FamilySearch accepts some donations of books and other materials. The Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accepts other materials.
How do I donate books or manuscripts to the FamilySearch Library?
We need information about the materials you want to donate so we can determine whether they meet our criteria. With permission from the author, we digitize donated material and post it online at our website, FamilySearch.org. Researchers are able to view the material free of charge from the website.
For a complete list of items and guidelines for donations, please see our complete set of guidelines. A summary of the items FamilySearch accepts is below:
- Materials must be readable, organized, and accessible to help researchers identify individuals and relationships by name, date, and place.
- Materials should include a title, author, and publication date.
- Materials must not violate current privacy or copyright laws.
- Materials must be accompanied by a General Donation form.
- Materials can be added to our digital library with the completion of a Permission to Duplicate form by the author or copyright holder.
- FamilySearch accepts the following materials:
- Family histories.
- Local and county histories.
- Autobiographies and biographies containing genealogical material.
- Indexes to records in book format.
You can send inquiries and donations to the address below:
FamilySearch
FamilySearch Library
Donations
35 North West Temple Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84150-1103
USA
You can also contact us via email at: books@familysearch.org
How can I donate a GEDCOM file?
You can upload a GEDCOM file directly to the Pedigree Resource File on FamilySearch.org.
Can I donate money to FamilySearch?
Yes, you can donate cash or goods. Please visit https://donate.churchofjesuschrist.org/contribute/familysearch. Under the address fields, click to check the box next to Comments. In the text box, indicate that the donation is intended for FamilySearch.
Can I donate programming skills to FamilySearch?
To donate programming skills, go to https://familysearch.org/developers/.
Can I donate an old missionary journal or other artifact?
The FamilySearch Library cannot accept donations of historical artifacts. Please contact the Church History Department.
Where do I find the materials I donate?
Search for your digitized materials at FamilySearch Digital Library. Donated materials can take up to 6 months to appear on the FamilySearch website. If, after 6 months, your materials do not appear, please contact us at books@familysearch.org. If you do not send the Permission to Duplicate form with your donation, the donation does not appear on FamilySearch.org (see above for a link to the form).
If you want to request filming of records held at libraries or societies, please email libraryrights@familysearch.org.
What volunteer opportunities are available at FamilySearch?
These are examples of volunteer opportunities currently available:
- Indexing historical records
- Grow the Family Tree
- Improving FamilySearch place-names
- Volunteering in genealogical research
- Translating FamilySearch content
- Testing FamilySearch products
Steps (website)
- Go to Volunteer on the bottom of most FamilySearch screens.
- Click a description of the volunteer opportunity to learn more about it.