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“Browse Collection” displays an arranged view of the contents of the collection. “About the Collection” displays general information about the collection and its contents. As available, we will display information about the author, date span, subjects, and summary of the collection on both pages. 

What is the difference between "Browse Collection" and "About the Collection"? 

“Collection Contents” is a tool for navigating the contents of a collection. It is an expandable list that displays groupings of materials in a collection. Selecting one of the options in the list will narrow the displayed results. Not all collections are grouped the same way. Some are organized alphabetically, some chronologically, others topically, or by material type. 

What is “Collection Contents”?

Arrangement view allows you to see the parts of a collection with more detail and digital images when available. Gallery view is only available for digital collections and allows you to scroll through thumbnails of all the images.

What is the difference between "Arrangement View" and "Gallery View"?

Digital items can be viewed by clicking on the image or on the “open in viewer” button. If an item is “Non-digital” use the “Check Availability” button to determine location, format, and availability. These items may only be viewed in the facility where they are stored.

How do I view documents or other content?

Browse Collection FAQ (Help me navigate)

Explore documents and media from the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Church History Catalog

General question

A collection is a compilation of multiple items which were assembled by one or more creators and may contain many different formats. Please click on the title or thumbnail to see more details about a collection.

Questions about digital material

How do I view digital images or content? 

Click on the image thumbnail, or the “open in viewer” button to open the media viewer.

How do I get a digital version of an item or collection? 

After clicking the download link, you will be given the option to download the specific item displayed on the screen or all the items in the thumbnail ribbon across the bottom of the screen. A list of available formats will be displayed, allowing you to select your preferred file format and size.

Why do some collections or items require approval to access? 

Some materials are unavailable to view due to copyright, privacy, and other concerns. Please see our Access Policy for more information. 

How do I view "Limited Digital Access" items?

If an item listed as “Limited Digital Access” is essential to your research, please use the “Request Digital Access” link to submit your request. A request page will open in a new tab where you can verify the collection information, as well as what information you hope to find and how it will be helpful in your research. Your request will be reviewed, and you will be contacted for further details or when a decision has been made. Please be aware that it may take several weeks for us to review your request and respond. If no “Request Digital Access” link appears please use the “Ask Us” link at the top of each page to inquire about access.

Questions about non-digital materials

Do I need to visit the Church History Library to view non-digital materials? 

Yes, if materials are not available to view online, you may be able to view them in the library reading room. Items labeled “Limited Access” need additional permission to view and will not be immediately available. If the material is held by another Church History facility, such as the Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre in New Zealand, you will need to visit that center to view the material. 

Can non-digital materials be made available online? 

We accept suggestions for digitization of materials housed at the Church History Library. Click on the “Suggest Digitization” button and complete the form. Because of the library’s ongoing efforts to digitize materials your suggestion will be placed in a prioritized queue. We are unable to digitize some items due to copyright or other concerns (see entry below for more information). 

Why aren’t more materials available online? 

We are daily adding hundreds of images to our online catalog. This is an ongoing effort. However, we are unable to make some digital images available online due to copyright, privacy, and other concerns. Please see our Access Policy for more information.

Collection Page FAQ

I have feedback about the content (text, images etc.)

Help Improve This Page

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The catalog contains bibliographical information for items housed in Church History facilities, such as the Church History Library and the Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre.  Using the search features, you can find records specific to your research needs, view digital collections, and experience audiovisual material. You can also find tips for using and navigating the catalog features, informative research guides and research assistance, information about visiting the library, and featured collections.

What can I find in the Church History Catalog?

Logging in to the catalog using your Church account gives you the ability to save and organize your favorite collections for easy access. You can also look at copyrighted items that are only accessible to registered users, or items to which you have been granted approval to view. When you are at a Church History facility, such as the Church History Library, you must be logged in to request material to be viewed onsite.

What features are available when I am logged in? 

Both libraries and archives maintain collections of material for public use.  A library generally contains books and other printed materials. An archive contains both published and unpublished documents in multiple formats, like manuscripts, photographs, letters, diaries, audiovisual material, etc. Archives frequently contain unique collections and rare items that may require special arrangements to view.

What is the difference between a library and an archive? 

The Church History Library collects materials specifically focused on the history of the Church and the significant religious experiences of its members, such as official Church records, original documents, and rare texts. The Family History Library collects and maintains biographical records focused on identifying individuals and discovering vital statistics. Once you find your ancestor at the Family History Library, come to the Church History Library to better understand their place in Church history. 

How is the Church History Library different from the Family History Library? 

Church History Library staff selects significant collections to feature on the catalog homepage. These digitized collections represent the scope of material available at the library and are updated frequently.

What are featured collections?

Landing (Home) Page FAQ

The media viewer has many tools to help you navigate and explore images as well as audio and video materials. Use the viewer navigation tool at the bottom of the page to advance through the available images and adjust them for easier viewing, and to control audiovisual media. The thumbnail ribbon at the bottom of the page lets you view all images at a glance and select a specific image. Specific information about the material is available on the right side of screen below the download button.

How do I use the media viewer?

How can I download an item or set of items? 

To determine if permission is needed to publish or share an item, check the “Rights” field in the “General Information” dropdown. Click on the "Publication Use" link to find publishing guidelines for the rights statement listed.

How can I seek permission to share or publish an item?

How do I ask for approval to view "Limited Digital Access?"

Media Viewer FAQ

Available in Museum Library

Available in Open Stacks

Available in Project Library

Although there are no known restrictions on this item, you are responsible for determining whether the item may be used, copied, published, or distributed.

No Known Copyright

You may request that we evaluate the rights by clicking the "Ask Us" button at the top of the page or by 

Copyright Not Evaluated

You are responsible for requesting permission from the rights holder before use.  If you need a copy click the "Ask Us" button at the top of the page or by 

In Copyright - Other Rights Holder

You may request permission to use the item by contacting the Intellectual Property Office who will review your request. When making your request please include the citation and link for each item.

In Copyright - Licensed to Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

In Copyright - Owned by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

Publication Use

How do I search in the Church History Catalog?

Enter your search term (name of a person, place, ward, etc.) into the search box under the Church History Catalog title. If you end up with a large amount of results, you may want to narrow your search using the filters (see the entry below for how to use the filters). If your search gives you no results or unrelated results, then try alternate spellings or broaden your search. For example, if you are looking for an ancestor who lived in Tooele, Utah, and served in the Australian Mission, but find no results when searching for his name, then you could search for records from Tooele or the Australian Mission and look for references to him in that material. Many of our records are not indexed nor keyword searchable.

You may also want to check out the “Getting started” and “Effective searching” articles found under “Using the Catalog” on the main page.

You can narrow your search results using the filters on the left side of the page under “Narrow Your Search.” Each heading will allow you to narrow by different types of information. For example, clicking an option under “Genre,” like photographs, journals, or correspondence, will allow you to limit your search results by item type. Using these filters will narrow your search results to those items in the Church History Catalog that are within that category and help you to more easily find materials that will assist in your research.

How do I narrow my search results?

What is the difference between an item and a collection? 

Items are individual objects, such as a DVD, book, or letter. A collection is a group of these materials that is organized and assembled in a way that identifies the connections between the items. For example, the Church History Library has a collection of materials from Wilford Woodruff (MS 1352). The collection contains journals, correspondence, and other papers created by Woodruff and those close to him. Each of those journals, letters, etc., is an item within the collection. The items are connected by Woodruff and his involvement in creating or receiving them.

Some collections may contain only a single item and not all items are part of a collection, such as books and pamphlets. 

When something is labeled as “Digital” in the Church History Catalog, it means that the item is in a digital format, many of which you can view online. When something is labeled as “Non-digital,” then it is not available to view online and is only available at the location where the item or collection is stored. Not all items labelled as “electronic record” are available to view online. Some items are labeled as “Limited Digital Access” and are not available to view without special permission. See the entry below for information about access to these items.

What is the difference between “Digital” and “Non-digital?”

How do I view “Limited Digital Access” items?

Search Results FAQ

Ask a question about records from the Library, Museum and Archives of the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

View digital assets from the Library, Museum and Archives of the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

View your circulation history from the Library, Museum and Archives of the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

My favorites (saved assets and searches) from the Library, Museum and Archives of the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

View records from the Library, Museum and Archives of the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Search results for records from the Library, Museum and Archives of the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Digital Catalog for the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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Joseph Yates autobiographical sketch and genealogy, 1911

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