SALT LAKE CITY • Jan Gow's annual pilgrimage from New Zealand to Salt Lake City is not to enjoy Utah's ski resorts, red rock canyons or five national parks. It's to explore the ribbons of microfilm and endless volumes of maps, cemetery and property records tucked inside the Family History Library.

The library, owned and operated since 1894 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is visited by some 700,000 people annually and is widely considered the world's largest repository of genealogy records. It's a favorite destination for "genealogy tourists" — a devoted breed of traveler bent on tracing family trees.

"A woman once asked me to give her four words to explain why she should come to Salt Lake City and not just research it all from home online," said Gow, 70, who lives in Auckland. "I could think of one: Immediacy. When we're here, we can immediately pull out a film, or pull out a book, look at a computer, because it's all here. There's nowhere else, just nowhere else."

The Family History Library's catalog of resources includes more than 2 billion names of deceased persons, 2.2 million rolls of microfilm, 300,000 books and 4,500 periodicals. Use of the resources is free to everyone.

The library is a "must-visit" destination for anyone who does genealogical work, said Jan Alpert, who heads the board of the 10,000-member National Genealogical Society. But it's far from the only place to go, she said.

"In addition to the National Archives in Washington D.C., and its regional archives across the United States, there are a number of exceptional genealogical collections across the country, including the Library of Michigan in Lansing," Alpert said.

She also recommends the Allen County Public Library of Fort Wayne, Ind., where the collection of some 10,000 digital volumes includes extensive military history records and Native American and African American records.

Interest in genealogy websites is also high. FamilySearch.org, an extension of the Mormon church and its library, has more than a million registered users, says spokesman Paul Nauta. "Every time new content is added online, there is a noticeable spike in online patron traffic," he said. "Consumers are hungry for records of interest to their family history."

Alpert partly credits the surge in interest to the recent television shows "Faces of America" on PBS and NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" — featuring celebrities discovering their family trees.

"These shows are wonderful because they are hitting an emotional nerve, and that's what's getting people excited about family history," Alpert said . "When you know what your ancestors went through, you have a much greater appreciation, perhaps, for why you are the person you are."