No More Microfilm Ordering from FamilySearch

 On September 1, 2017, FamilySearch will discontinue its microfilm distribution services. That's right - no more ordering film into a local Family History Center.

Before readers react in horror, remember that FamilySearch has made good progress (over 1.5  million films done to date!) on digitizing its microfilm collections, and is continuing to digitize them. Once digitized they are put online.

There are many genealogists, like me, who have NEVER had access to microfilm loans due to no nearby FHC, nor have we been able to access them in Salt Lake City (due to travel and/or expense). But the world has not ended, and we have been able to make great progress on our genealogy.

I'd also like to remind those who think the sky is falling that FamilySearch records are FREE. It surprises me to see complaints about a free service as I am now seeing on Facebook as genealogist are learning of this policy change. We should all be thanking FamilySearch profusely for even creating the microfilms and then working on digitizing them.

And I know I'll get some flack for saying this --- but --- as much as I love genealogy, as much as I am absolutely addicted and obsessed with it --- it's not truly that important in the overall scheme of things. Finding a cure for cancer - that's important. Feeding hungry children - that's important. Figuring out how to have peace in the world - that's important. My suggestion is that we all keep it in perspective.

Just my personal thoughts on this.

Read the full explanation of this policy change on Family History Microfilm Discontinuation

Microfilm at Your Fingertips!

How many of you remember "the good old days" pre-Internet when we spent hours in libraries and archives scrolling through microfilm in a dark room? I sure do! 

Now, thanks to The Internet Archive, (part of the WayBack Machine) microfilm is coming right to your computer! Here is their description of the focus of this project:

As books become old and begin to fall apart, librarians depend on microform to preserve their content for the future. Tiny photographs on long strips of film (microfilm) or small cards of film (microfiche) are all that remain of hundreds of thousands of documents that have disintegrated over the last century. While microfilm is perfect for storing and protecting this material, it is a does not allow for much access. In following its mission to provide universal access to all human knowledge, the Internet Archive is teaming up with libraries all over the world to begin digitizing microfilm and microfiche. The goal is to get as much content off the shelves and online.

The books in this collection are from a variety of libraries including the University of Chicago Libraries, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Alberta, Allen County Public Library, and the National Technical Information Service.
You may also want to view the newspapers that have been digitized from microfiche.

So don't wait, click over to https://archive.org/details/microfilm and let your fingers do the walking!