Charles McLaran House · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainColumbus’ library is a branch of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, which lends less per resident than 90% of systems its size
Columbus’s library is the Columbus Public Library, a branch of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, which serves 57,283 people and lent 64K items last year.
Columbus’s library, in brief
The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Columbus-Lowndes Public 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 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library system spends $14 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
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 Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, so they cover the whole system (57,283 people), not just the Columbus branch.
What’s behind Columbus’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbus is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #13 of 85 in Mississippi. Columbus is graded on two of the three inputs. Columbus’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
108 community nonprofits are registered in Columbus
4.6 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 (43 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.8%
5.8% of Columbus’ 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 Columbus’ 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.
Columbus-Lowndes Public Library serves 57,283 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Columbus-Lowndes Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,137 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
Columbus Public Library, 314 North 7th Street, Columbus.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Columbus-Lowndes Public Library branch.
New in Columbus? 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 $2.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Columbus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $797K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $797K 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 40,950 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 57,283 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, 314 North 7th Street, is a branch of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, which serves 57,283 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Columbus-Lowndes 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 1.2 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Columbus’ civic life grade?
C+ Columbus is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 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 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.