Gerhard Lomer was born in Montreal and graduated B.A. from McGill in 1903. He earned his Ph.D. in education from Columbia in 1910. From 1903 until 1907, Lomer taught English and education at McGill, and in 1920 he was appointed University Librarian, a position he held until his retirement in 1948. In 1927 he succeeded in upgrading McGill's Library School from a summer school to a full graduate course; from 1927 to 1947 he was the School's Director and Professor of Library Administration. Lomer also served as associate director of the University of Ottawa Library School, and as president of the Quebec Library Association (1932-1933) becoming honorary life president in 1937. He wrote a biography of Stephen Leacock and collaborated on educational textbooks.