Research Outlines

The popular printed FamilySearch Library Research Guidelines were taken out of print in 2009. Many in the genealogy community were saddened when the announcement was released.

The Guidelines are called by various names; Guidelines, Guide, Outline but all refer to the same wonderfully informative documents.

None of the information in the Guidelines was lost when hard copy publication stopped. It was all incorporated in U.S. State and Country articles on the FamilySearch Wiki.

Even with the enhanced research information in wiki articles, some researchers still like to use the the original Guidelines. Fortunately, they are available online.

Research Guidelines Online
All of the Research Guidelines were converted into .pdf files by the BYU Family History Library. If you don't have regular access to a the internet, download a copy to your computer when you do have access. The files are found at:


 * Research Outlines View online or download the guides in .pdf format

The retirement of hardcopy Guidelines is discussed in the Retirement of Research Outlines article.


 * Retirement of Research Outlines  This article also includes links to the U.S. State Guides at BYU.