Cloverdale Library Gains Affiliate Library Status With World’s Largest Genealogy Organization

FamilySearch.org, the world’s largest genealogy organization, has just awarded Surrey Libraries’ Cloverdale Library with Affiliate Library status. This means digital images that are locked to most public users are now available through the Cloverdale Library.

FamilySearch.org provides free online access to millions of records, containing over 4 billion names. These include information about births, deaths, marriages, wills, census, immigration, military service, taxation, and more, from many countries around the world, going back hundreds of years. 

“Digital images of original documents are usually available online, but many of these are locked to the public due to copyright restrictions,” explains Carmen Merrells, Information Services Librarian. “Now we can provide our library patrons with access to records that are usually restricted to researchers.”

FamilySearch.org’s collection of genealogy records is being scanned and digitized at a rate of 1,000 microfilms per day, so new images are constantly being uploaded. Over 1.5 million of its microfilms (which represent about 1.5 billion records) have been digitized to date. The organization estimates that its entire collection will be digitized by the end of 2020. 

There will always be some digital copies of original documents that have privacy, copyright, or other restrictions which will limit their access, but going through an Affiliate Library like Cloverdale will certainly open the door to a new world of digital images for researchers.

People interested in researching their family history are encouraged to visit Cloverdale Library’s Family History department or get more information online.