Family History Library

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LDS Genealogy Library in Salt Lake City

The Family History Library (FHL) is a genealogical research facility provided and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church). Its main purpose is to fulfil one of Mormons' fundamental tenets: that church members can retroactively baptize deceased family members, especially ancestors, into the church so that they may receive salvation.

The library is in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the headquarters of the Mormon Church are located. It is the largest genealogical library in the world and is open to the general public at no charge. The library holds genealogical records for over 110 countries, territories, and possessions. Its collections include over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 742,000 microfiche; 310,000 books, serials, and other formats; 4,500 periodicals; 700 electronic resources.

The library is in the process of digitizing its entire microfilm collection. It is estimated that the digitizing project will be completed about 2012. An online index to the digitized records is also being created. Volunteers to the project are now being actively solicited at FamilySearchIndexing.org for those with PC or PC Compatible operating systems. As of March of 2007, indexers for the project have several types of records from which to choose, including the 1900 US Census from several states, and various vital records. The searchable database containing the digital images and index will be available through the church's FamilySearch website.

Branches of the library are called Family History Centers (FHC). There are over 4,000 family history centers operating in more than 88 countries. Most of the microfilms in the main library's collection can be loaned to a Family History Center for a nominal charge. These centers are staffed by volunteers, and, like the main library, are free of charge and open to non-Mormons as well as Mormons.