First-time visitors to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City are amazed by the worldwide genealogy collection, the beautiful setting and the conveniences offered in this facility, which is open to all family history researchers. If you're hoping to make your first trip there — maybe joining the crowds at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in February — you too will probably be amazed at the world's largest ancestry archive. But if you've been to the FHL before, you'll really love what you see when you return. The library is newly renovated to upgrade capabilities and comfort, take advantage of new resources and research methods, and better meet the needs of the 2,400 patrons who visit on an average day.

You now enter the library through new automatic sliding front doors, perhaps after parking in the large, modestly priced public parking lot now available directly behind the library. Once inside you'll notice floor-to-ceiling changes, including new carpeting throughout and lighting that improves visibility while reducing microfilm-reader glare.computer workstations have been dramatically upgraded. Making copies is faster and simpler thanks to a new copy-card system. The layout of the four research floors has been modified, simplifying access and movement throughout the library. There are now few protruding pillars, no more snakelike rows of equipment, and the facility has a more wide-open and comfortable feel.

Family Tree Magazine's August 2000 issue featured a guide to making a trip to the library and the Salt Lake City area. Whether you've never been or are planning a return visit, you'll want to know about the significant changes since then. Here's what's new in the FHL and Salt Lake City, from A to Z: