Can Family History Centers please have a working method of contact?
I am in eastern Kansas and hypothetically have access to three centers within a 30-minute drive. None of them reply to messages sent to the centers' email addresses. None of the locations have a way to leave a message on the centers' telephones. They have very limited hours and appear to all be available by appointment only. The hours / seasons listed in FamilySearch are VERY out of date and any contact information is also badly in need of updating.
It is very frustrating to not be able to access key resources from home--or the nearby centers. I was a regular visitor at two area centers prior to the pandemic.
Comments
-
Russ
I am just another 'lowly' User/Patron ...
[ And, I happen to be a Member of the Church ... ]
[ Plus, I have been a Staff Member, of Family History Centres", of the Church, for many Years ... ]
Just in passing ...
As an aside ...
[ ie. 'Out of Left Field' ... ]
Can I humbly suggest, that ...
As, those "Family History Centres", of the Church, are reasonably nearby (eg. Within x30 Minutes Drive) ...
IF, those "Family History Centres", are Located, in/at Church "Buildings"/"Chapels"; THEN, can I suggest, that you try contacting the Church "Congregation" (ie. Ward/Branch/Stake/District), that MEETS in those buildings. to try to find out what is going on regarding the "Family History Centre"; where, the best time, for such attempted contact, would be on a "Sunday"; when, those congregations meet; but, of course, one could also try intermittently, during the Week.
Plus ...
IF, you do try the aforementioned; THEN, ask to speak to, one of the (Local) Leaders [ie. Bishop (Ward)/Branch President (Branch); or, Stake/District Leaders], to get the best help/assistance.
Please be, aware; and, advised, that MANY "Family History Centres", of the Church are STILL "Closed" (or, have "Re-Closed"); or, are operating on, "Very" RESTRICTED, "Hours of Operation"; even, by appointment ONLY.
And ...
For example ...
As in the case, of my particular (Local) "Family History Centre", of the Church, the "Landline" Telephone, was discontinued, by the Church; so that, calls can NO LONGER be made either, to; or, from, the FHC - that has NOT helped/assisted.
Plus, many, non-administrative, Staff, of "Family History Centres", of the Church, DO NOT, know of, the "E-mail" Address, of the Centre, let alone monitor such.
Unfortunately ...
The "Details", of some (maybe, many) of the various "Family History Centres", of the Church, in the "Find a Family History Center and FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries", of 'FamilySearch', are NOT; being, kept up-to-date; as, many of those responsible for FHC, either, (1) do not have the necessary access, to make changes; or, (2) are not, aware of; or, trained in, such.
And, MANY, of the (HTML) "Pages", in the 'FamilySearch' "Research Wiki", in 'FamilySearch', for the various "Family History Centres", of the Church, are NOT; being, kept "Up-to-Date" (or, in many cases, NOT, even used at all ... )
Remember: EVERTHING done, in "Family History Centres", of the Church, is on a "Volunteer" basis ...
So ...
That Said ...
I am sorry, that I cannot, be of any real help/assistance.
I just thought, that this may help/assist you personally, somewhat.
[ ie. Rather than address, the broader thrust, of your post ... ]
Good Luck.
Brett
0 -
Brett, thank you for your reply! I am sorry that no alert message came to me so my reply is very delayed. That is one of the puzzling things about the Community I have run into (no alerts on some things).
I was able to visit a FamilySearch affiliate library over the weekend and had fantastic success with my hunting list. I will continue to reach out in ways you suggest. The affiliate library is on that 30-minute range from home--and in another state. I tried a local Family History Center and was puzzled to find access at that one was no different than I had at home. The volunteer could not troubleshoot the issue. So, I went on to the other place. The timing to be able to do it over the weekend was a huge help and I may plan a return to the affiliate library when my research list has grown a bit.
Good luck in your efforts!
Russ
0
