Old records help us understand history.

The Kentucky Department's for Libraries and Archives is partnering with Family Search to digitize thousands of records, including marriage certificates, to help make family records more accessible to Kentuckians.

Family Search is a nonprofit.

It was founded by the Church of the Latter day Saints in 1894, so they've been around a long time.

They were originally created or founded as the Utah Genealogical Society, and they've since rebranded as Family Search and kind of recognition of their global outreach outside of just the boundaries of Utah.

So they found that people that are connected to their families, both historically and and in the present, reap benefits through those connections.

And then in the 20th century or 21st century, they've since moved into the digital age.

They've digitized those 21 million rolls of film and are adding collections like our own to to to continue to make more family history accessible.

In terms of our part of the partnership, we are we've agreed with Family Search to grant them access to our facility so they will come in with their scanning equipment.

We've made space available for their use and they'll have it.

They'll have their own personnel operating that equipment.

The actual contract contractual agreement will be between family search and each respective clerk.

So there's 120 counties in Kentucky and a family search house negotiate and reach agreement with each of those 120 clerks in order for us to make accessible their respective records.

We are committed to making sure that the history of what we have here is available to the public.

We we are storytellers in a in a sense, because we are providing a variety of different records that tell these stories.

And it depends on what you're looking for, whether you're a researcher or you're a reporter, or you're just an individual who wants to know more.

And we want to make those available as much as we can.

The local records that they're interested in, they provide the largest single collection of records in the state.

They they date back to the origins of the state in places where a lot of the state agency records do not.

They've been created since since the county's formation, basically is when these records will start.

So they're the single source that a researcher, a family historian can turn to, to get an illustration of the life of the Commonwealth's people from past or present.

So they're incredibly invaluable in that sense.

It's it's one thing to know that Jim was was Jeff's brother, but it's an entirely different thing to know, to go to the court minutes and know that Jim was a farmer that owned five horses and had to accept guardianship of Jeff's children.

And it gives you an entirely different perspective on people.

We think that this is going to be a tremendous way to have greater access.

And we know that genealogy continues to be a huge request, not just of ours, but as a whole, especially in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The partnership will last for about two years, but the digitized records will be available online for free.