Tyrrell County Courthouse · Photo: HarmonyReignPope · CC BY-SA 3.0Columbia’s library is a branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 76% of systems its size
Columbia’s library is the Tyrrell County Library, a branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, which serves 41,016 people and lent 90K items last year.
What Columbia’s library is like
North Carolina pays a big share
34% of the budget comes from the state, and 57% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 842 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 8.1 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Pettigrew Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (41,016 people), not just the Columbia branch.
What’s behind Columbia’s civic life grade
Columbia isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Pettigrew Regional Library serves 41,016 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 Pettigrew Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
90K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
18,559 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Tyrrell County Library, 414 Main St., Columbia.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pettigrew 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 $1.04 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 $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 20,578 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Tyrrell County Library is one branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 41,016 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: Tyrrell County Library, 414 Main St., is a branch of Pettigrew Regional Library, which serves 41,016 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pettigrew Regional 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 Columbia’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 2.2 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?
Columbia isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. 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.