County libraries, historical museum become FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries

BELLEFONTE — Libraries in Centre County have expanded their services to aid in exploring family history.

Centre County Library & Historical Museum and Schlow Centre Region Library have become FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries and now provide access to additional genealogy resources to help make more family discoveries.

Leading international genealogy research website FamilySearch gives access to billions of searchable names and images of historic genealogical records. Many of these can be viewed by users anywhere; however, more than 350 million records can only be viewed at family history centers or at FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries.

There are only a few hundred affiliate libraries in the country. This designation means

that local library visitors now have greater and more convenient access to the wealth of genealogical resources available through FamilySearch.

FamilySearch adds 300 million genealogical records and images to its website each year from all over the world and manages the famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has amassed billions of birth, marriage, death, census, land and court records from more than 130 countries to help people discover and make family connections.

Centre County Library &Historical Museum is a PA Forward Star Library. As a member of the PA Forward program, libraries throughout the commonwealth partner with community organizations to bring free, quality programming to all Pennsylvania residents. These partnerships provide a platform for experts to share information and skills while residents are introduced to concepts which will improve their lives, increase their health, strengthen digital and information literacy, understand their neighbors and grow their financial capabilities.