Death Records | Obituary Searches | The LDS Family History Library
Friday, February 15th, 2008 by ChrisThe Latter-day Saint Family History Library contains the largest collection of genealogical information in the world. This means the largest collection of death records, obituary searches, and other critical resources to the genealogy process regardless of how many generations back you’ve gone. The library, originally founded by the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1894, is committed to capturing on film all worldwide data on public record such as deeds, wills, marriages, births and deaths.
The Web Site.
Visit the Family History Library Web site to get information about the library location and its history. You may want to organize documents and prepare for your obituary searches. You will find that this website has one of the richest set of online sources available anywhere.
Preparing for Your Visit.
Locate the directions to the library, a layout of the library records, and information about hotel accommodations. (Click the “library” tab at the link on the top of their web page.)
The library is located at 35 North West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It will probably require a bit of planned travel so set a date for yourself (even if it’s a year or more away) and start saving your pennies. (You won’t find a more complete archive of death records anywhere.)
Note the library’s hours. With the exception of Sundays and seven other days each year, the library is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays and from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The library is 142,000 square feet and covers 5 floors. You’ll want to plan ahead.
LDS Orientation.
Visit the orientation center upon entering the library. You be able to attend the short orientation session to become familiar with this sizable library. There are five floors, four of which are open to the public. Make sure you get a printed guidebook, which can help you use almost every system in the library.
You might want to check out the schedule of the various classes that are available throughout the day. Look for any classes focused on death records and how to manage obituary searches. These classes are free and given by volunteers and staff members to aid in your use of the databases and resource information. Plan your day around the classes. Like the orientation, these classes are extremely valuable.
Doing Death Record Research and Obituary Searches.
Take advantage of the more than 70 computer research terminals available at the library. Use a stand-up computer for quick searches. (Use is limited to about 15 minutes; utilize a sit-down computer for up to one hour.) If they’re all full, you’ll find more computers one block away in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. These off-site computers have access to the library indexes and are recommended for beginners.
You can check out up to five films or five books at a time. Don’t forget that these are available for use in the library only. You can take advantage of the assistants available on each floor. Don’t let yourself get stuck for too long. Your visit is too costly and valuable to waste being lost. They are there to help patrons learn how to search, but not to find the information for you.
Print out information from a computer for about 5 cents per page, and make photocopies for about the same price. You can also get printouts of microfiche for 20 cents a page. If you want, you can also download data onto your own disks or purchase disks from the library. (Be prepared to wait in line to make copies.)
You’ll want to plan to spend at least half a day getting oriented and another two days on research. Keep in mind that research can be quite exhausting. Plan ahead by creating a schedule for yourself. The LDS Family History Library is the single best source of death records under one roof. Their resources for obituary searches are bar none.
