FamilySearch Centers (FSC), formerly Family History Centers (FHC), are branches of the FamilySearch Library (FSL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The centers supply resources for research and study of genealogy and family history. As of 2024, there are more than 6,316 FSC in 149 countries. [1]
The Salt Lake City Genealogical Library was founded in 1894 to gather genealogical records and assist members of the LDS Church with their family history and genealogical research. It is the largest library of its kind in the world. It is open to the general public at no charge. The FSL is visited by an estimated 1,900 or more individual patrons each day. By 1975, there were 17 "branch libraries" around the world. [2]
The library collection has 2.4 million rolls of FSL microfilmed genealogical records and more than 742,000 microfiches in the main system. In 2003, the collection increased monthly by an average of 4,100 rolls of film, 700 books, and 16 electronic resources. A majority of the records contain information about persons who lived before 1930. Approximately 200 cameras are currently microfilming records in more than 45 countries. Records have been filmed in more than 110 countries, territories, and possessions. [2]
The first FSC, then called a branch genealogical library, was organized in the Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) at Brigham Young University (BYU) in May 1964. Plans to organize FSCs in Mesa, Arizona, Logan, Utah, Cardston, Alberta, and Oakland, California, each adjacent to a temples in one of those cities, had been announced at the church's October 1963 general conference.
The FSCs were put under the overall direction of Archibald F. Bennett. By December 1964, there were 29 FSCs, and by 1968, there were 75. In 1987, these institutions were renamed "Family History Centers." On January 10, 2023, the LDS Church announced that Family History Centers would be known as FamilySearch Centers. [3]
FSCs vary greatly in size, hours staffed, and resources available. [2] Because of changing demographics, many smaller FSCs are closing with their resources being directed into "Library Class" facilities similar to the Los Angeles FHL, but not like the Riverton FSC that has computers only. [4]
The BYU Family History Library is part of the HBLL at BYU in Provo, Utah. The BYU FHL was one of the original planned FSCs and is the largest FHC outside of Salt Lake City. It was formerly known as the Utah Valley Regional Family History Center. It is now semi-independent of the LDS Church's FSC system.
In June 2010, the LDS Church closed down many smaller FSCs in the Salt Lake Valley and opened the Riverton FSL, a misnomer, since the facility has no books and no magazines, having computers only. Whether this will be a trend for future FSCs is not known. [4] The Riverton FSL in Riverton, Utah [4] has a Family Story Room available for use to record ancestor and family stories with state-of-the-art audio and video technology.
 | This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: FamilySearch has gone through several major changes since the writing of the bulk of this article.(August 2022) |
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 more than 80 million names that are linked into families. Records from the United States, Canada, the British Isles, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, are available. The Social Security Death Index represents millions who were in the US Social Security system before death. A majority of the records contain information about persons who lived before 1930.
Census records from the 1880 United States Federal Census and from the 1881 British & Canadian censuses are available. A Vital Records Index presents thousands of names for Mexico and Scandinavia only. [5] Approximately 200 cameras are currently microfilming records in more than 45 countries. Records have been filmed in more than 110 countries, territories, and possessions. [6]
In 2003, the collection increased monthly by an average of 4,100 rolls of film, 700 books, and 16 electronic resources.
| This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: FamilySearch has gone through several major changes in the way it uses indexing.(August 2022) |
In the late 1990s, a "pilot program" to update familysearch.org and digitize its entire collection was started using volunteers to input or "index" census and other data. This new genealogical index is considered an upgrade. It is a work in progress representing 426 regions around the world. Millions of new names have been input by volunteers and volunteers for the project are being actively solicited at FamilySearchIndexing.org. The searchable database containing the digital images and index will be available through the LDS Church's FamilySearch website.
Provo is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is 43 miles (69 km) south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south. With a population at the 2020 census of 115,162, Provo is the fourth-largest city in Utah and the principal city in the Provo-Orem metropolitan area, which had a population of 526,810 at the 2010 census. It is Utah's second-largest metropolitan area after Salt Lake City.
The FamilySearch Library (FSL), formerly the Family History Library, is a genealogical research facility in downtown Salt Lake City. The library is open to the public free of charge and is operated by FamilySearch, the genealogical arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Boyd Kenneth Packer was an American religious leader and educator who served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2008 until his death. He also served as the quorum's acting president from 1994 to 2008 and was an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve from 1970 until his death. He served as a general authority of the church from 1961 until his death.
The International Genealogical Index (IGI) is a database of genealogical records, compiled from several sources, and maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Originally created in 1969, the index was intended to help track the performance of temple ordinances for the deceased.
Temple Square is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediately adjacent to Temple Square. Contained within Temple Square are the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake Tabernacle, Salt Lake Assembly Hall, the Seagull Monument, and two visitors' centers. The square was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1964, recognizing the Mormon achievement in the settlement of Utah.
FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is closely connected with the church's Family History Department. The Family History Department was originally established in 1894, as the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU); it is the largest genealogy organization in the world.
Ernest Leroy Wilkinson was an American academic administrator, lawyer, and prominent figure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was president of Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1951 to 1971, simultaneously overseeing the entire LDS Church Educational System (CES). He is credited with the expansion of BYU. Under his presidency, the student body increased six times to over 25,000 students due to the university's physical growth and his aggressive recruiting policies; the number of colleges at the university increased from five to thirteen, and the number of faculty members increased four-fold. Wilkinson focused on recruiting more faculty and convincing current faculty to receive education outside the university. As a result, the number of teachers with doctorate degrees increased from 50 to 500. Associate and doctoral programs were created for BYU.
The basic beliefs and traditions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a cultural impact that distinguishes church members, practices and activities. The culture is geographically concentrated in the Mormon Corridor in the United States, and is present to a lesser extent in many places of the world where Latter-day Saints live.
Jordan School District is a school district in the southwestern portion of Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It now employs 3,364 teachers and other licensed personnel who educate more than 57,800 students. An additional 3,092 employees provide support services for the system. Jordan District was the largest in Utah until the Canyons School District in the southeastern portion of the county split in 2009. Boundaries for Jordan District now include the communities of Bluffdale, Copperton, Herriman, Riverton, South Jordan and most of West Jordan.
Granite Mountain is a mass of solid rock one mile up Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range of Utah, not too far from Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite its name, Granite Mountain is primarily composed of quartz monzonite, an igneous rock similar to granite in appearance, physical characteristics, and chemical composition. This is the same material used to construct the Salt Lake Temple and the facade of the LDS Conference Center.
The BYU Family History Library (FHL) is located in the Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. It is one of the Family History Centers devoted to assisting library patrons in genealogical research. It began as a small section of the BYU library in 1962, and later expanded into a branch of the Family History Library, the genealogical library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in 1964. It was formerly known as the Utah Valley Regional Family History Center. The BYU FHL houses a large collection of physical materials, such as microfilms, photographs, books, and other documents. It also offers access to digital materials, including genealogical databases and digitized newspapers. Scanners, computers, and printers are also available. The BYU FHL assists patrons online through its website, YouTube channel, and hosted webinars. It also offers classes in a variety of areas related to genealogy.
Archibald Fowler Bennett was a longtime employee of the Genealogical Society of Utah who was such a figure in the promotion of family history research in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that he became known as "Mr. Genealogy".
Theodore Moyle Burton was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of the main leaders of the Genealogical Department of the church in the 1960s. Under his direction the department expanded its operations, largely through the opening of many more Family History Centers.
The Church History Library (CHL) is a research center and archives building housing materials chronicling the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The library is owned by the Church and opened in 2009 in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.
Richard Eyring "Rick" Turley Jr. is an American historian and genealogist. He previously served as both an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as managing director of the church's public affairs department.
Paul Langheinrich (1895–1979) was a German genealogist who saved a large number of German records that might have otherwise been destroyed from 1945 to 1953. His records were the base of the German Records Collection of the Family History Library as well as the main initial component of the Deutsche Zentralstelle fur Genealogie.
Lynn Mathers Hilton was an American politician who served as a member of the Utah State Legislature. He was also known as an academic professor, businessman, Middle East explorer and author of many books related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Grant Library building was completed in 1925, and in 1961 the library moved to the newly constructed J. Reuben Clark Library where it stands today. That building was renamed to the Harold B. Lee Library in 1974.
Philanthropies, formerly LDS Philanthropies, is a department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is responsible for facilitating donations to humanitarian and educational initiatives. The department works under the direction of the church's Presiding Bishop. The most widely known educational projects are the operation of church-owned schools, such as Brigham Young University (BYU). Humanitarian funds are given to Latter-day Saint Charities which sponsors and organizes relief efforts. In 2019, the church reported over 3,000 community-based projects with an excess of 2,000 partners, in locations around the world. A 2020 statistic reported a total of $2.3 billion that had been donated over Philanthropies' existence.