The Gering Public Library sponsors the Food for Thought book discussion group, where readers can come together and talk about books and express their opinions.  The group meets on the fourth Thursday, except in November and December, at 1:30 p.m in the community room. Copies of the books may be reserved by calling the library at 436-7433. Books are obtained through Interlibrary Loan at a cost of $4.50 (to cover shipping).

Upcoming Book Discussion dates:

• July 25 - The Maid by Nina Prose
• August 22 - Dancing With the Octopus by Debora Harding
• September 26 - The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor
• October 24 - Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts
• November 21 - Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
• December 19 - The Body by Bill Bryson
• January 23, 2025 - Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh
• February 27, 2025 - Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice by Jessie Q. Sutanta
• March 27, 2025 - Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Books Discussed in the past year:

• Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close
• Behind the Wire by Andrea Myers
• 97 Orchard Street: an edible history of five immigrant families in one New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman
• Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
• The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molner
• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
• All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle
• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• Horse by Geraldine Brooks
• Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer
• The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
• The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee

ALSO: Choose a book that was written the year you were born, and read it this year when you get a chance. Each month we will give people an opportunity to talk about the book they read. A librarian can help you find a list of books published the year you were born, and they can also help you locate a copy of your selection if you need help doing so.

The Community Room features a projector, tables and chairs, and can seat up to 75 people. The Community Room may be reserved for civic, educational or cultural groups. It may not be used for social, money-raising or commercial purposes. For more information, please refer to the policy posted on the website under Using the Library or contact the library.

Gering Public Library offers free internet and wifi as well as eight unfiltered and ten filtered public access computers.  Eight of the computers are laptops and are set up only when other desktop computers are in use.  Microsoft Office and a variety of programs are available in addition to Internet access.  A shared-use printer is available.  Black and white copies are fifteen cents each, color copies are fifty cents. 

The ADA workstation comes with a speech recognition program (Dragon Naturally Speaking), a screen reading program (Jaws), and screen magnification and reader software (ZoomText and Kurzweil 1000).  A scanner is also available on the ADA workstation.  There is no charge for scanning documents.

Currently 167 libraries participate in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group, including your Gering Public Library. As of today the shared collection contains approximately 16,000 free eBook titles and 8,000 free audio book titles with more titles added weekly. Look on the "Useful Links" tab for the link to access Overdrive from home.

Our public access computers have Internet available on them and do not require a library card to use them. Users may log on to a computer twice a day.  Computers will not be reserved and will be avilable on a first come first served basis.  To use a public computer, ask a staff member at the desk for a PIN number and they will give you a ticket to access an available computer.  

One computer is setup for 20 minutes only with no additional time.  The other computers are setup for 60 minutes with additional time if one, other than the 20 minute computer, is available in the designated areas.  Computers in the teen and children's area are filtered.  You must be 17 years old to use the unfiltered computers.  Users who wish to save their work should do so on a personal storage device before the end of their allotted time.  Notify the staff if you are working on something that is time sensitive before you begin your computer session so that they can make sure you're able to finish.

Users with their own wireless enabled devices can access internet via a wireless access point provided by the library. The Wifi name will have GPL in it and there is no password. The access is not secure and no printer is provided to wireless users.

If we do not have the materials you are searching for, we may be able to borrow from another library through interlibrary loan. Items are generally checked out for 3 weeks, but may vary depending on the lending library.  A fee of $4.50 per item is charged to help cover the cost of postage and shipping. Delivery time is within 7 to 10 days for most items. 

Gering residents may request home services if they are unable to visit the library due to advance age, temporary (lasting longer than 60 days) or permanent illness or disabiltiy, and have no one who can visit the library on their behalf.  

Before your first delivery a library staff member will contact you and schedule a home or phone interview to discuss reading, viewing, and listening interests. This will help us to select materials you might enjoy.  A volunteer or staff member will bring materials to your home every two weeks and pick up the materials that are due.  You do not accrue overdue fines but are responsible for lost or damaged materials.

You can send and receive faxes at the Gering Public Library.  The fee is $1.00  per page.  The library will provide you with a cover page.  Our fax number is (308) 436-6869.