Scanning of Church Records in Salt Lake City
I would like to have two Roman Catholic registers that are on microfilm in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City because I am living in Canada and our travel is restricted to the U.S. I realize that the library does do limited scanning, however, I would want the two registers scanned in their entirety. I have all the necessary information in regard to the film and item number. Is there a private service who can do this work for me?
Many thanks
Answers
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Steve
Welcome to the "Community.FamilySearch" Forum.
I am just another 'lowly' User/Patron ...
As an aside ...
Can I humbly suggest that you try the FREE "Look-Up" Service provided by the "Family History Library" (FHL).
Here is a 'FamilySearch' "Blog" Article:
New Library Lookup Service—For When You Can’t Visit the Family History Library
https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/library-lookup-service-fhl/
Here is "Family History Library" (FHL) reference:
Family History Library Record Lookup Service
https://www.familysearch.org/family-history-library/family-history-library-records-look-up-service
Good Luck.
I hope this helps
Brett
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In addition to what @Brett . said, FamilySearch cannot digitise microfilm without the permission of the record owner. Catholic parishes and dioceses are often reluctant to let their records be digitised. The Catholic Church does not approve of Latter Day Saint ordinances and wishes to stop their records being used to facilitate them.
If you provide the film number(s), I or someone else may be able to give some further details about the situation and alternative ways to view the records.
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In addition to what A and Brett already said, I want to point out that there is an extremely good chance that the film has already been digitized. Nowadays, the film reel icon doesn't really mean anything about microfilm; it just means "not accessible online", usually due to restrictions from the record custodian or privacy laws in the relevant country. (If there's a number in the DGS column in the catalog, it's already scanned.)
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I have seen comments I think in this FamilySearch Community Forum that the Family History Library Look up service is only available for records which have been indexed and where there is an image number available. Accordingly the link provided above may not be applicable.
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Within a day of the service starting, I asked them to look at a non-indexed digital microfilm that is accessible only to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (even though they are Catholic records- I am a Catholic). They browsed through one year of baptisms for me and found someone with the same surname I'd asked about. But since then it seems that FS has clarified that this service is only for looking up indexed records- I imagine the staff simply couldn't process all the more complex requests in a timely manner. One moderator on this forum also said that if the images are only accessible to Latter Day Saints then they will refuse to lookup those records for non-LDS members.
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Steve
Can I humbly suggest that you simply give, the FREE "Look-Up" Service, at the "Family History Library" (FHL), a go, despite the above 'Answers'/'Comments'.
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained ...
You may get 'lucky'; and/or, hopefully, at least, may get SOME amount of detail, that you are seeking.
Good Luck.
Brett
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There is also the option to request that a film be moved up in the process, if it has not been digitized.
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@SteveBee1 - if you are comfortable sharing the film numbers, someone may be able to tell you if it has already been digitized.
I do a great deal of RC research in several states. Many of the registers have been digitized, but that digitized status only shows when you are viewing the catalog at a Family History Center or, for some, at affiliate libraries.
I realize you may need more than a few records and that the lookup service may not provide what you need. I only wish to clarify that I have received a number of records, since May, that are not available at my local affiliate or FHC, when those are open. I am not LDS and I had no issue obtaining those records.
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