The Family History Library (now FamilySearch Library) has been microfilming records worldwide for decades. Now they are scanning this microfilm and making the records available to users online from home. It is like sitting in the Family History Center in Salt Lake City with all the microfilm surrounding you, but you are in your easy chair at home with the same capability. All you need to do is create a free account.
Several features are a great help to researchers. First, the FamilySearch Library indexes the records they are scanning. While the index is incomplete, you may still find exactly what you need. Two of these features are the Catalog and Wiki options, found under the Search link at the top of the page.
The FamilySearch Catalog allows you to input the country, state, and county, and you will see the records available for that area. You may see a key over the camera after the microfilm number. This means the record is closed to the public from home, but RELIC is an affiliate library and can access most of those closed records. Contact us to see if RELIC can access them.
The Wiki feature will tell you what records are available from each locality, the dates for availability, and where to look for them.
