More to Salt Lake than Family History Library

It is always a little bit of an adjustment to go from almost 100 degree weather in Mesa to anywhere else. This is especially true this week in Utah, with temperatures at night into the 30s. We hardly ever see temperatures that low. I am here for the FamilySearch Bloggers Day. It looks like it could have been a week of genealogy, had I been more aware of what was going on. There was a Utah Genealogical Association annual banquet reported by Kimberly Powell and there is an International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists Conference, October 22nd and 23rd.

This is just a small indication of the huge research resources that are available in and around the Salt Lake Valley. Northern Utah is generously endowed with large Universities. Salt Lake has the University of Utah which has a huge research library, the J. Willard Marriott Library, where I worked through most of my academic career. In addition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in addition to sponsoring the Family History Library, has a brand new Church History Library and Archives building full of resources about a long block from the Family History Library.

While in Utah, I am initially staying with one of my daughters and her family. She lives about two blocks from the Brigham Young University campus. BYU is a world renowned facility again with a huge library, the Harold B. Lee Library. Inside the huge library is the Utah Valley Family History Center and the BYU Family History Library, and other major genealogical resources. Here is a description of the genealogical resources available in Utah Valley (just south of Salt Lake):

Utah Valley has many famous libraries. Utah Valley University's Digital Learning Center features cutting-edge technology and has been called the "greenest" state-funded building in Utah. Equally as impressive is Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library, which is among the top 10 university libraries and includes over 9 million volumes, microfilms, government documents, maps, films, etc. One highlight of the Harold B. Lee library is the BYU Family History Library, which is the second-largest genealogical library in the world! Check out a book or just take a look around one of the beautiful and impressive libraries located around Utah Valley.

Every time I come to Utah, I like to go to the BYU Bookstore and look through what they have for Family History books. Outside of the genealogy conferences, the BYU Bookstore has one of the largest selection of books for sale on genealogy.

Utah has eleven four-year universities, with five of them in the Salt Lake and Utah valleys. I end up doing a lot of my research at the Harold B. Lee Library due to the proximity to my daughter's house.

There are a lot more resources in Salt Lake for genealogy than just the fabulous Family History Library.