The Family History Library in Salt Lake City is world-renowned as one of the best genealogical resources available. Most genealogists know WHAT the Library is and are familiar with its catalog as a research source. But not all researchers know HOW to use the Library catalog to their best advantage. Let's explore the Library and its catalog in more depth to get a better understanding of how to use it to find what we need as genealogists.

The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU), now known as the Family History Library, was founded in 1894 and is the largest genealogical library in the world. The GSU began microfilming records of genealogical value in 1938 and soon these were stored and preserved in the Granite Mountain Records Vault near Salt Lake City. Copies of many of the over 2 million microfilms are available for researchers at the Family History Library.

The Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) identifies the many microfilms, books, microfiche, maps, compact discs, and other materials in the Family History Library. Researchers should prepare for a visit to the Family History Library or a local Family History Center (branch library) by first checking the catalog and making a list of sources to be searched. FHLC is updated periodically and the new edition shows new records acquired since the last version. The catalog does not do research for you, does not make decisions about what records to search, and does not give information about your ancestors. It is the catalog to records housed at the Family History Library.

For many years researchers used a card catalog available only at the Family History Library in Salt Lake. Eventually the catalog was microfilmed and made more widely available. The Family History Department then produced the catalog on microfiche and later on compact disc as part of FamilySearch®. The compact disc version is especially helpful since you can search for surnames and localities (place names). Users can also link a surname with another surname or keyword. The compact disc version was placed on local area networks at some research facilities, such as Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The microfiche version is arranged by surname, locality, author, title, and subject.

A typical catalog entry shows the library book and or microfilm or microfiche number, author’s name, title, publication information, copyright date (if known), format (number of pages), contents of the record, if the record is available in a different format (such as microfilm or microfiche), and catalog headings where the record may also be found.

Locality records are cataloged by subject subdivisions. A few examples include:

Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Emigration and Immigration
Genealogy
Land and Property
Military Records
Naturalization and Citizenship
Probate Records
Vital Records

Knowing the subject heading will assist you in finding records in the catalog. For example, civil births, marriages, and deaths are cataloged by locality under the heading VITAL RECORDS. Gravestone inscriptions and cemetery records are cataloged under CEMETERIES. Passenger lists are cataloged under EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION.

For some large subject areas, such as federal and state census schedules, military records, passenger lists, and newspapers, microfilm numbers are also listed in registers available at the Family History Library and some of the larger Family History Centers.

During the spring of 1999, FHLC was placed on the Internet as part of FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service, at http://www.familysearch.org (CUSTOM SEARCH). Although full functionality of the catalog is not yet available, researchers are able to have free access to FHLC by using the Internet.

Now the Family History Department has produced a new version of Family History Library Catalog on compact disc that includes catalog entries as of March 2000. System requirements include a Pentium processor (or higher), Windows 95 (or higher) or NT 4.0 (or higher), a minimum of 8 MB RAM (16 MB recommended), a CD-ROM drive, 4 MB of hard disk space, and Internet Explorer (4.0 or higher).

One of the most important features is that researchers can use KEYWORD SEARCH to locate catalog entries. In addition, you can search by locality (place), surname, author, title, subject, call number, and film/fiche search. “Help” instructions are available and you can print out a short “Getting Started” file.

All genealogists and libraries with a computer should obtain a copy of this latest FHLC version. It is available for only $5.00 from Church Distribution. See http://www.familysearch.org for ordering information (Order Family History Resources, item number 5008100).

The Family History Library's address is:

Family History Library
35 North West Temple Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84150

Kip Sperry is an associate professor of family history at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.