Deb - there are literally thousands of things that a Family History Center can get that you cannot obtain through your local library, because the Salt Lake City Family History Library does not loan out their microfilms on Interlibrary Loan. They ONLY loan (rent) their microfilms to their own branch Family History Centers. For instance: I have never been to Sweden, yet I have documented my husband's Swedish ancestors back to the late 1600's by using microfilm copies of the old church and census records that the church has microfilmed. These were only available to me through my local Family History Center, unless I wanted to make a trip to Salt Lake and view them there. I am sorry that you had difficulty in finding your local Family History Center - it is a proven fact that they are not all created equal but they do all offer the opportunity to order microfilm from Salt Lake City. What town are you in? For those of you who have not made the attempt to locate and use a Family History Center, you are missing out on a goldmine of information. Now the FHLC (library card catalog) is online at familysearch.org so you can check out what's available at home and then go to the Family History Center and order the film with the film number you obtained off the Internet. Although I am not a member of the Mormon church, I have been a volunteer staff member at the Family History Center here in Salem for 17 years. I have a tremendous appreciation for the work the church has done worldwide in microfilming records. Mimi Stang