FamilySearch has discontinued its microfilm circulation services because it now offers billions of the world’s historic records online digitally.

For 80 years, FamilySearch created microfilms of birth, death, and other records around the world and offered a service where you could borrow rolls of microfilms to search for information about your ancestors. Now its digital records are available online for free and easy access.

Learn more in the article “FamilySearch Digital Records Access Replacing Microfilm.”

Facts and Tips About the Change from Microfilm to Digital

• All of the microfilm rented in the past 5 years have now been digitized by FamilySearch—over 1.5 million microfilms (about 1.5 billion images).
• The remaining microfilms are being digitally scanned at a rate of 1,000 films per day and are projected to be complete by 2020.
• New digital images are available as they are scanned in the FamilySearch.org Catalog.
• If you need access to a particular film yet to be digitized, you can express interest to have it added to the priority digitization list by contacting FamilySearch Support toll free at 1-866-406-1830.
• Visitors to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City will still be able to order needed microfilms to use during their research visits.

How to Find Digital Images on FamilySearch.org

• FamilySearch Catalog. Includes a description of all the microfilms and digital images in the FamilySearch collection. This is where all of FamilySearch’s digitized microfilm and new digital images from its global camera operations are being published. A camera icon appears in the Catalog next to a microfilm listing when it is available digitally.
• FamilySearch Records includes collections that have been indexed by name or published with additional waypoints to help browse the unindexed images.
• FamilySearch Books includes digital copies of books from the Family History Library and other libraries, including many books that were previously copied to microfilm.

For additional help, see Finding Digital Images of Records on FamilySearch.org, or watch this how-to video “Where are the digitized records on FamilySearch?”

See Frequently Asked Questions: Digital Access Replacing Microfilms for more information.