Issue 11.13
A 2010 survey of Family History Centers in the greater St. George area showed there were 24 centers of various sizes. Some had only one or two computers and the largest the St. George Family History Center had nearly 50. Of the 24 centers 12 were not officially recognized and were unable to order microfilm or microfiche. These centers usually had Internet access and were within less than two miles from a recognized center.
In an effort to bring the St. George area into line with recommendations from leaders and the Family History Department, they have been combined. For years the St. George Family History Center was located in the Joseph E. Olsen home on the southwest corner of 400 South and 200 East in St. George. Then for a time it occupied the old LDS Church Distribution building in the Temple parking lot. But now, the new location of the St George FamilySearch Library is 162 North 400 East in St. George. It is behind Café Rio, just off 400 East and St. George Boulevard on the second floor of the Utah Department of Workforce Services building. There is an elevator and plenty of parking in the front and in the rear of the building.
Elder Grey and Sister Marlene Larkin are the directors. They have a beautiful new reception desk, lots of room and an attractive facility with plenty of storage. There are two computer training classrooms for students to receive hands on training. The research room will house the largest number of computers with plenty of room for helper assistance. So far there are 118 new computer stations where you can use state of the art technology to search more than 3 billion names that make up the FamilySearch database. FamilySearch is the largest free genealogical database in the world, and it’s available to anyone.
The new center has an administration room for the assistant directors along with staff for records and statistics. They have a 56 seat auditorium that doubles as a classroom. They will be showing training films to aid in their preparation meetings. I even noticed a break room and large restrooms as well as many windows to add light. It sits right at the base of the Red Hill. They open every day except Sunday at 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. but on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays they stay until 9:00 p.m.
I can see this new facility being a great training resource for the community where groups could be accommodated as never before available in this area. There will be a soft opening in the first few days of March and the grand opening will be in mid-April.. See www.genealogynow.org for more detail.
For more information contact Shanna S. Jones (435) 628-4900 shannasjones@msn.com