The Family History Library (FHL) is a

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

research facility in downtown Salt Lake City. The library is open to the public free of charge and is operated by

FamilySearch 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 genealogical arm 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).

History

The origins of the FHL can be traced to the founding of 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 ...

(GSU) in 1894. Through time the FHL has changed locations within Salt Lake City as follows: * The GSU's first library was located in the office of the

Church Historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

, 58 E. South Temple Street *

Church Administration Building The Church Administration Building (CAB) is an administrative office building in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States serving as the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the fourth-largest Christian denomin ...

, 47 E. South Temple Street (1917–1933) * 80 N. Main Street (1934–1962) * 100 S. Main Street (1962–1971) *

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 ...

, 50 E. North Temple Street (1972–1985) * 35 N. West Temple Street (1985–Present) The current building, just west of

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 ...

was opened on October 23, 1985, and cost $8.2 million. In 1938, the GSU began to

microfilm Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either photographic film, films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the origin ...

records which contained genealogical data from around the world, and today this microfilm makes up much of the library's collection. Today the GSU is more commonly known as FamilySearch, and in September 2021, completed digitizing many of its microfilm collections to be shared online. In 2017, the FHL opened a new center for interactive discovery experiences.

1999 shooting

On April 15, 1999, 70-year-old Sergei Babarin entered the FHL's lobby and began shooting. A security officer and one female patron were killed while several others were injured. One hour and 45 minutes after the shooting began, Salt Lake police shot and fatally wounded Babarin in an exchange of gunfire. Babarin's family indicated he had a history of schizophrenia, a claim not corroborated by the Valley Community Mental Health Clinic. This occurred only four months after a separate shooting incident a block away at the

Triad Center The Triad Center is a complex of office buildings in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Originally planned as a large development, containing several office and residential buildings (including the tallest buildings in Utah), the proje ...

Purpose

Its main purpose is to fulfill one of the LDS Church fundamental tenets: that deceased family members, especially

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

s, can be baptized by proxy, as well as receive other saving ordinances. These ordinances are performed in

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Services

The FHL is located

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 ...

. It is the largest genealogical library in the world. The library holds genealogical records for over 110 countries, territories, and possessions. Its collections include over 1.6 million rolls of microfilmed records onsite and access the total collection of more than 2.4 million rolls of

ed genealogical records; 727,000

microfiche Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original document size. F ...

; 356,000 books, serials, and other formats; 4,500

periodicals A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...

; 3,725 electronic resources including subscriptions to the major genealogical websites. The FHL offers research assistance to help patrons trace their own family history. Professional genealogists and volunteers offer assistance in about 30 languages, which includes reading and translating genealogically relevant documents. The FHL also offers free one-on-one consultations on difficult research problems. Additionally, there are classes on genealogical research topics free to the public and classes available online.

Branches

Branches of the FHL are called

Family History Centers Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library 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 famil ...

(FHC). While there are over 4,400 FHCs operating in more than 134 countries there are only about 17 major regional branch library class facilities. The others are ward, branch and stake facilities with at least one or more genealogical computers.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Religious buildings and structures completed in 1985 Library buildings completed in 1985 Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City Genealogy and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Libraries in Utah Properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Genealogical libraries in the United States The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah Latter Day Saint church buildings 1985 establishments in Utah de:Genealogische Gesellschaft von Utah es:Centro de Historia Familiar pt:Centro de história da família