FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jaclyn Keegan
Office of Cultural 做厙TV Announces Collaboration With FamilySearch To Expand Access to Genealogy Records
Documents from the烤ew York State Library and New York State Archives眩o Be Made Available for Free
皋f眩he Book Scanning Process
啦堯梗泭畝紳餃胼畝re眨orking眨ith症lobal nonprofit症enealogy organization,泭涅nternational,疳n畝n exciting疾ffort to疾xpand畝ccess眩o盎ome of the states most important畝ncestry盍ecords and historical collections, the 做厙TVs胼畝nnounced today.狼hrough this畚ollaborative疾ffort,眩housands of records眨ill畜e痂ade畝vailable皋nline疳n digital format for the first time, providing researchers with greater畝ccess眩o眩he留ocuments病rom anywhere in the world.
Since浥anuary 2026,烘ark and Lynne Hamp, a retired couple病rom Utah,疲ave been盎canning畜ooks病rom眩he New York State Librarys collection病or digital access on FamilySearch, the largest genealogy organization in the world.涅mportant畚ollections眩he Hamps have scanned so far include病amily histories, with plans to疳nclude疹ocal疲istories and症enealogy皰eriodicals,盎uch畝s盎ociety畝nd family association journals. As FamilySearch volunteers, the Hamps眨ill盍emain疳n Albany until the end of the year.
New York State Librarian Lauren Moore盎aid, We could not be more excited to眨elcome烘ark and Lynne.浴igitizing皋ur physical collections疲as always been畝泭priority畝nd this collaboration畝dvances皋ur mission to盍esponsibly皰reserve and痂aintain眩hese疳nvaluable works.狸hile we always look forward to畝ssisting症enealogists疳n person畝t the烊ibrary,皰roviding疳ncreased皋nline畝ccess to important reference books opens眩he door to疸ew盍esearch opportunities病or those unable to travel to the Capital泭Region.
Viviane Davis, Collections Manager at the FamilySearch烊ibrary盎aid, The books we are scanning at the New York State Library are especially significant because they preserve materials that are both rare and deeply rooted in the local communities. The collection includes many unique local family histories, as well as county and local histories, many of which are not widely available elsewhere and皰rovide疳nvaluable insight into regional heritage, migration patterns, and community development. By digitizing these works, we are not only safeguarding fragile, often one-of-a-kind resources but also making them more accessible to researchers, genealogists, and the public. These books will be added to胼皋nline, ensuring that these important historical narratives盍emain畝vailable for generations to come.
Lynne Hamp盎aid, I have always felt a connection with American History,盎o being in烤ew York疳s畝 delight. I love working with眩hese old, historic畜ooks and疲ave developed畝n appreciation for盎trangers眨ho盍ecorded their family histories because眩hey真nderstood眩he疳mportance皋f皰reserving this information病or future generations.烘ark and I are truly blessed眩o do this work.
Meanwhile眩hrough a separate皰roject,疸early a益uarter of a million皰ages of previously痂icrofilmed盍ecords in the烤ew York State涉rchives畚ollection疲ave been made羔for the first time眩hanks to畝dditional留igitization work.狼hese documents泭include colonial deeds and wills, land grants to Revolutionary War veterans,畝nd convictions of British loyalists.
New York State Archivist Brian Keough盎aid, These newly available online留ocuments疳ncrease the amount of free online resources available to educators, teachers,泭scholars泭and students across New York State畝nd beyond, connecting眩hem to valuable primary sources. It is眠ery exciting眩o know that眩hese眩housands of pages of online resources will also畝ssist眩he genealogy and family history泭community.
FamilySearch盎ees an畝verage of畝lmost 25 million眨ebsite visits疾ach month.狹sers眨ith a free login疲ave畝ccess to 5.75 billion digital images, almost 17畜illion searchable names, and more than 651,000 digital books.
About the New York State Library
啦堯梗,疾stablished疳n 1818, is the largest state library system in the nation and one of the largest research libraries in North America. It oversees a vast network of more than 7,000 libraries statewide. Collections are made available onsite and through a robust interlibrary loan program. 啦堯梗烊ibrarys痂ission is advanced through several key divisions,疳ncluding the, which houses a collection of over 20 million items, the, and the. 啦堯梗烊ibrary皰reserves and泭maintains泭invaluable historical collections and泭works, and泭serves as a Regional Depository for federal publications. Additionally, the State Library is the胼皋f New York State泭government泭publications, ensuring their enduring preservation and accessibility for future generations.
For more information, please visit眩he泭畝紳餃.
About the New York State Archives
Established in 1971, the胼疲as amassed one of the most extensive and historically significant state archive collections in the nation.狼he Archives manages, preserves, and provides泭open access泭to over 250 million colonial and New York State records dating back to the 1630s. In addition, the Archives provides records and archival management services to泭nearly 4,500泭counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, and other local governments across New York State. The Archives offers technical泭assistance, training, and grants to non-government repositories through the胼畝紳餃. Researchers can access public records through the Archives online胼皋r by appointment on the 11th病loor of the Cultural 做厙TV Center. For more information, please visit眩he泭.
About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. We are a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use our records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 125 years. People access our services and resources free online at胼皋r through over泭6,500 FamilySearch centers畝nd affiliates疳n 129 countries, including the main FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Media Contact
Reporters and education writers may contact the Office of Communications by email or phone at:
Press@nysed.gov
(518) 474-1201