Gordon City Library
🏢 Western Library System · Gordon, Nebraska
Gordon City Library
Established by Gordon's Federated Women's Club in 1916 and moved to its current home in 1987 by a human book-chain stretching five city blocks, Gordon City Library is the Nebraska Sandhills' community hub for borrowing, local genealogy research, and free statewide digital resources.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | 11am–5:30pm |
| Tuesday | 11am–5:30pm |
| Wednesday | 11am–5:30pm |
| Thursday | 11am–5:30pm |
| Friday | Closed |
| Saturday | 10am–3pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 101 W 5th Street, Gordon, NE 69343
Phone: (308) 282-1198
Website: gordoncitylibrary.org
Plus Code: 85JVRQ5W+HJ (Gordon, NE)
📱 Scan for directions
Point your phone camera at the code to open turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps.
👋 Use the Library Online
📖 About Gordon City Library
Gordon City Library has served this Sheridan County community since 1916, when the local Federated Women's Club raised $370 to launch a public reading room. The library officially opened March 25, 1922, in the upper room of the old fire hall — with the city taking over tax-levy support just two months later. In 1987 the library moved to its current building at the corner of Main and 5th Street in a memorable community event: every grade-school child in Gordon lined up in a chain stretching five city blocks and passed the entire collection of 10,000-plus books hand-to-hand to the new location. Today the library holds more than 10,700 items and serves over 1,100 registered borrowers in Sheridan County. It belongs to the Western Library System and the Panhandle Library Consortium, giving patrons interlibrary loan access, shared OverDrive digital lending, and Nebraska's statewide NebraskAccess databases.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Founded 1916 by Gordon's Federated Women's Club and tax-supported since May 1922 — over a century of public service in Sheridan County
- 1987 human book relay: every grade-school child in Gordon passed the library's 10,000+ books hand-to-hand across five city blocks to the new building at 5th & Main
- Sheridan County historical newspaper microfilm archive with paid obituary research ($5 per record) — key resource for Sandhills genealogists
- Member of the Panhandle Library Consortium — interlibrary loan access and shared OverDrive eBook and audiobook collection
- 10,733-item collection; 4 public internet computers; free Wi-Fi; 1,103 registered borrowers
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Gordon City Library cardholders can access these free digital resources from anywhere in Nebraska:
📚 Services
- Physical book, DVD, and audiobook lending (10,733-item collection)
- Interlibrary Loan through the Panhandle Library Consortium
- Microfilm of Sheridan County historical newspapers
- Obituary and genealogy research assistance ($5 per record for remote requests)
- 4 public-access internet computers and free Wi-Fi
- Online patron account (renewals and holds via Biblionix catalog)
🎸 Programs
- Nebraska Statewide Summer Reading Program (2026 theme: 'Unearth a Story!' — dinosaurs and paleontology)
- Monthly book sales
- Local author presentations
- Genealogy and local history research assistance (by appointment recommended)
📍 Nearby Libraries in the Nebraska Panhandle
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is unique about Gordon City Library's founding story?
The library traces its roots to 1916, when Gordon's Federated Women's Club began fundraising with $370 in seed money. It officially opened March 25, 1922, in the upper room of the old fire hall with Grace McCoy Hummel as the first librarian at $20 a month — and the city took over tax-levy funding just two months later, giving Gordon one of the earlier municipally-supported libraries in the Nebraska Panhandle.
Why is 1987 a memorable year in the library's history?
That's when the library moved from its original location to the current building at the corner of Main and 5th Street. Instead of using a moving truck, the community turned out in force: every grade-school child in Gordon lined up in a chain stretching five city blocks, and the library's entire collection of 10,000-plus books was passed hand-to-hand to the new building — a tradition still told in town today.
Can I research Sheridan County family history at Gordon City Library?
Yes. The library holds microfilm of Sheridan County historical newspapers and offers obituary research for $5 per record — valuable for tracing families in a county where formal records can be sparse. Your library card also unlocks NebraskAccess, the Nebraska Library Commission's statewide portal to genealogy databases, Nebraska Memories historical photos, and other premium resources at no cost.
How far is Gordon from other panhandle libraries, and can I borrow from them?
The nearest sister libraries in our inventory are Chadron Public Library (about 40 miles southeast) and Crawford Public Library (about 62 miles south). Through the Panhandle Library Consortium interlibrary loan program, Gordon City Library can request items from any of these and many other Nebraska libraries on your behalf.
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