FamilySearch Center at the John Parker Library c. hanlin 07.10

Using Mormon Family History Centers The largest collection of genealogical records in the world is the main Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons). The collection is in Utah, but the catalogue is on-line. Any roll of microfilm in the vault can be sent out to a Family History Center near you, for you to examine on their microfilm readers. Is there a Family History Center near where I live? Go to the web site www.FamilySearch.org and click on the “Library” tab, then on “Family History Centers,” and type in your location. There are over 3,400 branches in the U.S., so the odds are good that there is one close to you. What should I expect to see at a Family History Center? The typical Center is located in a Mormon church facility, usually with a separate entrance. All of the Centers are free and open to anyone. (You will not be asked to listen to missionaries, and visiting one of the Centers does not make it any more likely that missionaries will call on you.) The Centers are staffed by volunteers, and the hours of operation will be listed on-line. Each Center provides computers and microfilm readers, plus some limited print resources. What kinds of resources are available? The Centers provide computer access to web-based resources (which is instant), plus the ability to order microfilms from the main collection (which will take two to three weeks after you place a request). Computer access is provided to a variety of genealogical web sites. Some of these are free sites (including FamilySearch.org) which can be accessed from any computer, but most Centers also provide access to Ancestry.com, which charges a substantial fee for home access. How do I find out what microfilms are in the collection? To see a catalog of books that are available on microfilm, go to www.FamilySearch.org and click on “Library,” then on “Family History Library Catalog.” (You can do this from any computer, not just the ones at the Family History Centers). You can search for relevant titles by your family name (surname), the name of the place where your ancestors lived, the title or author of a book, or a keyword. The books themselves are not on-line, just the catalog. How does microfilm rental work? When you have located a book or manuscript you want to see, write down the “film notes.” Check the hours of operation for the Family History Center nearest you. (Since the Centers are staffed by volunteers, hours are often limited, and it’s a good idea to call ahead before you drive over.) At the Family History Center, you will fill out a form and pay a rental fee of (currently) $5.50 per roll of film to cover postage. In two to three weeks, you will get a phone call confirming that your microfilm has arrived. You will then have thirty days to examine the film at the Center on their microfilm readers before the film is sent back to Salt Lake City (or you can renew the film). The films are not for sale. What is the Granite Mountain Storage Vault? 25 miles southeast of Salt Lake City is the vault where the master microfilms for the Family History Centers are kept. (The microfilm you see is a research-quality copy made from the master.) This vault was excavated in the 1960’s, six hundred feet into the solid granite of the mountain at the north side of Little Cottonwood Canyon. There are six storage bays, each 190 feet long, 25 feet wide, and 25 feet high, all carved out of solid rock. The storage bays are lined with metal cabinets ten feet high, containing – currently – about 2.4 million rolls of microfilm and 1 million microfiche. The natural conditions inside the mountain provide nearly constant temperature and humidity levels; but there is also a computer-controlled cooling and air filtration system, scrubbing the air of dust to keep the surface of the microfilm scratch-free. The main vault door weighs fourteen tons. The facility is designed to withstand a nuclear blast. What’s up with Mormons and genealogy, anyway? Among Mormons, it is considered a religious obligation to research one’s family tree. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (sometimes abbreviated as LDS for Latter-Day Saints) emphasizes the importance of family relationships, and believes that these relationships can transcend death. Marriage is considered to be an eternal covenant, and children are "sealed" to their parents, meaning that their relationship will continue after death. The LDS Church also conducts sealing ceremonies on behalf of deceased ancestors. This practice has been controversial, since some people have felt that a sealing ceremony might show disrespect to the original religious convictions of a non-Mormon ancestor. But Mormons are adamant that sealing ceremonies do not amount to forced conversions of the dead. In Mormon theology, our ancestors are watching us, and the performance of a sealing ceremony invites an ancestor to enjoy the blessings of an eternal family – an invitation which the ancestor is free to accept or decline.