Some of the resources available at the Salt Lake City LDS Genealogical 
Library.  Some are also found in the local LDS libraries.  Excerpted from 
"A Guide to Research - Genealogical Library of the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-Day Saints", by Corporation of the President of The Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 1983.


                        ** Family Group Records **

The Family Group Records collection consists of about 8 million Family 
Group Record forms submitted by members of the LDS church and others.  
These forms contain information on families from all over the world.  They 
also provide LDS temple ordinance dates.  The collection is divided into 
two sections: the Archive section and the Patron section.  The two sections 
relate to who the submitters were and the time period in which they were 
submitted.  The Patron group is the most recent of the two.  (The Library 
is in the process of organizing the latest "mass" group of submissions 
which may prove to be as large as each existing section).

The sheets are filed alphabetically by the husband's name and then in order 
by birthdate.  E.G. to find a sheet on Robert Patton Frazier (born 20 Mar 
1853) you would look for the sheets with the name and then look for the 
sheet with his birthdate.  You can have a sheet photocopied for 5cents.


                                 ** IGI **

The International Genealogical Index (IGI) is a computerized index of 
various records.  It lists the names of over 68 million deceased persons 
from many countries and time periods.  It is printed on microfiche. 

To find your ancestor's name in the IGI look for the place where he or she 
was born or married.  E.G. if you ancestor was born in Tennessee, look in 
the United States section for Tennessee.  Then look for the microfiche 
where your ancestor's name would be listed.  

The IGI lists such information as the names of the parents or spouse and 
the dates and locations of births, christenings, marriages, orother events.  
It also contains LDS temple ordinance dates.
     
     The columns of information on the fiche are:
     1. Name (last,first)
     2. Name of father/mother or spouse
     3. Sex (M/F) Husband/wife (H/W)
     4. Type of event (marriage, birth, christening)
     5. Event date
     6. County, town, parish name
     7. Batch number
     8. Serial Sheet

If you find your ancestor's name in the IGI be certain to note the source 
numbers from the two last columns.  These numbers can help lead you to the 
actual document.  There you may be able to find additional information or 
identify the person who submitted the information.

There are records available for decoding the batch/serial sheet numbers.  
For example, they may refer you to a microfilm record of original 
documents.


                         ** Original Documents **

Original documents are records created at the time of important events in 
your ancestors' lives, such as births, marriages, and deaths recorded by 
the local church of government.  Some major type of documents are civil, 
church, census, probate, land, military, immigration, court.  Most original 
documents in the Genealogical Library are microfilm copies of records found 
in courthouses, churches and other archives throughout the world.  Most of 
the records date before 1900.

To find original documents, look in the computer catalog (microfiche) in 
the locality section.  For example, if you were looking for a record of Ray 
County, Missouri, first you would find the microfiche for Missouri, look on 
that fiche for Ray County, and then for the record type.  E.G. you may find 
abstracts and indexes of deeds, deed records, probate records, birth 
records, church records, etc.



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