Church History Library

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Contact Information
E-mail: Ask a Librarian

Address:


 * 15 East North Temple Street
 * Salt Lake City, Utah 84150

Telephone: recording, and live staff 801-240-2745 Fax:  801-240-2804

Hours, admission, and holidays: Click here.

Maps and public transportation:


 * For a map of area pay-parking lots click here.
 * For TRAX light rail, and bus routes click here.

Internet sites and databases:


 * Church History Library Internet Site: resources, hours and admission, services and rules, location and parking.
 * LDS Church Periodical Index of authors, titles, subjects, and abstracts of articles in periodicals published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and others from 1976 to the present.
 * Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel (1847-1868) index of individuals and companies that crossed the plains to Utah from 1847 to 1868. Also includes transcribed excerpts from trail diaries, letters, and newspaper reports.

Collection Description
Manuscripts, books, LDS Church records, photographs, oral histories, architectural drawings, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, maps, microforms, and audiovisual materials. The staff creates and maintains catalogs and indexes for this collection about the members and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


 * Ward, branch, mission, and stake records from the mountain West of the United States, and around the world, including membership records primarily from 1877 to 1983, meeting minutes, and some early emigration records. The Church History Library is the only place to access membership records from 1949 to 1983.
 * Journal History of the Church 1830-present chronological scrapbook of LDS events, including an index.
 * Patriarchal Blessing Index 1833-present. Includes some genealogical data.
 * Missionary, and priesthood quorum records.
 * Diaries and journals of individuals including pioneers and some LDS Church leaders
 * Published histories of wards, branches, stakes, and missions
 * Biographical information, photos, and documentation about LDS Church leaders.
 * LDS Church periodicals and newspapers.
 * Local unit histories (splitting, merging, starting, or reorganizing of ward, branch, mission, and stake boundaries)

Guide
The Tracing LDS Ancestors Wiki pages describe in detail some of the sources at the Church History Library. See especially Census · Colonization · Emigration and Immigration · Historical Geography · History · Membership Records · Military Records · Missionaries · Newspapers · Patriarchal Blessings · Periodicals · Priesthood Records.

Substitute Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a record at the Church History Library, a similar source may be available at one of the following:

Overlapping Collections


 * Family History Library LDS membership, temple records, censuses, genealogy, obituary index, Early Church Info File
 * Brigham Young University, genealogy, county histories, censuses, Family History Center, digitized family histories
 * Daughters of Utah Pioneers emphasizing biography of ancestors who arrived in Utah prior to the railroad in 1869
 * Community of Christ Library, formerly Reorganized LDS Church, a group that shares part of their early history and membership with the Utah LDS Church. For a microfilm inventory of their archive records 1830-1994, click here.

Similar Collections


 * Huntington Library Western Americana including California LDS history for "qualified" scholars
 * Southern Illinois University collects LDS history sources
 * Yale University Divinity School Library has an excellent collection of LDS theology and history books.

Neighboring Collections


 * University of Utah, historical-biographical sources, newspapers, government documents, and Western Americana
 * Utah State University Special Collections and Archives local historical and biographical sources
 * Utah State Archives newspapers, deaths, land, courts, local histories, naturalizations, military, directories, criminals
 * Utah State Historical Society manuscripts and photos for historical and biographical studies
 * Salt Lake City Public Library Utah newspapers on microfilm, and genealogical databases