This column, featuring information about Omaha Public Library's 2025 Genealogy Week, appeared in the Apr. 8, 2025, edition of the Omaha World-Herald (NE). It is also available at Omaha.com (opens in a new tab).
Find your family during Genealogy Week at the Omaha Public Library
Hard to believe, but spring is on the way, and that is a great time to start new projects or get back to some old ones!
For the historically minded, there is no better place for that than the Omaha Public Library’s Genealogy & Local History Room at 3020 S. 84th St., and no better time than Genealogy Week, which this year falls between March 2 and 8.
National Genealogy Day is the second Saturday in March — March 8 in 2025 — and is a time dedicated to memorializing our families and recording their stories.
This year, visitors to the library’s Genealogy & Local History Room during Omaha Genealogy Week will enjoy a variety of family-history themed activities, including puzzles, a photo booth, crafts, free genealogy charts and other giveaways (while supplies last), unique displays, demos of our specialized scanners — and door prizes! See what a real Sanborn map atlas looks like, or browse an early city directory; find your family in a 19th century county history or local church records; or simply enjoy socializing and networking with other researchers.
Greater Omaha Genealogical Society volunteers, as well as expert library staff, will be on hand to help researchers of all levels find new information about their families, making good use of the library’s extensive genealogical and local history collections, and databases such as Ancestry Library Edition, MyHeritage Library Edition, the Omaha World-Herald and Omaha Star digital archives, Newspapers.com, Fimo (Fire Insurance Maps Online), and Fold3. The library’s genealogy collection includes books, periodicals, microfilm, and archival materials spanning most of the United States and several other countries. Be prepared to get a sneak peek at some of the rare items from the archive!
The week will kick off on Sunday, March 2, with an in-person presentation, “Start Your Genealogy at OPL,” from 2-3 p.m. in the Genealogy & Local History Room. Genealogy Librarian Jess Vermeulen will explain the essentials of genealogy research, where to find and document sources, and how to stay organized during your quest.
The new “It’s All Relative Book Club” will also launch in March in the Genealogy & Local History Room, beginning March 10. This monthly book club will discuss the featured book of the month as well as learn more about a relevant genealogical or local history resource, collection piece, or research strategy that ties to the subject.
Genealogy Week will be the perfect time to learn about new resources, start or resume your family history research, make new genealogy friends, and socialize with old ones. There will be something for everyone, so be sure to join us!
Learn more about programs and resources at omahalibrary.org, opens a new window
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