Arizona and other State Libraries join in partnership with FamilySearch

The Arizona State Library has joined with 35 other states in making the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records genealogy resources available online viaFamilySearch.org. Quoting from the announcement:

The initiative will make thousands of historical books of genealogical importance freely accessible online for family history researchers worldwide. 

The State Library and Archives also becomes an affiliate organization of FamilySearch, a designation which will give Arizonans greater and more convenient access to the wealth of genealogical resources. 

We are constantly looking for ways to provide access to information through technology,” said Secretary of State Michele Reagan, whose office oversees the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. “The partnership with FamilySearch allows us to provide access to genealogy research internationally, helping those who cannot afford to travel access the information they need.

FamilySearch is providing scanning and digital hosting services for 5,000 books at no cost to the state. In return, FamilySearch will make the digital images of the books freely available online for research globally. Once scanning is complete, the original copies of the books will return to Arizona. Scanning is expected to take about six months to complete.

There has been a recent controversy with the availability of the Arizona State Library Genealogy collection. The present agreement has been made possible by the following:

We’d like to thank all of the volunteers from the genealogy community including the Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board West Valley Genealogical Society, the Irish Cultural Center and the Family History Society of Arizona who generously volunteered their time,” said State Librarian Joan Clark. “With the support and solutions provided by these organizations, we have been able to process the collection in an efficient manner. 

“We look forward to continuing our relationship with the genealogy community in Arizona,” Clark continued, “and to providing access via the internet or in-person at the Arizona State Archives in Phoenix.

There are also other materials available. Here is some additional explanation:

In addition to the materials that can be accessed through FamilySearch, researchers will be able to use other genealogy resources at the Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building. There, they will find recent genealogy books, databases, the Arizona Collection, maps, state publications and documents, and other archival collections. 

Some duplicate materials from the genealogy collection have been transferred to the Irish Cultural Center and West Valley Genealogical Society. 

The reading room at the Arizona State Archives is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For prompt service, please call ahead to 602-926-3720.