Nordic Fest is a busy time for the Decorah Genealogy Library

The Decorah Genealogy Library, in the lower level of the Decorah Public Library, will be open during the Friday of Nordic Fest.  Workers will be prepared to answer questions regarding the genealogical history of the county.

Decorah Genealogy President Stacy Gossling said that genealogy is an old field, but it has recently generated public interest due to the fact that our society has become more mobile.

"Our generations now are so mobile, people didn't used to move around so much, so there is a lot of information localized in one place," Gossling said. "Now, it's a huge interest to people to know their history. Genealogy is actually the second highest Google search next to pornography."

According to Gossling, the Genealogy Library gets anywhere from 300 to 500 visitors a year.

Genealogy library worker Carol Bullerman said that the work done in the lab is both interesting but also important for community preservation.

"It is important to preserve some of these things," Bullerman said. "The archives provide information on a lot of lost arts and things we don't know how to do anymore now that we live in a world of technology."

According to Bullerman, the interest in the genealogical history of Winneshiek County is shared by the community.

"We've had lots of people coming in," Bullerman said. "You'd be really surprised at the amount of people who have interest in digging into their family pasts. We've been doing a lot of looking at orphan trains, but it's difficult because there are often only first names, no last."