U.S. Post Office · Photo: Gabriel D. May · CC BY-SA 3.0Columbia’s library is a branch of South Mississippi Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 84% of systems its size
Columbia’s library is the Columbia-Marion County Public Library, a branch of South Mississippi Regional Library, which serves 35,193 people and lent 59K items last year.
What Columbia’s library is like
The South Mississippi Regional Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The South Mississippi Regional Library system records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The South Mississippi Regional Library system offered 187 programs last year, 5.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
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; Columbia’s library is a branch of South Mississippi Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (35,193 people), not just the Columbia branch.
What’s behind Columbia’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbia is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #46 of 85 in Mississippi. Columbia 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.
South Mississippi Regional Library spends $15 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($29K–$48K) 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Columbia
1.9 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Columbia’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Columbia’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
South Mississippi Regional Library serves 35,193 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole South Mississippi Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
59K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,517 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
Find it
Columbia-Marion County Public Library, 900 Broad Street, Columbia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every South Mississippi Regional Library branch.
New in Columbia? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Columbia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $536K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $536K 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 24,685 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Columbia-Marion County Public Library is one branch of South Mississippi Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 35,193 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 Columbia
Does Columbia have a public library?
Yes: Columbia-Marion County Public Library, 900 Broad Street, is a branch of South Mississippi Regional Library, which serves 35,193 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Mississippi Regional Library 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 Columbia’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Columbia’s civic life grade?
C− Columbia is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #46 of 85 in Mississippi. 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 Columbia.
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.