Photo: Paul Wasneski · Public domainColumbus’ library logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Columbus Metropolitan Library serves 971,930 people in and around Columbus from 16 locations. Last year it lent 14M books, movies and e-books and logged 5.5M visits.
Columbus’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Columbus Metropolitan Library logs 5.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 9.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 31% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 70 hours a week
The Columbus branch is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
16 branches in Columbus
Columbus has 16 branches of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, which serves 971,930 people in and around Columbus. One card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Metropolitan Library serves 971,930 people in and around Columbus, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Columbus’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbus is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #490 of 914 in Ohio. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #72. Columbus is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Columbus’ count of community nonprofits 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 →
3,343 community nonprofits are registered in Columbus
3.7 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 (924 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 208 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Columbus’ 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 Columbus’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 175 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Columbus Metropolitan Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Columbus Metropolitan Library serves 971,930 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
14M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,307,097 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 163 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.
18 places to borrow in Columbus
Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 S Grant Ave, Columbus.
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 Columbus Metropolitan Library branch.
New in Columbus? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Columbus Metropolitan Library branches in Columbus
And 5 more in Columbus.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Columbus cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $83M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $212M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $83M 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 658,580 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | Columbus Metropolitan Library fine-free | — | 70 | B |
| Norwich Township | Hilliard Branch Library fine-free | — | 70 | A− |
| Jackson Township | Grove City Public Library fine-free | — | 60 | C |
| Mifflin Township | Gahanna Branch fine-free | — | 70 | B+ |
| Madison Township | Canal Winchester Branch Library fine-free | — | 62 | D |
| Plain Township | New Albany Branch fine-free | — | 70 | B− |
| Washington Township | Dublin Branch Library fine-free | — | 70 | A |
| Prairie Township | Westland Area Branch fine-free | — | 60 | D |
| Hilliard | Hilliard Branch Library fine-free | — | 70 | A |
| Hamilton Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Blendon 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.
- System-wide. Columbus Metropolitan Library serves 971,930 people in and around Columbus, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Columbus.
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 Metropolitan Library, 96 S Grant Ave, serves 971,930 people in and around Columbus (the survey’s count) and is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Columbus Metropolitan 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 Columbus’ library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 14.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Columbus’ civic life grade?
B Columbus is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life, #490 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 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.