Photo: 123dieinafire · Public domainColumbus has no public library of its own; the nearest is Hardwood Creek Library in Forest Lake, 6 miles away
Columbus doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Hardwood Creek Library in Forest Lake, 6 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
DCivic lifeAhead of 13% of U.S. towns · #258 of 271 in Minnesota. Nonprofits and volunteering.Libraries for Columbus, in brief
Columbus borrows from the libraries next door
Columbus has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Hardwood Creek Library in Forest Lake (6 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Columbus isn’t the only town nearby without one
East Bethel, Lino Lakes and Linwood Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Forest Lake (Hardwood Creek Library), Wyoming (Wyoming Area Giese Memorial Library) and Ham Lake (Ham Lake: North Central Branch Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Columbus’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbus is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #258 of 271 in Minnesota. Columbus is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($92K–$154K) 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 →
Columbus has few registered community nonprofits
0.2 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Columbus’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical Minnesota 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.
The closest is 6 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Columbus. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Lake | Hardwood Creek Library fine-free | — | 58 | B |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Area Giese Memorial Library | — | 38 | C |
| Ham Lake | Ham Lake: North Central Branch Library | — | 44 | D |
| East Bethel | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Lino Lakes | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Linwood Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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?
No. The closest is Hardwood Creek Library in Forest Lake, 6 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Columbus’ civic life grade?
D Columbus is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #258 of 271 in Minnesota. 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.