Concurrent with the LDS Church’s production of genealogical indexes and computer systems, it has been aggressively increasing the number of family history centers in the United States and throughout the world. A system encompassing a few hundred centers twenty-five years ago has now grown to over 3,500 in North America alone. The centers are branches of the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City and serve the local population by providing genealogical reference material and methodological assistance to enable people to trace their ancestry. Before FamilySearch’s Internet debut, such centers were almost the only place to find the Ancestral File, IGI, FHLC, and other such databases.

But a family history center is much more than just FamilySearch. It can be a great place to get genealogical advice or instruction. Many centers offer classes or training in everything from "getting organized" to probate research. Some FHC staff are extremely well versed in genealogical research methods and can be very helpful in recommending sources or analyzing a research problem. In addition, centers can be a convenient place away from home to quietly browse through research material already obtained. You might even investigate the opportunity of sharpening your skills and serving the community by volunteering at your local center.

Most significantly, family historians may order Family History Library microfilm to their local centers to view and use in their research. The LDS Church’s decades-long microfilming activities have created an enormous collection of over two million rolls of film. This collection includes genealogically valuable records from all over the world. Viewing microfilmed copies of these records is often the only way to get convenient access to original records–particularly for foreign countries where travel is expensive.

Following through with an index entry to the original records is a vitally important activity–especially in an age when the most visible aspect of the pursuit (to beginners anyway) are large electronic lists of names. Despite the time-saving nature of an index, its very existence is designed to lead researchers to original records which are more complete and in many cases more accurate. For many records on microfilm, no digital indexes yet exist. Genealogy has seen a lot of exposure on the Internet in the last few years, but researchers of all stripes must realize that a good portion of their work must be done off-line.

For their research atmosphere and helpful staff, as well as for the resources they make available, family history centers are good places to perform off-line research.