Does FamilySearch want their microfilms back in Salt Lake?
We became Directors of the Sun City, AZ FamilySearch Center in January. We are looking to clear out all the microfilms we currently have, several hundred of them. They should all be digitized by now and we have no microfilm readers and no one requesting microfilms. What is the process for getting rid of these or sending them back to the SLC Library, which would be boxes and boxes. Can anyone help? We'd like to clear that space to prepare for a reno at some point. Thanks in advance.
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@donnajoearlcolyar1 This is the most recent post I've seen on the topic:
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Thank you. I have emailed and am now on hold with FS Support.
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As of mid-June 2024 the return process is no longer suspended. I just returned 28 boxes (over 1000 pounds) of film and fiche yesterday (25 June 2024). Contact FamilySearch Support by phone (866-406-1830 ext.#5) and ask to speak to a tech. They are the ones that are handling the film/fiche return details.
You'll need to box them all up (stay under 40-50 pounds per box). Once ready, contact Support, let them know how many boxes, and the weights of the boxes. They will send you an email with an address that will need to be printed and applied to each box for shipping. They will also arrange for a shipping company to come and pick up the boxes at a time you can specify. The process went fairly smoothly for us, other than some glitches on timing on the pickup day - still worked out OK.Hint on boxes: U-Haul has good prices on boxes compared to places like Lowe's or Home Depot that also have hand-holds on the sides, making it much easier to move the boxes around for taping up, labeling for shipping, and loading on the pickup day. They have 1.5 cubic foot boxes that are approximately 12x12x16 inches (fractions of an inch more in each direction). That size turned out to be ideal for this project - anything larger will be too heavy. Each of those boxes holds about 40 lbs of film boxes or fiche. You can stack the film boxes three layers high in these shipping boxes, and the fiche two layers high (fiche will be heavier than film). We averaged 38 pounds per box with that loading.
The U-Haul boxes come in either a standard weight box or a heavy duty. The standard weight box is fine for the above loading - you won't need to spend extra for the heavy duty boxes. When loading as described above, we used 28of the U-Haul boxes for around 1500 boxes of microfilm, and several boxes full of fiche. U-Haul as a special price on bulk boxes if you buy 25 at a time (you can return any unused/uncut boxes for refund if you don't use all 25 - just don't cut the cardboard connection between the top flaps before you use them).
—Chris
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Thx, Chris, our 38 boxes are being picked up today. We followed the same procedure, packed up over 2800 microfilms, and who knows how many microfiche. We got the standard size boxes at Lowe’s and they worked great, 32 pounds apiece. The shipping company is arriving this morning. We look forward to reclaiming the space in our Center.
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