If a genealogist has the choice of one research trip per year the destination could only be Salt Lake City. Its as if every courthouse in the country were transported to one location and made available six days a week to the researching public.
The Latter Day Saints Family History Library is an amazing place. The research center is a meticulously organized five story library. The main level consists entirely of open stack United States transcript books. This floor is where you will find county record books and local histories. Heading up in the elevator one reaches level two, which houses United States microfilms. The Mormon church has gone into most of the courthouses in our country and filmed original court record books. Level two also contain priceless gems such as military and church records filed in numerous rows of open stack cabinets. A researcher checks the library catalog for microfilm number on the scores of computers on each floor, then locates and returns the microfilm herself. There are few shelving errors. Serious researchers understand that the success of their research effort depends on the applicable book or microfilm being in the correct location. If one heads up the stairs again you arrive at level three, which houses family histories – open stack, or course.
The most amazing place is below ground level. B1 is the International Floor. The large International desk is manned at all times by experts in Western Europe, Scandinavia, and Latin America. A researcher can carry her microfilm of old German church records to a machine mounted on the help desk. A translator will not only interpret your record but will also provide valuable advice regarding the customs, practices, and traditions in the area of your interest. The LDS experts are equipped with international atlas volumes, indexes that detail church parish districts, and scores of similar research aids. And yes, the microfilms are actual copies of original church records. And they are fabulous!! German Lutheran birth, marriage, and death records are like a history of the family, sometimes even containing occupations of the grandparents. Who can fault one for spending thirteen hours a day underground?
One level down from the International Floor is B2, which contains books and microfilm from the British Isles, Canada and Australia. You will also find regional experts staffing its main desk.
Each floor of the Family History Library contains row after row of computers, microfilm machines, and a copy center. The computers are all connected to the internet, the family history library catalog, and the LDS research databases. Each floor’s copy center consists of microfilm and conventional copiers and a CD writer. Microfilm copiers are dedicated to different lens and paper sizes. One can choose the machine that best fits her needs. And there’s always a missionary handy to help you operate an errant machine.
The library opens at 8am and closes at 9pm Tuesday through Saturday. It is closed on Sunday and on Monday night. Research seminars featuring varying areas of the world are conducted daily in its many meeting rooms and auditoriums. The free informational sessions are regularly publicized with flyers, bulletin boards, and over the library intercom. First time visitors are treated to library orientation sessions. Private companies specializing in genealogical research assistance conduct classes for visiting groups in nearby hotel meeting rooms. Brown bags lectures combine lunch breaks with research tips.
The Joseph Smith building contains a computer center than is open on Monday night when the library is closed. This facility allows one to access the LDS genealogical databases from a massive computer laboratory during library down time. The Joseph Smith building also houses a store in the basement which sells research guides and many popular LDS extracted record data bases on CD at very reasonable prices.
If one is a true genealogical addict she waits in line for the morning library opening and rushes up or down the stairwell to quickly lay claim to a microfilm machine on the floor of her choice. She brings instant meals consisting of tuna or pasta so that not one valuable minute of research time is lost to boring things such as lunch or dinner. When she hears the announcement that the library will be closing in 15 minutes she suffers an instant panic attack regarding the research time lost to sleep and rest. When Saturday arrives the pressure is intense – only thirteen more hours in the library before the return trip home. What secrets might still lie in the rows of microfilm that will have to wait until next year’s research trip?
Before catching the airplane bound for home, one has to speak to the hospitality of Salt Lake City and the LDS church. Temple Square is a friendly place. Wherever one wanders, there is always someone available to offer directions or assistance. “Can I help you?”, is offered at every wrong turn by a nicely dressed person with a smile on their face. They seem to not mind at all if one is a Virginia Episcopalian navigating someone else’s turf.
Thank you LDS! The contributions you have made to family research have truly allowed genealogists to step into the 21st century. One has only to look over her shoulder to see ancestors smiling.