Orem Utah Stonewood FamilySearch Center
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This article describes the services and resources available at a FamilySearch Center, a branch facility of the FamilySearch Library. |
Service Area
The Orem Utah Stonewood FamilySearch Center primarily serves members of the Utah Orem Cascade, Hillcrest, Lakeridge, Orem, Sharon, and Stonewood Stakes. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and non-members are welcome to seek individual assistance from the Center's temple and family history consultant staff and to use the Center's internet and other services and equipment.
Services
The Orem Stonewood FamilySearch Center staff invite and welcome family and ward youth and adult groups from its six-stake service area to schedule visits for hands-on group training on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday evenings. By special arrangement group visits and training may be scheduled at other times including Saturday and Sunday evenings. We have eight computers with internet connections and can train using computer projector presentations for large groups in the Center's group room or, if necessary in the Stonewood Stake Center chapel or one of its other large rooms. Participants are welcome to bring their own laptops on which they should be able to get an internet connection just as they can in most buildings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Saints.
Orem Stonewood Center Directors Council Members and the Stakes They Represent:
Director: Jerry Kern, phone (801) 225-3907, e-mail: jerry_kern@yahoo.com (Lakeridge Stake)
Assistant Directors: Jerry Cross, phone (801) 400-4200, e-mail: JC09@comcast.net (Hillcrest Stake); Carolyn Garrison, phone (801) 607-2506, e-mail: clgarri39@gmail.com (Sharon Stake); Feel free to contact any of the above for more information about the Center's services and resources.
Location; Phone; Operating Hours
Location and Map: 450 South 100 West in Orem, Utah
Phone: (801) 222-0497
Center Hours:
- Sundays 5:30pm-7:30pm
- Mondays 5:30pm-7:30pm
- Wednesdays 10:00am-7:00pm
- Fridays 9:00am-Noon
2023-24 Holiday Schedule - (Dates Closed)
- Christmas (December 17, 2023 - January 2, 2024)
- Martin Luther King Day (January 15)
- Presidents Day (February 19)
- Easter ( March 31)
- Conference (April 7)
- Mothers Day (May 12)
- Memorial Day (May 25-28)
- Fathers Day (June 16)
- Juneteenth (June 19)
- Independence Day (July 3-5)
- Pioneer Day (July 24)
- Labor Day (September 1-3)
- Conference (October7)
- Columbus Day (October 14)
- Veterans Day (November 11)
- Thanksgiving (November 27-29)
- Christmas through New Years (December 18, 2024 - January 2, 2025)
(Note: The Center is closed on Saturdays and Sundays except by special arrangements for group presentations)
Hardware and Equipment:
- Eight (8) computers for patron use.
- A multi-purpose printer that is also a photo and document scanner that can print and copy both 8x11 and 8x14 documents. Scans can be saved to a flash drive or to patrons' FamilySearch websites. The printer does not print color images, though saved scans can be printed on home color printers or at at commercial vendors. Scanned photos and documents can be added to family histories, and/or attached to family members' "Memories" in their FamilySearch Family Tree.
- Family history research books, publications, maps, and an extensive collection of training documents on numerous aspects of genealogy and family history.
- Three "ShotBox" tabletop photo light studios made for specific use with smart phones to memorialize family heirlooms, oversize documents, photos, and more. One is set up in the Center computer room available for use by consultant staff and patrons. The other two complete ShotBox kits may be checked out by consultant staff and patrons for home use for up to three days.
Other Center Resources:
- Links to the following popular programs are loaded on the menu bars of the Center's computers for quick and easy access: FamilySearch, Google, Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage, AmericanAncestors, RecordSeek, the FamilySearch Center Portal, and others.
- The FamilySearch Center Portal, available at most FamilySearch centers and libraries, gives patrons free access to premium subscription websites such as Fold3 (a source of millions of military historical records), Puzzilla - Premium Edition, World Vital Records, and several more.
- The Stonewood Center also has its own small collection of books, periodicals, atlases, syllabi from genealogical conferences, plus an extensive searchable collection of maps and files of genealogical research training documents covering a wide range of topics useful to both those new to family history and genealogical research and those with advanced skills and knowledge.
Staff Research Specialties:
- We currently have consultant staff and others in our service area who have volunteered their services who can read and/or speak, to some degree, who can read and/or speak, to some degree, the following languages: Austrian, Czech, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish. Several of these staff are very familiar with helping patrons begin their research in countries where these languages are spoken.
- A few of our staff members can assist with and/or are Genealogy Merit Badge counselors for the Boy Scouts of America.
- Several staff members specialize in United States, Canada, and/or British research.
- Many of the staff are able to help patrons locate vital records in the United States and other countries that are not yet available through FamilySearch or other major online family history collections such as those at Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, etc.
Utah County Family History Programs:
- The Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group (UVTAGG) meets on the second Saturday of the month except for December. Their meetings consist of a presentation by a noted family historian followed by a variety of classes. "The Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group is a grass-roots, non-profit, tax-exempt educational organization. It is devoted to fostering the use of technology for family history."
- The Brigham Young University Family History Library serves not only the student body but all of Utah County and beyond with a wide variety of family history resources. They offer family history classes on the second and fourth Sundays most months.
- The Brigham Young University Center for Family History and Genealogy is an academic program that offers both a major and a minor in Family History. In addition, the Center sponsors several major research and other genealogical programs each year.
Volunteer at the Utah Orem Stonewood FamilySearch Center
If you are a resident in one of the six stakes served by the Orem Stonewood FamilySearch Center listed above and are interested in serving as a consultant or would like more information about serving, contact one of the Center directors. Their names are at the top of this page.
Ideally, candidates would already have a strong background in family history and genealogy and would be generally familiar with FamilySearch.org programs, including the Family Tree, and other family resource materials and programs such as Ancestry.com. However, several of our current consultant staff, initially, had the desire to serve but were deficient in skills and knowledge but were willing learners. They were mentored by more experienced staff members and engaged on their own in individual study of available training material. In the process they have proved themselves quite capable in their ability to help others.