Photo: PghPhxNfk · CC BY-SA 4.0Columbus’ library is a branch of Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, which lends more per resident than 53% of systems its size
Columbus’s library is the Columbus Public Library, a branch of Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, which serves 223,782 people and lent 996K items last year.
Columbus’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 59% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Four branches in Columbus
Columbus has four branches of the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, which serves 223,782 people across the area. One card works at all of them, and at every other branch in the system. The buildings ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Columbus’s library is a branch of Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, so they cover the whole system (223,782 people), not just the Columbus branch.
What’s behind Columbus’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbus is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #103 of 222 in Georgia. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #215. Columbus is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Columbus’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
637 community nonprofits are registered in Columbus
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (262 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 40 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.6%
5.6% of Columbus’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.9% in the typical Georgia town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Columbus’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Chattahoochee Valley Libraries serves 223,782 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Chattahoochee Valley Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
996K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
253,988 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 29 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
4 places to borrow in Columbus
Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road, Columbus.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Chattahoochee Valley Libraries branch.
New in Columbus? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Chattahoochee Valley Libraries branches in Columbus
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Columbus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $15M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.6M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 62,803 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | Columbus Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | C− |
| Cusseta | Cusseta - Chattahoochee County Public Library fine-free | — | 32 | D |
| Phenix City | Phenix City - Russell County Public Library | — | 46 | D− |
| Box Springs | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Columbus Public Library is one branch of Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 223,782 people it serves.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Columbus
Does Columbus have a public library?
Yes: Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road, is a branch of Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, which serves 223,782 people. The branch is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chattahoochee Valley Libraries fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Columbus’ library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Columbus’ civic life grade?
C− Columbus is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #103 of 222 in Georgia. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Columbus.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.