Family History Library

Family History Library.jpg

Contact Information

E-mail: www.familysearch.org/help/self-help

Address:

35 North West Temple Street

Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-3400

Telephone:

• Research Help: 866-234-2067
• Classes, Hours, Parking: 801-240-6536
• Lost and Found: 801-240-3527

Hours and holidays:  Click here or call the phone number above.

Parking and Transportation:

• For a FamilySearch Library area pay-parking lots map click here.
• For TRAX (light rail) and bus public transportation information click here.

Copy Fees:

• Black and white 8 1/2 x 11: U.S. $.05

• Black and white 11 x 17: U.S. $.10

• Color 8 1/2 x 11: U.S. $.30

• Color 11 x 17: U.S. $.60

More copy information

Library Rules

1. 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 patrons discontinue phone
conversations.
2. Do not leave personal belongings unattended. The library is not responsible for items
that are lost, stolen or damaged. We encourage patrons with laptop computers to lock
them to the furniture where they are seated.
3. 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.
4. Please handle the equipment, books, and other materials carefully.
5. Please re-file microfilms and return books to the red shelves, or red carts, near the
row from which they came.
6. When using photocopy equipment, please limit yourself to five copies when others
are waiting. While using Scan Pros please limit usage to 15 minutes while others are
waiting.
7. If readers or copiers malfunction, please inform an Access Assistant at the Access
Services window. An “out of order” sign will be placed on non-operational equipment
until it can be repaired.
8. Announcements are made 45 minutes, 30 minutes and 15 minutes prior to closing of the
Library. Please leave the Library prior to closing time.
9. Food and drinks are permitted only in the main floor snack room. (Water bottles with
closed lids are permitted.)
10. Animals: No animals are allowed in the Family History Library unless they are trained
service animals assisting persons with disabilities.
11. Clothing and Dress Standards: Appropriate dress is required in the Family History
Library which includes shirt, pants and shoes at all times.
12. Children under twelve must be accompanied by an adult.
13. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the building or on the grounds.
14. We invite patrons to use the Patron Feedback link on patron computers to share
rewarding experiences, compliments, suggestions, and concerns.
15. Please observe all posted instructions.

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 or more individual patrons and groups each day.

Library Resources

Patron Class Schedule

• by day
• August, 2012
• September, 2012
• October, 2012
• November, 2012

Online Resources

FamilySearchis the online web site which hosts: • Historical Records (images and indexes). • Digitized Books. • FamilySearch Research Wiki. • Online training classes. • The Ancestral File. • The International Genealogical Index. • The Pedigree Resource File database. • US Social Security Death Index.

The FamilySearch Library Catalog online describes the library's holdings.

Collection Description

• The collection includes over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 727,000 microfiche; 356,000 books, serials, and other formats; 4,500 periodicals; 3,725 electronic databases.^[1]
• Historical Records contains over a billion names of deceased individuals from census, vital records, and other records from over 100 countries on each of the seven continents. It includes indexes and images of many original records.
• Digitized Books contain searchable copies of over 40,000 family history and genealogy printed works.
• FamilySearch Research Wiki contains research advice and direction in over 70,000 articles. Individuals are able to add or modify content to share their knowledge.
• Learning Center contains hundreds of online classes on a variety of subjects for many different countries and most genealogical principles and processes.
• 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 100 million names that are linked into families.
• Records available are from the United States, Canada, the British Isles, Europe, Latin America, South America, Asia, Australia and Africa.
• Millions of records are added to the collection each month.
• A majority of the records contain information about persons who lived before 1941.
• Approximately 200 cameras are currently microfilming records in over 45 countries. Records have been filmed in over 110 countries, territories, and possessions.

Donations

Gifts of family histories, organized collections, and other records that contain genealogical information are welcome. For example, you can write a history of your family and donate a copy to the Family History Library. When you donate an item, you can indicate that you would like the item microfilmed, as well. More details about donations.

View Guidelines for Gifts, Donations, and Loans to FamilySearch.

If you have questions about donations please contact:

Book Donations at:  

801-240-1855

bookdonations@familysearch.org

Patron Resources

• 475 patron computers
• 408 microfilm readers
• 36 microfiche readers
• 27 digital microfilm and microfiche copiers
• 4 book scanners
• 14 book copiers
• Seating capacity for 375 at tables
• Orientation and research classes

What's New at the FamilySearch Library

Check out the new books that have been added to the collection! Please note that some browsers have problems with PDF files and to open these you may need to 'Right Click' and open in a new window.

US/Canada Collections (current)

• Nov, 1, 2012
• Oct. 1, 2012 (table format) 

British Collections (current)

• Nov., 1, 2012
• Oct. 1, 2012 (table format) 

International Collections (current)

• Nov., 1, 2012
• Oct. 1, 2012 (table format)

Family History Collections (current)

• Nov., 1, 2012 
• Oct. 1, 2012 (table format)

Staff/Reference Collections (current)

• Nov., 1, 2012

Personnel

• Currently 60 full-time and part-time professional staff
• Approximately 600 trained volunteer
• British Research Consultants Directory
• International Research Consultants DirectoryUnited States and Canada Research Consultants
• 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.

Group Visits

1. Guidelines for scheduling groups at the Family History Library.
2. Important information for a successful visit.
3. Group visit options.
4. Make a reservation.

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. 

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 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, try one or more of these other repositories.

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 (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.^[2]
  

Repositories with significant Latter-day Saint collections

• Church History Library, Salt Lake City, LDS history 1830-now: diaries, manuscripts, Church records, photos, oral history, architectural drawings, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, maps, microforms, audiovisual material^[3]
  
• Daughters of Utah Pioneers, SLC, 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.^[4]
  
• Utah State Historical Society, SLC, family histories, photographs, books, manuscript collections, telephone directories, maps, newspapers, yearbooks, and periodicals are available in the Research Center and online.^[5]
  

Neighboring repositories

• Brigham Young University, Provo UT, genealogy, history, census, Family History Center, digital family history.
• Salt Lake City Public Library Utah newspapers on microfilm, and genealogical databases.
• Utah State Archives, SLC, newspaper, death, land, court, history, naturalization, military, directories, criminals.
• Utah State University, Logan UT, Special Collections and Archives local historical and biographical sources.
• University of Utah, SLC, history, biography, newspapers, government documents, and Western Americana.
• United States District Court of Utah, Salt Lake City, federal court records.
• Salt Lake County Court local court records.

Sources