FamilySearch Successfully Digitizes Extensive Microfilm Collection
Billions of global ancestry records now freely accessible online
September 21, 2021; SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Today marks a significant 83-year achievement. FamilySearch International proudly announces the completion of a large-scale project to digitalize its mammoth microfilm collection. This collection carries billions of global family history records, encompassing information on over 11.5 billion individuals. The public can now access this colossal archive at no cost via FamilySearch.org.
“After eight decades, we are immensely proud to reach this monumental achievement,” stated Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International. “Our deepest appreciation goes to every invaluable contributor over the years, whose tireless efforts helped facilitate this discovery. We believe the millions of individuals who will connect with their family history because of this project will remember these unsung heroes with gratitude.”
With this project’s execution, everyone worldwide has easy access to these records from their homes. Becky Adamson, a research specialist at the FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, believes that it is nothing short of a game-changer.
The digitized documents cover over 200 countries and territories and include more than 100 languages. This completion will greatly simplify personal and family discoveries.
To explore FamilySearch’s freely available records and images collection, visit FamilySearch.org and browse both Records and Images sections. The Images section allows users to view digitized images from the microfilm archive. To access these services, a free FamilySearch account is mandatory.
FamilySearch Record Preservation History
For over a century, FamilySearch and its predecessor organizations have been actively collecting, preserving, and providing significant historical genealogical records. These records comprise birth, death, marriage, census, military service, immigration, and other types of documents.
Beginning in 1938 as the Genealogical Society of Utah, FamilySearch embraced microfilm imaging, amassing over 2.4 million rolls over time.
For many decades, original roll duplicates would be ordered and examined at one of over 5,000 FamilySearch family history centers globally. While the process might seem cumbersome by today’s online speedy research stands, it nonetheless innovatively facilitated global patrons to find family information without traveling to the original record archive.
Now, the entire microfilm record collection has been digitalized. FamilySearch ended distributing microfilm to its history centers in September 2017 and paved the way for free, online digital access to these invaluable records. While the original microfilm will be preserved, it is now far easier to view and search for information online.
The Microfilm Digitization Timeline
The monumental digitization process started over 20 years ago when FamilySearch purchased its first microfilm scanners in 1998. Initially expected to take over half a century to complete, technological advancements culled the timeline by approximately 30 years.
FamilySearch will perpetually strive to collect, preserve, and provide the world with genealogical records. By adding to new record digitization worldwide and leveraging partnerships, they aim to help people worldwide connect with their familial histories. In addition to this, they will commence the digitization of 335,000 microfiches in their collections.
About FamilySearch
As the world’s largest genealogy organization, FamilySearch International is a non-profit, volunteer-operated organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For over a century, FamilySearch has been diligently gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records globally. Patrons can freely use FamilySearch services and resources online via FamilySearch.org or through over 5,000 family history centers across 129 countries, including the primary Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.