Utah Archives and Libraries

Many archives and libraries have resources such as maps, gazetteers, and other place-finding aids to help you locate information about Utah. They may have collections of previous research, such as family and local histories and biographies. Many have record-finding aids such as guides to their own collections or inventories of records housed elsewhere in the state.

Many societies have libraries and archive holdings, with biographical and genealogical records. These collections will be listed under Utah Societies.

The following libraries and archives are helpful for research in the state of Utah. Search the wiki for the county to locate local libraries, archives, and Family History Centers.

See also United States Archives and Libraries for a more extensive list of libraries on a national basis.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories in Utah
Utah State Archives· Utah State Historical Society·Church History Library· Daughters of Utah Pioneers· Logan Public Library· Salt Lake City Public Library· BYU Lee Library· Family History Library· BYU Family History Library· Logan Family History Center· Ogden FamilySearch Library· Riverton FamilySearch Library· St. George FamilySearch Library· Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley· National Archives at Denver

Online Resources

 * Archives West


 * Formerly Northwest Digital Archives. Contains listings of archives in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Utah.


 * The Mountain West Digital Library is a search portal for an aggregation of digital collections from more than 50 universities, colleges, public libraries, museums, and historical societies in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho. It is in partnership with 60 academic libraries, public libraries, museums, historical societies, cities, counties, and state agencies from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Hawaii (coming soon: over 60 new partners in Arizona!)


 * Utah's Online Library includes Centennial county history series; Utah historical serial publications; Utah Session Laws from 1851 (requires a [Utah] library card).

State and County Repositories
Research Center for Utah State Archives and Utah State History: ''Closed since 2020 due to earthquake damage to the Rio Grande Depot building. See each repository for contact information and research availability.''

Utah State Archives and Records Service
346 S Rio Grande St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 Phone: (801) 531-3847 Email: historyresearch@utah.gov Internet: Utah State Archives

Call or email to make an in-person research appointment. The Utah State Archives and Records Service is a state government agency that works with records created by state and local governmental entities in Utah. Records of historical value are preserved and are available for research. The Archives also has the Records Service: Name Indexes database.

Utah State Historical Society (Utah State History)
760 S Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84106 Internet: Utah State History

Closed temporarily to research by phone, email, or in-person as of April 30, 2022. Records of early settlements, Great Basin colonization, Mormon pioneers, mining, and records not available at other repositories. Utah State History’s mission is to preserve and share the past for a better present and future. Services include the Utah Historical Quarterly, Library and Collections, Historic Buildings preservation, and antiquities.

Salt Lake County Archives
Research is by appointment only. The public may call or email to make a request or to schedule a research appointment. Telephone: (385) 468-0820 Email: archives@slco.org Internet: https://slco.org/archives/ Historical records created by agencies within the Salt Lake County government, including vital records, property records, and photographs.

Utah State Library
250 North, 1950 West, Suite A Salt Lake City, UT 84116-7901 Telephone: 801-715-6777 Fax: 801-715-6767 Internet: Utah State Library Division

The Utah State Library works to develop, advance, and promote library services and equal access to information and library resources to all Utah residents. Of note is the Utah's Online Public Library which provides access to resources such as EBSCOhost research databases, HeritageQuest Online, and Utah Newspapers.

Utah Vital Records Office
Utah Vital Records Office PO BOX 141012 288 North 1460 West Salt Lake City, UT 84114-1012 Telephone: (801) 534-4694 Internet: Vital Records Office


 * Statewide births and deaths since 1905; marriages and divorces since 1978.



Church History Library
Church History Library The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints History Library 15 East North Temple Street Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3800 Library Telephone: 801-240-2745 Archives Telephone: 801-240-2272 Internet: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints History Library


 * The Church History Library collection is especially strong for early Utah and Mormon pioneers. You will need to bring identification with a photograph, such as a driver's license, to use some of the records. Church History Library material does not circulate to Family History Centers.

Pioneer Memorial Museum
Daughters of Utah Pioneers 300 N Main Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84103 Telephone: 801-532-6479 Fax: 801-532-4436 E-mail: [mailto:info@isdup.org info@isdup.org] Internet: Daughters of Utah Pioneers


 * Houses many records pioneers brought with them including Bibles, photos, diaries, journals, and letters. Also has compiled genealogies on nearly every pioneer that arrived before 1869.

Brigham City Library
26 East Forest Street Brigham City, UT 84302 Telephone: 435-723-5850 E-mail: [mailto:reference@bcutah.org reference@bcutah.org] Internet: Research Center - Family History]


 * Good genealogy collection for Utah settlers.



Logan Public Library
255 North Main Logan, UT 84321 Telephone: 435-716-9120 E-mail: Ask a Librarian form Internet: Logan Library


 * The library has received the collection from Everton Library. The Everton collection had around 80,000 genealogical volumes.



Salt Lake City Public Library
210 East 400 South Street Salt Lake City, UT 84111 Telephone: 801-524-8200 Fax: 801-524-8289 Internet: Salt Lake City Public Library


 * The Salt Lake City Public Library has a good heraldry collection, and better than average Western Americana collection including books about Latter-day Saint and other ethnic pioneers. They participate in inter-library loan service. Their noteworthy genealogically related databases include: HeritageQuest Online, The Pioneer (Utah's online library), Utah Digital Newspapers, Digital Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps 1865-1970, Gale Virtual Reference Library, and the Biography Resource Center.

University Libraries
University Libraries may have unique collections useful for history and genealogy. These may include oral history interviews, family collections, and doctoral dissertations, to name a few.



BYU Lee Library
Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library P.O. Box 26800 Brigham Young University Provo, UT 84602-6800 Telephone: 801-422-6200 E-mail: Ask a Librarian Internet: BYU Harold B. Lee Library Internet site


 * An outstanding research library including county and local histories, records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, diaries, journals, periodicals, newspapers, government documents, maps, and computer databases.



DSU Browning Library
Dixie State University Val A. Browning Library Special Collections 225 South 700 East St. George, Utah 84770 Tel. 435-652-7714 Email: [mailto:library@dixie.edu library@dixie.edu]


 * A large manuscript collection for early Utah pioneers, and a big genealogy collection with many records about out-of-state people.



SUU Sherratt Library
Gerald R. Sherratt Library Special Collections Southern Utah University 351 W. University Blvd. Cedar City, UT 84720 Telephone: 435-586-7945 Fax: 435-586-8152 Email specialcoll@suu.edu



U of U Marriott Library
Marriott Library University of Utah 295 South 1500 East Salt Lake City, UT 84112 Telephone: 801-581-8364 Fax: 801-585-3464



USU Merrill-Cazier Library
Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322 Telephone: 801-797-2678 Fax: 801-797-2880


 * Best western "mountain man" collection anywhere.



WSU Stewart Library
Stewart Library Weber State University 2901 University Circle Ogden, UT 84408-2901 Telephone: 801-626-6515 Toll Free 877-306-3140 Fax: 801-626-7045

Family History Library
35 North West Temple Street Salt Lake City, UT 84150 Telephone: 801-240-2331 Fax: 801-240-1584 E-Mail: [mailto:fhl@ldschurch.org fhl@ldschurch.org] Internet: FamilySearch Family Tree pedigrees, Memories photos, Search historical records, Genealogies, FamilySearch Catalog, and FamilySearch Wiki


 * 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, and records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many Utah microfilms are also at branch FamilySearch Centers in local church buildings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and described in their online FamilySearch Catalog.


 * The following guide book will help in using the library. It gives suggestions on preparing to visit the library, genealogy research tips, and helps in using the library.


 * Parker, J. Carlyle. Going to Salt Lake City to Do Family History Research. 3rd ed. Turlock, California: Marietta Publishing, 1996. ;


 * A history of the Genealogical Society of Utah was written during the centennial of the society. This book covers the beginning of the society to 1994. It contains a history of the library, of microfilming, and an overview of the Granite Mountain Records Vault.


 * Allen, James B., Jessie L. Embry and Kahlile Mehr. Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah. 1894-1994. Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, Brigham Young University, 1995. ;



BYU Family History Library
Harold B. Lee Library 150 East 1230 North P. O. Box 26800 Provo, UT 84602-6800 Family History Reference Desk: 801-422-6200 Family History Librarian: 801-422-7661 Fax: 801-538-1050 Internet: BYU Family History Library


 * An excellent research library and Family History Center with genealogical material from the United States and all over the world, including immigration sources.



Logan Utah FamilySearch Library
50 North Main Logan, Utah 84323 Reception Desk: 435-755-5594


 * Unique early Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming sources about ranching, settlers, cattlemen, farmers, trails, and railroads.



Ogden Utah FamilySearch Center
539 24th Street Ogden, Utah 84401 801-626-1132 FAX: 801-626-1129

Riverton Utah FamilySearch Library
3740 W Market Center Dr. Riverton, Utah 84065-8026 801-240-9601


 * Mostly computers and classrooms; almost no collection.



St George Utah FamilySearch Center
237 East 600 South St. George, Utah 84770 Telephone: 435-673-4591 E-mail: [mailto:stgeorgefsl@gmail.com stgeorgefsl@gmail.com]

Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-6000 Telephone: 510-642-6481 Reference desk Fax: 510-642-7589 Website: The Bancroft Library


 * Good early Utah collection. Premier Western Americana, and Latin Americana collections, including Native Americans, Spanish encounter and colonial settlement, exploration of western America, maps and atlases, the Mexican War, westward migration, the Gold Rush, mining, land surveys, religious and Utopian communities, and ethnic communities. This library has more about western North America than any other site.



National Archives at Denver
17101 Huron Street Broomfield, Colorado 80023 Telephone: 303-604-4740 Fax: 303-407-5707 Internet: National Archives at Denver


 * Archival  holdings consist of Federal records from the mid-1800s to the late 1900s received from over 100 Federal agencies and courts in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Includes Utah plural marriage cases, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and federal naturalizations. The Federal Records Center  maintains non-current retired Federal records.

Directories
To locate libraries in Utah, the state library maintains an updated site to public libraries.


 * Utah State Library Directory The directory has links to each library web page, provides addresses, phone numbers, hours, and maps.