Church History Library in Salt Lake City

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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). The library is owned by the Church and opened in 2009 in downtown

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

History

A new archives building was originally planned in 1960, as an 11-story home for the offices and libraries of the Church Historian and Recorder and the

Genealogical Society 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 (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family Histo ...

. The need for such large facilities diminished due to advances in modern document preservation, as well as with the 1963 completion of the Granite Mountain Records Vault, which had vast storage for genealogical materials. Following the completion of the

Church Office Building The Church Office Building is a 28-story building in Salt Lake City, Utah, which houses the administrative support staff for the lay ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) throughout the world.Taylor, Scott"For 3 ...

in 1972, the church's Historical Department resided in the four floors of the east wing. In April 2005, plans were announced to construct a new CHL, to be completed in late 2007. The site was then a

Temple Square Temple Square is a complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), 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 ...

parking lot, and was the same site as in the 1960 plan, northeast of the intersection of Main and North Temple. The new facility houses the Church History Department (the modern name of the Church Historian's Office) and the church's historical archives. The building was dedicated on June 20, 2009. The building opened to the public on June 22, 2009 with extended hours, improved technology, assistance staff, and additional educational and training programs.

Collections

The CHL preserves materials related to the history of the Church, from the 1820s in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

, to the current day, with more than 16 million members around the world. The historical materials of the Church contain rich information about both Mormon history and the development of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. These collections include: * 270,000 books, pamphlets, magazines, manuals * 500,000 historic photographs, posters, maps * 23,000 audio and video recordings * 120,000 local histories for Church units * 150,000 journals, diaries, papers, and manuscripts * 20,000 rolls of microfilm * 3.5 million patriarchal blessings for Church members

Facilities

The new building provides temperature, humidity, and air quality control for the church's historical collections. Materials are stored in two types of archival storage rooms. The 10 main storage rooms are kept at with 35 percent relative humidity. There are also two special rooms that will be kept at minus four degrees Fahrenheit for color motion picture films, photographs, and records of special significance. The building has areas for conservation, collections development, and research. The church's conservation efforts involve 300 to 500 books and documents and 3,000 to 4,000 audiovisual recordings every year. Collections development staff acquire and catalog 500 to 700 new collections annually, including 6,000 publications. Other staff members housed in the new building will be responsible for publications, historic sites, and web content. In 2005, the CHL applied to be certified through the

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

(LEED) rating system, the national standard for the design, construction, and operation of

environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

buildings. In 2009, the CHL received LEED certification.

Public services

All research facilities opened to the public on June 22, 2009. Some resources are also available online, including the Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel database. This database is the most complete listing of LDS pioneer emigrants and companies who traveled to Utah from 1847 through 1868. In September 2010, the CHL began posting some of their digital collections online in partnership with the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. Currently the library is working on getting many of their pre-1923 (

Public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

) collections digitized and available to a worldwide audience on the Internet Archive and through

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

's digital collections.

References

External links

Church History Library

Church History Library
(FamilySearch Research Wiki) {{Authority control Library buildings completed in 2009 Religious buildings and structures completed in 2009 Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City Historic preservation organizations in the United States History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Libraries in Utah Library, LDS Church History Properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah Tourist attractions in Salt Lake City Latter Day Saint church buildings Research libraries in the United States