Idaho Falls Idaho FamilySearch Library

We are located at 750 W. Elva Street 3 blocks north of the Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple and Visitors Center. We serve all of Bonneville, Butte, Lemhi Counties, and part of Bingham County. We have 90+ part time service missionaries and 11 volunteers in 2014. In 2013 we served 13,139 patrons and held 722 classes. We invite you to join us, either as a volunteer or as a patron.

Library Contacts and Hours
Location Map:


 * Location Map

Address:


 * 750 West Elva St Idaho Falls Idaho 83402 United States
 * There is ample parking on the street around the Library plus a small parking lot northeast of the building.
 * The Library's entrance is on the south side of the building, facing Elva Street.


 * Language:English

Phone:


 * 1-208-524-5291

E-mail:


 * ID_IdahoFalls@ldsmail.net

Open Hours:

 * Monday:       9:00am-5:00pm
 * Tuesday:      9:00am-8:00pm
 * Wednesday: 9:00am-8:00pm
 * Thursday:    9:00am-8:00pm
 * Friday:         9:00am-5:00pm
 * Saturday:     9:00am-5:00pm

Holiday Schedule:
December 23rd-31st - Christmas

December 31 - January 4 New Years 2015

March 14 - Eastern Idaho Family History Conference

April 4 - General Conference

May 23 -25 - Memorial Day

June 22 - July 5 - Yearly Maintenance

July 24 at 4 pm - Pioneer Day

September 5-7 - Labor Day

October 3 - General Conference

October 31 at 1 pm - Halloween

Novermber 25 -29 - Thanksgiving

December 23 - 31 - Christmas

January 1-3 - New Years 2016

New Missionary Training Schedule:
January 19th - New missionary training

April 13th - New missionary training

September 14th - New missionary training



Calendars of Class Schedule
(click on blue above for class schedule)   

Lesson Plans and Class Handouts
After going to the Lesson Plan and Class Handouts directory, select a folder, such as Ancestry Quest, to see the contents.

= Article/s of Interest =

February, 2015 -- Ensign article (quote from "How Family History Changes Our Hearts and Minds" by Amy Harris, pp. 64-67) "Family History—the Grand Scope and the Merciful Reach

The heart of family history is not about using a computer; it is not about reading old handwriting or making scrupulous notations and citations. Those are tools or functions of family history, but they are not the heart of family history, nor do they grasp the significance of why Latter-day Saints seek after their ancestors. Family history, in its essence, teaches us the grand scope of creation and redemption and simultaneously reminds us of the personal and merciful reach of Christ’s Atonement.

Searching after our ancestors can have a similar effect on our hearts and minds when we realize that all of those people—“numberless as the sand upon the sea shore” (Moses 1:28)—are children of heavenly parents and are loved and known by them. No wonder Joseph Smith described entrance into the celestial kingdom as passing through a gate of “transcendent beauty” (D&amp;C 137:2), for what could be more transcendently beautiful than to be saved with those we know and love, who have, like us, also been redeemed by God’s expansive and personal love?"

9 Ingredients to Finding Your Ancestors with Descendancy View March 10, 2015 By FamilySearch DescendancyIngredientsBlog

Have you found your ancestors or cousins by using the descendancy view on FamilySearch.org? It is one of many new FamilySearch tools that make it easier for you to find your family members and add them to your tree. It is also one of the best illustrations of the power of indexed records

Descendancy research basically means searching for your ancestors’ descendants. The new descendancy view makes it so easy! The descendancy view shows what your ancestors see when they look down their family tree toward our day—from their children to their grandchildren, to their great-grandchildren, and so forth. As you can imagine, the number of people multiplies with each generation, as do your chances of finding someone new.

As you do descendancy research on FamilySearch.org, you will notice icons and links that guide your search. One of the icons is the record hinting icon, which indicates that there are records that are likely connected to the person you are looking at. Record hints are generated from indexed records and show possible matches of records in the FamilySearch.org database to the people in your tree. Thanks to your indexing efforts, the computer can now match these records to the people in your tree, making it easier than ever for users to attach the hinted records as sources, find their ancestors, and add them to the tree.

Here are some simple ingredients that will get you started with descendancy research and record hints.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Success

1. Sign in to FamilySearch.org, and view your family tree.

2. Find an ancestor who was born before 1830.

3. Select the ancestor, and change the view to Descendancy.

4. To expand the descendants of your ancestor, click the arrow next to a person’s name, looking for record hints on the right. The Record Hints icon suggests that there may be records available for an individual. The Research Suggestions icon indicates possible gaps or missing family members. The Data Problems icon warns of potential data problems.5. Look for both the Record Hints icon and the Research Suggestions icon together. These two icons together mean that there are records for the person and possibly missing family members to add. 6. Click the Record Hints icon to view possible records of your ancestor.

7. Compare the information from the new record to the information already in Family Tree.

8. If the information is accurate and the record is for your ancestor, attach the record to the entry in Family Tree, and add any missing family members to Family Tree.

9. Return to the descendancy view in Family Tree.

We hope that you are able to experience the joy that comes from finding your ancestors. Once you have learned how,* we encourage you to show others.


 * Church-service missionaries are available to help. Please call 1-866-406-1830 for assistance.

= Where else can I go to learn to do family history =


 * Basic and advanced research classes are available. Here are found classes from introduction to doing research to performing in depth research such as how to research German records.
 * For information on using familysearch.org try this. This is a series of excellent how-to videos, online courses, guides and manuals, lessons and activities, handouts, and webinars on using The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints genealogy program.
 * Legacy Family Tree has free online WEBINARS. Each video remains free for about a month and then becomes available through the purchase of a CD so you can build a library if you wish.
 * RootsMagic also has free online webinars at: www.rootsmagic.com/Webinars/

What software do I need and where can I get it?

 * The Idaho Falls Family History center does not recommend any particular program. In fact, many different programs are used by the staff.
 * Here is a link from a Google search on Genealogy Software programs that lists the Top Ten..
 * Comparative Informationon several programs are shown on this page. These are all free but do have a more enhanced version you can purchase. After the description there is a link to the vendor's website.
 * If you want to switch from PAF to another software package, Ancestral Quest, Legacy and RootsMagic  will accept your files directly.
 * Ancestral Quest, Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic and Family Insight are on all of the computers in the FHC for you to use while doing research.

Library Resources



 * 24 networked computer workstations with a data/video projector in the main classroom.
 * 16 networked computer workstations with a data/vidio projector in a secound classroom (resently added) Bell Room
 * 27 networked computer workstations on the main floor with printing capabilities
 * fiberoptics for internet access at worktables (wifi available)
 * large teaching/meeting room with 1 computer, 1 overhead projector, 1 data/video projector, white boards, piano and seating for approximately 60
 * 5 microfilm readers
 * 1 microfiche readers
 * 1 flatbed scanner
 * 1 microfilm/microfiche scanners with printing capabilities.
 * 1 copy machine (color and black/white) Cost black and white 5 cents, color 25 cents; also includes scanning capabilities.
 * a lunch room for patrons (because we love you)
 * We have the capability of binding/repairing (but not restoring) donated books.

Collections and Film/Fiche ordering

 * All microfilm and microfiche must now be ordered online!
 * We have over 14,000 rolls of microfilm and over 16,000 sets of microfiche.
 * Family History Library Catalog
 * Eastern Idaho Obituary Collection;


 * 1) We maintain the Eastern Idaho Death Records Index  which is hosted by BYU Idaho. This is an index of deaths in eastern Idaho and surrounding area from the early 1900s to the present.
 * 2) We have the obituaries published in the local newspapers for most of the individuals found in the Eastern Idaho Death Records Index. These obituaries are not online and can only be viewed at the Center.

Staff Research Specialists
By Appointment Only We have many dedicated and knowledgeable missionaries and volunteers to assist in helping you to find your people. The FHC also teaches classes on doing research in many of these areas.

Danish * Dutch * English * French * German * Germans from Russia * Italian * Latin * Native American * Norwegian * Russian * Scandinavian * Spanish * Swedish * Medieval

Links to useful and fun sites.
Discover technologies that will improve your family history research and knowledge. This is a very, VERY, VERY cool place.Try TechTips

Here is a little magnifier that sits on your computer desktop to enable your poor ol' tired eyes to see things on your screen better.....it does not replace sleep. Virtual Magnifying Glass is a free, open source, screen magnification tool for Windows and Linux. It is simple, customizable, and easy-to-use. The program shows a magnifying glass lens that follows the mouse movement. You can move the lens around the screen to view magnification of any screen area. To close the lens, click the left mouse button. Virtual Magnifying Glass also adds it's own taskbar icon. Left-click on the icon offers a shortcut for launching the lens again.

Irfanview is an image viewer that we use a lot at the FHC. It will even make panoramas from several .jpgs.

Faststone Capture will very quickly and easily capture all of your screen or just a few words. This is version 5.3 which is free. There is a new version, 6.7 which will actually edit video but it is not free.

FamilySearch's Research Wiki

Get research advice, or learn where to find record collections in our 76,956 articles. In the FamilySearch Research Wiki, you can learn how to do genealogical research or share your knowledge with others.

Volunteer at the Library

 * Do you want to learn more about doing family history? We will teach you how to help yourself while we teach you to help others. We encourage you to do your own research when not assisting patrons.
 * Would you like to serve a full or part time mission but need to stay close to home? Come join us at the FHC where you can meet many new people and help them find their ancestors.Make an appointment with Elder Sweat at the Family History Center.
 * Do you have special computer, language or research skills? We have a place for you to keep those skills honed and practiced. Use 'em or lose 'em.
 * You can serve as few as two days a week, Monday through Saturday.