, Parking: 801-240-6536; 801-240-6536 Lost and Found: 801-240-5624; 801-240-5624 Group Reservations: 801-240-4673; 801-240-4673 World Wide Support Research Help: 801-240-2584; 801-240-2584 Hours: Normal Hours of Operation Mon: 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Tues-Fri: 8:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. Sat: 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Sun: Closed Holidays: Click here Maps: Google Map; MapQuest. Parking and Transportation: Parking can be an issue in downtown Salt Lake City. The following parking is available in the area: Free: Parking lot behind the Church History Museum Monday to Friday, 4:30-9 pm; all day Saturday Limitations: Closed during Conference Center events, and from the day after Thanksgiving to January 2nd. Parking subject to availability. Pay: For a Family History Library area pay-parking lots map click here. Pricing is subject to change and is not controlled by the Family History Library. As of July 16, 2013 the following fees apply: Salt Palace Parking a maximum of $12.00 per day. Lot on the northwest corner of North Temple is $2 under 1 hr, $5 under 2 hrs, $8 under 12 hrs The JSMB underground parking is a flat rate of $10. Public Transportation: For FrontRunner (commuter rail), TRAX (light rail), and bus public transportation information see the Utah Transit Authority Internet site. Copy Fees (self-service) to 8½ x 11 inch paper black and white—U.S. $0.05 color—U.S. $0.30 to 11 x 17 inch paper black and white—U.S. $0.10 color—U.S. $0.60 to USB flash drive free More copy information. Library Resources Patron Class Schedule View the following schedules using Google Chrome, or Internet Explorer. They may NOT appear using a Mozilla Firefox browser. June, 2015 July, 2015 Live Online Class Schedule All times are Mountain Time. June Thu 4 Jun 7 pm Danish Research Strategies Thu 11 Jun 6 pm Beginning American Indian Research Sat 13 Jun 1 pm Hispanic Online Resources (in English) Wed 17 Jun 11 am Preserving Our Slovak Roots in the 21st Century Sat 20 Jun 1 pm La Información Matrimonial Sat 20 Jun 2 pm Los Registros de Aspirantes al Sacerdocio y Limpiezas de Sangre Sat 20 Jun 3 pm Las Capellanías y Cofradías Tue 23 Jun 7 pm Case History: How to find ancestors in Digitalarkivet of Norway Thu 25th Jun 6 pm African-American Research: Using Plantation Records Thu 25 Jun 7 pm Hamburg Passenger Lists July Thu 9th 6:00 pm Main Floor Computer Lab, Webinar: United States Naturalization Thu 23rd 6:00 pm Main Floor Computer Lab, Webinar: Beginning LDS Research Collection Description Largest genealogical collection in the world—it is especially strong for the United States, British Isles, Scandinavia, Mexico, and parts of Germany, but also has material from all parts of the world. Includes civil vital births, marriages, and deaths, church records, county and local histories, court records, military records, probate records, American passenger arrival lists and naturalizations, and land records. The large microfilm and book collections are being digitized and are showing up on the FamilySearch Internet site. Key Internet Sites FamilySearch containing all the other Family History Library related sites including: FamilySearch Catalog describes the holdings—has place, surname, title, author, subject, keyword, or call number searches. Also on WorldCat. Family Tree worldwide pedigree you can edit, including portraits, and fan charts. Historical Records Collection has billions of names across hundreds of our collections including birth, marriage, death, probate, land, military, Ancestral File, and International Genealogical Index. Guest Resources Over 500 public guest computers Over 300 microfilm readers 36 microfiche readers 27 digital microfilm and microfiche copiers (to paper or to flash drive) 3 HD book scanners 14 book copiers (to paper or to flash drive) Seating capacity for 375 at tables Orientation and research classes Donations Gifts of family histories, autobiographies, biographies, indexes, local histories, and well-organized collections of genealogy research are welcome. If you own the copyright, you can indicate that you would like the item digitized for the Internet. More details about donations. Donations Guidelines. If you have questions about donations please contact: Book Donations Telephone: 801-240-1855[[Image:]]801-240-1855 E-mail: bookdonations@familysearch.org Book and Film Numbers at the FHL For an explanation of the different numbering systems used in the collection over the years (including the current system), and to see tables for converting old book and film numbers to new, click here. Request a "Vault Film" before Visiting Films in the "Vault" take several days to reach the Family History Library. If the Catalog shows a film is in the vault, order it ahead of time so it will be at the Library when you arrive. For details see Order Process. Personnel Currently about 30 full-time and part-time professional staff Approximately 600 trained volunteers British Research Consultants Directory International Research Consultants Directory United States and Canada Research Consultants Directory Guides Johni Cerny, and Wendy L. Elliott, The Library: a Guide to the LDS Family History Library (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 1988) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 979.2258 A3Li. J. Carlyle Parker, Going to Salt Lake City to Do Family History Research, 3rd ed. (Turlock, Calif.: Marietta Pub., 1996) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 979.2258 J5p 1996. Plan Group Visits Click the link to review the Group visit options and make a reservation. Library Rules Set cellular phones to silence or vibrate. Phones should not “ring” in the Library. Quiet cell phone conversations are permitted in the Library. Please be respectful of those around you. Library staff is authorized to request that guests discontinue phone conversations. Do not leave personal belongings unattended. The library is not responsible for items that are lost, stolen or damaged. We encourage guests with laptop computers to lock them to the furniture where they are seated. If you plan to vacate a microfilm reader for more than 60 minutes or a computer for more than 15 minutes, please take your material with you. If demand is high materials may be removed by staff and stored at the Access Services window. Announcements are made 45 minutes, 30 minutes and 15 minutes prior to closing of the Library. Please leave the Library prior to closing time. Food and drinks are permitted only in the main floor snack room. (Water bottles with closed lids are permitted.) Animals: No animals are allowed in the Family History Library unless they are trained service animals assisting persons with disabilities. Clothing and Dress Standards: Appropriate dress is required in the Family History Library which includes shirt, pants and shoes at all times. Children under twelve must be accompanied by an adult. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the building or on the grounds. FHL Visitors Describe Their Experiences Video Tour: Family History Library -- recorded by Geni.com staff (February 2010) Another Item Crossed Off My Bucket List, or Is It? - by Jill Ball (visited in February 2010) Visiting the SLC: Days 1 & 2 of posts by Randy Seaver (visited in Jan 2009) How to Prepare to Visit the Family History Library Request A Vault Film before Visiting the Family History Library What Gives With FamilySearch? The Rest of the Story (Sep 2011) - Valerie provides an in-depth blog post about the volunteers in the FHL.  Salt Lake City Library: Ready, Set Go! - by Lorine McGinnis Schulze A Fresh Look at the Family History Library - A Library without Walls - by Alan E. Mann, Manager at FamilySearch, presented at NGS 2010 Conference FamilySearch Centers FamilySearch Centers are branches of the Family History Library Over 4,500 family history centers operate in more than 100 countries Local FamilySearch Centers are staffed by helpful volunteers About 100,000 rolls of microfilm are circulated to family history centers each month. Click here to locate a nearby family history center, or call 866-406-1830[[Image:]]866-406-1830 in the United States or Canada. Click here for the map-based locator. Alternate Repositories If you cannot find a source you need at the Family History Library, a similar source may be available at one of the following. Repositories with very large genealogical collections Library of Congress, Washington, DC, Local History and Genealogy Reading Room is part of the world's largest library including 50,000 genealogies, 100,000 local histories, and collections of manuscripts, microfilms, maps, newspapers, photographs, and published material, strong in North American, British Isles, and German sources. National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service & pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees. Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 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, & German collections. Repositories with significant Latter-day Saint collections Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, LDS history 1830-now: diaries, manuscripts, Church records, photos, oral history, architectural drawings, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, maps, microforms, audiovisual material Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah, 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 by 10 May 1869. Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, family histories, photographs, books, manuscript collections, telephone directories, maps, newspapers, yearbooks, and periodicals are available in the Research Center and online. Neighboring repositories Brigham Young University Library, Provo, Utah, genealogy, history, census, Family History Center, digital family history. Salt Lake City Public Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah newspapers on microfilm, and genealogical databases. Utah Vital Records Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, statewide births and deaths since 1905; marriages and divorces since 1978. Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah, newspaper, death, land, court, history, naturalization, military, directories, criminals. Utah State University, Logan, Utah, Special Collections and Archives local historical and biographical sources. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, history, biography, newspapers, government documents, and Western Americana. United States District Court of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, federal court records. Salt Lake County Court, Salt Lake City, Utah, local court records. Salt Lake County Clerk, Salt Lake City, Utah, county marriages since 1887, probate records since 1852. Salt Lake County Recorder, Salt Lake City, Utah, property, tax, and military discharge DD-214 papers. Sources January 9, 2014 By Viviane Davis Due to the growing film collection in the Family History Library, measures had to be taken to remove selected film collections to create space for high volume of films being ordered from the Granite Mountain Records Vault. As of December 17th, 2013, the Library has removed the US Soundex films and the 1st filming of the US Census for 1860 and 1870. These films are available on multiple websites, including FamilySearch.org. The Mexico films that are available online are also being removed from the Library. Part of the change will include removing the overflow section completely from the International B1 floor. Films that have been ordered within the last 2 months will be moved to the High Density storage area where their use can be tracked. All other films will be sent back to the Vault. Starting on January 6th, all new films ordered from the International collection will be stored in High Density. To access those films, guests will have to go to the Access Services Window on the B1 floor. All films stored in High Density that are not used for the space of one year will be sent back to the vault. Films that are used multiple times during the space of a year will be incorporated into the core section for easier guest access. There may be a delay in the FamilySearch Catalog regarding the current location of the films being moved/removed. Please, contact the Access Services Window at least 24 hours in advance to check the location of films.If films are not found in the Library, they can be ordered from the vault by going to familysearch.org/films/fhl or by calling the Access Services Window (US & Canada 801-240-7378[[Image:]]801-240-7378; International 801-240-2334[[Image:]]801-240-2334; British 801-240-7379[[Image:]]801-240-7379).   Thank you for your patience while we make the transition. If you have any questions, contact the Access Services Windows.

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Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)

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