Family History Library

United States Utah  Archives and Libraries  Family History Library

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

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Announcements
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: 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


 * Classes, Hours, Parking: 1 801-240-6536
 * Lost and Found: 1 801-240-5624
 * Group Reservations: 1 801-240-4673
 * World Wide Support Research Help: 1 801-240-2584

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.

Patron Class Schedule
View the following schedules using Google Chrome, or Internet Explorer. ''' They may NOT appear using a Mozilla Firefox browser. ''' July, 2015 August, 2015

Live Online Class Schedule
All times are Mountain Time.

July
Thu 23 Jul 6 pm Beginning LDS Research

August
Sat 1 Aug 1 pm Reading Spanish Handwriting (in English) Wed 5 Aug 10 am Advancing Your Polish Genealogy: 300 Years of Records Thu 13 Aug 6 pm Planning a Research Trip Sat 15 Aug 1 pm Genealogía Descendente Thu 27 Aug 6 pm Immigration Into the United States

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

 * [[Image:Microfilm Readers jpg.jpg.jpg|right|Microfilm Readers jpg.jpg.jpg]]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 E-mail: [mailto:bookdonations@familysearch.org 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) ;. J. Carlyle Parker, Going to Salt Lake City to Do Family History Research, 3rd ed. (Turlock, Calif.: Marietta Pub., 1996) ;.

Plan Group Visits
Click the link to review the Group visit options and make a reservation.

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 guests 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 guests 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) Announcements are made 45 minutes, 30 minutes and 15 minutes prior to closing of the Library. Please leave the Library prior to closing time.
 * 5) Food and drinks are permitted only in the main floor snack room. (Water bottles with closed lids are permitted.)
 * 6) Animals: No animals are allowed in the Family History Library unless they are trained service animals assisting persons with disabilities.
 * 7) Clothing and Dress Standards: Appropriate dress is required in the Family History Library which includes shirt, pants and shoes at all times.
 * 8) Children under twelve must be accompanied by an adult.
 * 9) 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 &amp; 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 [http://familycherished.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-gives-with-familysearch-rest-of.html 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 1 866-406-1830 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 &amp; 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, &amp; 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.