Researching at the Largest Genealogy Library in the World: The Family History Library in Salt Lake City
By Carolyn L. Barkley
Have you experienced times when the hours just seem to drag by as if the day will never end? In contrast with such monotony, I can guarantee that the hours will seem to fly by during a research trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
I’m hoping that you have registered for the 2010 NGS Conference in the States (April 28-May 1) to be held in Salt Lake City and therefore will be able to spend some time researching your family in the library. If not, perhaps you are thinking of a visit at another time. Yes, you can do a great deal of research at your local Family History Center and online at FamilySearch.org, but the convenience of moving quickly from reel to reel, book to book, county to county, or country to country makes the trip to Salt Lake extremely worthwhile.
First, some background information about the Family History Library, which has been described as containing the “largest collection of genealogical materials in the world.” The library began in 1894 when the Genealogical Society of Utah was founded to help church members with their own family histories. First housed in the Church Historian’s Office, by 1917 the library had relocated to the fourth floor of the Church Office Building with about 5,000 books in its collection. Continued collection growth led to further moves and the advent of new technologies such as the addition of microfilm in 1938, the same year in which the library bought its first microfilm camera. The Granite Mountain Records Vault in Little Cottonwood Canyon was completed in 1963 as a repository for the microfilm masters of more than three million records that the Church photopgraphed at archives around the world during the intervening years. Today, the Family History Library, which opened in 1985, is located in a 142,000 square foot building located at 35 North West Temple Street. It is open to the public, free of charge, on Mondays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. You will want to check the website for holiday closings. Please note that during the NGS Conference, the library will be open until 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.
The Family History Library now contains over 2.4 million reels of microfilm, more than 742,000 microfiche, over 300,000 books, serials and other formats, and 4,500 periodicals. Over 125 full-time and part-time professional staff are available to assist you in addition to approximately 700 trained volunteers. There are 314 computers, 408 microfilm readers, 36 microfiche readers, 28 microfilm and microfiche copiers, 4 microfilm scanners, 14 book copiers, and 4 book scanners available for your use. I recommend that you arrive at the library as early as possible as seats at computer stations fill quickly). Although there are 375 seats available at tables, conference attendeescan quickly fill available seating. Over 2,000 patrons enter the library daily. One tip to avoid standing in line at copiers on the very busy United States and Canadian topic floors is to try the International (B-1) and British Isles (B-2) floors where lines may be shorter or nonexistent.
Here are some tips to make your trip enjoyable and successful:
- Do your homework!
Search the online catalog and identify microfilm and books that you will want to consult during your trip. The collection includes records from the 1500s to about 1920 for the United States, Canada, the British Isles and over 150 other countries, ranging from Germany, France and Sweden to Luxembourg (church and civil registrations), Indonesia (records for European residents and for the native population since 1920), and India (Hindu pilgrimage records and Christian church records of British residents).
By planning your trip in advance, you will not spend time at the library deciding what to look at and more importantly you will not have to pay $.05 to print out the same information from the catalog that you could have printed at home for free. You will be able to arrive at the library with your list of sources and be ready to start immediately! I recommend having more than one research objective planned in case the first one is solved quickly or, more realistically, proves to be unsolvable (at the moment). Be realistic in deciding what you can accomplish during your visit. Be able to answer the question, “Who is the one person (or event) I want to learn about during this trip?” for each objective.
Floor plans of the library are available online. Since there are five public floors, try to familiarize yourself with their contents prior to arrival. The “B2” floor is the British Isles research floor; “B-1” is international; the main floor features printed family histories and genealogies; the second floor houses United States and Canada microfilm, and the third floor shelves United States and Canada books. On each floor you will find staff and volunteers, a reference desk, copy center, restrooms, FamilySearch computers, and a drinking fountain. The main floor includes a snack room in the front right corner as you enter, with vending machines for drinks and snacks. Online maps are also available showing parking facilities near the library if you plan to drive into the city.
Be aware of the rules for using the collections and facilities. In particular, note the prices for self-help copy services so that you bring the correct currency to purchase and then recharge your copy card. If you are a library visitor with special needs, or are accompanying a friend or relative with such needs, wheelchair access, microfilm readers for physically and visually-impaired individuals, and some assistance for hearing-impaired researchers are available. TDD telephone questions can be handled by calling 801-240-2616.
- Pack research materials efficiently!
With airline costs for overweight and extra baggage skyrocketing, you will want to think twice before you join the legions of researchers dragging suitcases-on-rollers behind them into the library. Taking the time to define your research objectives carefully before you leave home will allow you to bring only those materials that are necessary to your work. If you bring a laptop, you’ll be able to consult your genealogy software (PAF, The Master Genealogist, Family Tree Maker, etc.) and enter new information and sources as you find them, thus eliminating the need to carry numerous files or large notebooks and avoiding piles of paper and writer’s cramp. Also by working in advance of your trip, you can scan onto your laptop photographs and copies of census records, wills, and other documents that pertain to your objectives. (Be sure you document your sources while you are at the library.)
- Learn new skills!
The Family History Library holds regular classes on how to use the facility, its computer programs, resources and records. Once again, you can read a list of upcoming classes online before you leave. When you at are the library, listen for the announcements that are made throughout the day about classes that are about to begin.
- Take care of yourself when you research!
A phenomenon exists that I call “microfilm machine malaise.” When you feel that you just can’t look at another grainy image or turn the hand crank one more time, it’s time for a break. My research day includes two-hour research segments interspersed with breaks, lunch, or dinner (do you see a food theme here?).
When you arrive at the library for your first day of research, ask the volunteer at the main desk in the lobby for a card that will allow you to eat lunch in the Church Office Building located on the far side of Temple Square, an easy walk from the library. The meal choices are plentiful and the cost is nominal. Temple Square is beautiful in any season and the walk will give your mind and body a needed rest. On the way to the office building, take a detour through the Joseph Smith Building (the former Hotel Utah). Its elegant lobby often features a pianist playing at noontime (as does the cafeteria in the Church Office Building), and there are comfortable chairs that invite you to stop and listen. Later in the afternoon, if you are staying at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel, right around the corner from the library, it’s even possible to go back to your room for a quick nap!
- Give yourself time to analyze your findings and refocus your research!
Many of us feel that since we’ve paid a lot to travel to Salt Lake and have left work and family behind while we’re there, we need to be at the library during all its hours of operation. Actually, some time away from the library will allow you to analyze what you’ve found and to consider how it meets or does not meet your expectations. What have you learned and how does that change, or solve, your research objectives? Conversation with friends over dinner (food again!) or with a roommate at the hotel can often help put facts and documents in perspective and allow you to refocus your work so that you will begin the next day refreshed and eager to find more evidence.
Several resources are available that can provide you with detailed insights into researching your ancestry at the Family History Library.
Your Guide to the Family History Library: How to Access the World’s Largest Genealogy Resource by Paula Stuart Warren and James W. Warren (Better Way Books, 2001).
The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library edited by Johni Cerny and Wendy Elliott (Ancestry, 1988).
Going to Salt Lake City to Do Family History Research by J. Carlyle Parker (3rd rev. ed., Marietta Publishing Co., 1996).
You may also want to check out the several resources listed on Cyndi’s List concerning the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, and Family History Centers.
A visit to Salt Lake City and the Family History Library is a must at some point in your research career. Once you go, you’ll want to go again. The time will just fly by!