FamilySearch Library Donations

Information on donating items to the Family History Library and Church History Library (Church historical archives)

Family History Library

The Family History Library and FamilySearch appreciate gifts, which make up a large part of its collections.

Collection Policy

FamilySearch collects records of genealogical and historical value to enable families to gather and connect in order to experience the joy of discovering their family. Gifts and donations of genealogical records and family histories are accepted to they can be preserved and shared on FamilySearch.org

Gifts and Donations Guidelines

All donations become the property of FamilySearch and will not be returned unless paid for by the donor.

FamilySearch accepts materials that:

Are typed, well organized, and includes a title, author, and publication date
Add new information to FamilySearch's collection
Do not violate current privacy and copyright laws
Do not include living people, for privacy reasons. If the book contains information about living individuals, the author takes sole responsibility for the availability of this information to the public.

Materials Accepted by the Family History Library

Family histories
Published genealogical books
Published historical books such as local and county histories
Periodicals
Directories
Indexes and transcriptions of records in book format
Autobiographies and biographies containing genealogical materials for multiple generations

Additional Materials Accepted by FamilySearch's Digital Library

Yearbooks
Journals (Over 70 years old)
Family Bibles
Autobiographies and biographies (without living people)

Other Materials

Family stories, photos, and videos should be added to FamilySearch Family Tree or in the Memories section of FamilySearch.org. Family information on Pedigree Charts, Family Group Sheets, or GEDCOM files, should also be added into Family Tree.

The following materials should be shared with family members, or a local historical society or public library.

Artifacts, souvenirs, or memorabilia
Correspondence and travelogues
Fiction
Personal journals (less than 70 years old)
Newspapers and newspaper clippings
Obituaries
Original source documents (birth, marriage, death certificates; probates; deeds, etc.)

Materials Related to members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Materials related to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or its history (including personal journals, missionary journals, biographies, autobiographies) may also be sent to the Church History Library for their collection.

Church History Library

Donations Guidelines

801-240-5696

Financial Donations

Donations help support FamilySearch's vision of discovering, gathering, and connecting family members, cquiring records and building bridges to the future. you may donate online at our FamilySearch website

Permission to Duplicate or Digitize

In order to legally duplicate copyrighted materials, FamilySearch must have permission from the author or copyright holder. Please send a completed General Donation form and a Permission to Duplicate form when applicable, with your materials. Forms may be downloaded below, requested by phone, email, or regular post from the address below:

Process for Donating to the Family History Library

1. Carefully review the FamilySearch Gifts and Donations Policy. 2. Fill out the following forms:

General Donation form
Permission to Duplicate form, when applicable

3. Send donation and the completed forms listed above to:

FamilySearch

Family History Library - Gifts

35 N. West Temple Street

Salt Lake City, UT 84150-1103 USA

Telephone: 1-801-240-1855

Email: books@familysearch.org

When you have determined what items you would like to send, contact the Family History Library at email: books@familysearch.org or by calling (801)240-1855.

The appropriate form(s) must be completed and sent with the donation. See the links to the forms at the bottom of the page.
Donations to the library can be made in three ways:

By email at books@familysearch.org via a link, PDF file or Dropbox
If you live in Utah or are planning a visit you can deliver the material directly to the library
By mail (book, flash drive, or CD) to the Family History Library (address located at the bottom of the page).

Sell to FamilySearch

If you wish to sell a family history or genealogical publication to FamilySearch, please send an official offer to fhl-acq@familysearch.org.

Information and Forms

FamilySearch Gifts and Donations Policy

The General Donation form is required for all donations to the library.

The Permission to Duplicate form is optional and can only be signed by the copyright owner (author, publisher or authorized representative of the copyright owner). This form allows digitized publications to be viewed in the FamilySearch Catalog regardless of location. Without, the link to the digital version publications will only work in the Family History Library and family history centers.

Contact Information

Email: books@familysearch.org
Phone: (801)240-1855
Mailing Address:
Family History Library - Donations
35 N. West Temple St.
Salt Lake City, UT 84150

Church History Library

The Church History Library welcomes gifts and donations of many types. Unfortunately, they are unable to accept all donations. For donations of books, manuscripts, artwork, photographs, or other articles relating to the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or its members, visit this website and fill out the form. A Church history representative will contact you if they determine that your item fits within the scope of their collections.

Other items

For information on how to donate money, property, or equipment, visit the LDS Foundation website.