USING A LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER #1 BEFORE YOU GO revised 6/97 This is the first in a series of lessons on HOW TO USE A LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER (FHC). There are over 2,000 branches of the main Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City. Each branch has a core collection, and access to microfilm and fiche through a rental program. Each center is different, varying in size and staff experience. To locate a FHC in your area: look in the white pages under Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If there is no special FHC listing, call the church on Sunday mornings to inquire about the nearest Family History Center. RootsL has a page with links to addresses of the larger LDS FamilyHistory Centers throughout the world. Check their WEB page at: <A HREF="http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/fhc.html">http://www.rootsweb.com/roo ts-l/fhc.html</A> Contact the nearest FHC to determine if there is a smaller center closer to your home. Your ancestor need not be a member of the LDS Church for you to find records on him in Salt Lake. Genealogists recognize the FHL as one of the leading repositories for genealogical research materials. Some preparation on your part is wise if you expect to make the most of your visits to these valuable FHCs. Studying each article in this series will explain various collections and how they might be useful in your research. Remember, the volunteer at the FHC might not be an expert on the areas you are researching. Volunteers may be so new to genealogy that they do not yet understand the rudiments of using the FHC. We are still so happy that they are there even if it is just to open the door! With a little diplomacy on your part, your visits will become informative for such volunteers, as well as productive for you! BEFORE YOU GO, GET ORGANIZED !!! MAKE A RESEARCH BRIEFCASE! 1. Call the FHCenter to determine its hours of operation and to schedule computer or microfilm reader time if required. 2. Print out a pedigree chart using your genealogy program. 3. Take a few family group sheets for those families you wish to concentrate on. You might find information on a sibling of your ancestor, and disregard it unless you remember the family relationships. 4. Print out an alphabetical listing of all individuals in your database. 5. Bring a pencil and change for the photo copy machine. 6. Since each center reserves the right to post their own rules, hours of operation, etc., be prepared to follow prevailing local FHC rules which might include: - Keeping your research briefcase in the outside hall, bringing only a pencil and loose sheets of paper into the FHC. - No food or drink. - Provide for child care at home, to keep the FHC a quiet reference library. 7. You'll also want to have a GOAL in mind for your research that day. You might include your LDS Research checklist, your time line for an ancestor, and your research log (where you have listed goals for future accomplishments.) Be aware that there are three main categories of information available at the FHL and its branch FHCs: PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED RESEARCH: Including family history books, as well as names submitted to the IGI (International Genealogical Index), and volumes of indexes on such topics as passenger records, census, military, wills, land records, cemeteries, etc. It would be foolish not to check these types of records as there is simply no point in trying to reinvent the wheel! ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS: Including microfilms of parish registers, vital records, old newspapers, military and census records, etc. - Eventually you'll be ordering copies of such films to view the actual baptismal record for your ancestor in England in 1793, etc. Many centers are equipped with reader/printers which make photocopies of such original documents on microfilm. In this way you will build your research notebooks to include the supporting evidence. COMPUTER FILES: Including the card catalog of all FHL holdings, the IGI, Ancestral File, Social Security Death Index, Military Index, and some additional CDs of information which a particular center may have elected to add to its collection. I hope you will enjoy this series of Family History Center Columns. I would suggest you print out the article study it over the weekend, and take it with you to your next FHC visit. In this manner, you can immediately use the collection to solidify your understanding of each new resource. As you follow this weekly procedure, you'll also develop a (hopefully) good reference notebookbook on USING A LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTER.