ST. PAUL — Minnesota plans to make it easier for people researching their family histories to access old adoption records.

The Department of Human Services plans to digitize roughly 5 million pages worth of old adoption records, including some that date to the late 19th century.

The records are stored on about 2,000 rolls of microfilm at the department. The agency put the job of digitizing the records out for bid last month, saying it shouldn’t cost more than $67,500.

While there are about 5 million pages worth of old adoption records, each record varies in size from a few pages to several hundred pages. So, the microfilm rolls likely have information on thousands of adoptions, although officials haven’t estimated an exact total.