The Champaign Family History Center is a branch of the Family History Library, funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which provides the world’s largest collection of family and genealogical records and resources to the public for free through its online sites. There are five computer stations with access to several subscription-based online resources.

The Champaign Family History Center is a branch of the Family History Library, which is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The library was founded in 1894 in an effort to gather genealogical records and data in order to assist the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others in their research of family history and genealogy. It is open to the public at no charge and is the largest collection of its kind in the world.

The Family History Library is involved in several projects to digitize their records. As records are digitized, they are sent to thousands of volunteers around the world who then index names, dates, and other valuable genealogical data. The indexes and original images are made available online, for free, for all people interested in researching their family history. For example, the entire 1930 U.S. Federal Census was recently indexed and is now available online, indefinitely, at no cost.

Since its opening, the Family History Library has expanded to provide its services in over 4,500 centers in 70 countries. One of these centers can be found in Champaign in the Champaign meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The meetinghouse building was constructed in 1972, and the Family History Center itself was opened shortly thereafter in its own room in the building. At the time of the center’s opening, all of the records that could be accessed were on microfilm or microfiche. As patrons in Champaign ordered microfilms and microfiche from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, the Champaign Family History Center’s collection grew. It now houses almost 2,000 microfilm and tens of thousands of microfiche, which can be used by local patrons for their own family history research.  

As more and more people have gained access to computer and the Internet, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has developed their own computer applications for the organization and retrieval of genealogical data. When online access became available, they were able to move the church’s database applications online. These applications are available to the public at no charge. Patrons of the Champaign Family History Center also have access to outside subscription (fee-based) services related to family history and genealogy studies. The Family History Center underwrites the cost of those services and patrons can use them at no cost while they are at the center. The Champaign Family History Center, like its counterparts around the world, also provides free access to its microfilm resources to anyone in the community and surrounding region.

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Stake Family History Center

Stake Family History Center is an astonishing place which plays a great role in gathering genealogical records and data in order to assist the Champaign-Urbana community.  It is located at 604 W Windsor RD, Champaign, IL 61820.

 The center is operated by the Illinois LDS Church and is considered as one of the branches of the Family History Library, which is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest genealogical library in the world with copies of millions of original records including the names of more than two billion deceased people.

 All the center’s facilities are open to the general public and give free resources, including microfilm, print materials and computer research. Moreover, users of the Champaign Family History Center also have access to outside subscription (fee-based) services related to family history and genealogy studies.