Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic · CC BY-SA 4.0Columbia Township’s library is a branch of Lorain Public Library, which lends more per resident than 81% of systems its size
Columbia Township’s library is the Columbia, a branch of Lorain Public Library, which serves 145,206 people and lent 1.3M items last year.
Columbia Township’s library, in brief
Ohio pays a big share
36% of the budget comes from the state, and 52% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Lorain Public Library system ran 3,273 programs last year, about 63 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Lorain Public Library system spends $93 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. 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; Columbia Township’s library is a branch of Lorain Public Library, so they cover the whole system (145,206 people), not just the Columbia Township branch.
What’s behind Columbia Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbia Township is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #367 of 914 in Ohio. Columbia Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Columbia Township
3.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Columbia Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Ohio 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 Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 31 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Lorain Public Library serves 145,206 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 71 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lorain Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
404,024 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Columbia, 13824 W. River Rd. N., Columbia Station.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lorain Public Library branch.
New in Columbia Township? 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 $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Columbia Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 67,820 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Township | Columbia fine-free | — | 59 | B+ |
| Strongsville | Strongsville Branch Library fine-free | — | 67 | C |
| Eaton Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Liverpool Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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.
- System-wide. Columbia is one branch of Lorain Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 145,206 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 Township
Does Columbia Township have a public library?
Yes: Columbia, 13824 W. River Rd. N., is a branch of Lorain Public Library, which serves 145,206 people. The branch is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lorain Public 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 Township’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Columbia Township’s civic life grade?
B+ Columbia Township is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #367 of 914 in Ohio. 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 Township.
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.