Reference Collection

The Genealogy Institute offers an open-stack, browsable genealogy reference collection, including how-to books, name dictionaries, gazetteers, historical atlases, guides to translating vital records, newsletters of Jewish genealogical societies, and directories of family history resources around the world.

Electronic Resources

The public computers at the Center offer Internet access, free access to Ancestry Library Edition and other commercial genealogy web sites, and many other electronic resources such as Encyclopedia Judaica, ProQuest Historical Newspapers (NY Times, Chicago Tribune), Biography and Genealogy Master Index, American National Biography, Marquis Who’s Who, World Biographical Information System, Columbia Gazetteer of the World, Testaments to the Holocaust, and the "Russians to America" CD ROM database.

The Reading Room

The Center's Lillian Goldman Reading Room, adjacent to the Genealogy Institute, has open stacks filled with a wealth of reference material, including biographical dictionaries, Pinkas Ha-Kehilot and other Holocaust reference works, general histories, multi-volume gazetteers, and a variety of encyclopedias.

Microfilm Loans

The Genealogy Institute is an authorized branch library of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City . Our microfilm loan agreement provides researchers access to genealogical records from around the world that have been microfilmed by the Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS, or Mormons). We have more than 1,500 microfilms and microfiche on long-term loan, including Jewish records from Austria, Belarus, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and several other countries, as well as the German Minority Census of 1938, Philadelphia HIAS records, Russian Consular records and indexes, and Hamburg emigration lists and indexes.

Fact Sheets

The Genealogy Institute offers a series of fact sheets on family history research, highlighting resources that can only be found at the Center for Jewish History. These research guides cover both U.S. and foreign records as well as specialized Jewish topics like rabbis, synagogue records, and landsmanshaftn.

Skilled Support Staff

Staff and volunteers are available to guide researchers to the most relevant resources and to answer genealogical inquiries. If you cannot find the answer to your question about family history research in the FAQs or fact sheets, you may write to us for more information—but please make sure to read the Frequently Asked Questions on this web site before sending your inquiry!