FamilySearch International yesterday announced the completion of a massive project to digitize its entire collection of more than 2.4 million rolls of microfilm, containing more than 11.5 billion individuals, and it is now freely available to the public on FamilySearch.org.*
Over 200 countries and principalities and more than 100 languages are represented in the digitized documents.
Microfilming
FamilySearch began microfilming in 1938 as the Genealogical Society of Utah. It was one of the first major organizations to embrace the use of microfilm imaging.
For many decades, duplicates of the original rolls could be ordered and viewed at one of FamilySearch’s more than 5,000 family history centres worldwide.
The process of duplicating and distributing microfilm copies, and the laborious research that followed, seems excruciating by today’s instant online research standards, but at the time, it was innovative and the easiest, most economical way available to help patrons worldwide find family information without having to travel to an archive holding the original records.
FamilySearch ended its microfilm distribution to family history centres in September 2017 when it began its transition to an all-digital, free, online access approach.
The microfilm collection will continue to be preserved, but the information the rolls contain can now be easily viewed and searched online.
Digitizating
Digitization of the rolls of film began more than 20 years ago when FamilySearch purchased its first microfilm scanners in 1998. The project was expected to take over 50 years to complete, but advances in technology helped shorten the timeline by nearly 30 years.
The last of the microfilm scanning was completed this year.
The project took a leap forward in 2006 when software and processes were developed by FamilySearch in conjunction with the Church History and the Information and Communication Services Departments of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The scanning began with about five employees. As the process was developed, up to 30 employees, using 26 scanners, were working on the process, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
*Unfortunately, not all of the digital records can be viewed from home. Judy G. Russell explains why in her blog post, Digitization done.
FamilySearch produced a short video about the project, called Billions of Microfilm Records Digitized.
