Photo: Kaethesson · CC BY-SA 3.0Columbus’ library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Columbus Public Library serves Columbus’s 2,870 residents. Last year it lent 7,300 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,744 visits.
Columbus’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
3,878 cards for 2,870 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Columbus Public Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1987. Today’s library there has 5,000 square feet. The building ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 3% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 90% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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.
What’s behind Columbus’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbus is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #84 of 149 in Kansas. Columbus’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Columbus
8.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.5%
7.5% of Columbus’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Kansas 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Columbus Public Library serves 2,870 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,300 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
240 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
44 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Columbus last year.
A National Register landmark since 1987
Columbus Public Library, 205 N. Kansas, Columbus.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Columbus? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Columbus Public Carnegie Library
Columbus Public Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 25, 1987. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries of Kansas TR.
The Columbus Public Carnegie Library is a Carnegie library located at 205 N. Kansas in Columbus, Kansas. The library was built in 1913 through a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie foundation. George P. Washburn & Son designed the building in the Classical Revival style. The red brick building's facade is made up of three bays.
More about the building →What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Columbus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $156K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $124K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $156K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 3,878 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 | 2.5 | 47 | B− |
| Salamanca Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Crawford Township | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Columbus Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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, 205 N. Kansas, serves Columbus’ 2,870 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Columbus Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Columbus’ library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Columbus’ civic life grade?
B− Columbus is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life, #84 of 149 in Kansas. 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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.