Hours:
Monday-Thursday
9 to 8:30
Friday
9 to 5:30
Saturday
9 to 1
History of the Library
On January 20, 1877 a meeting of prominent citizens was held at the Opera House on the second floor of City Hall to organize a Library Association. People paid for a subscription to use the library located in two rooms over the current Sharrow Drug Store. The library started with 54 books donated by Ex-Governor James Lewis a resident of Columbus.
24 years later in 1901 a free library was formed with 1,965 books. The library was located in City Hall. It soon became apparent that this would not provide adequate space.
The current Prairie style library was build at its present location 11 years later in 1912 with $10,000 from Andrew J. Carnegie who was approached by the Woman's Club for funding. The Women's Club loaned the city $3.00 to get the deed to two lots. They than did fundrising to pay for the site and furnish the building. There was now a collection of 4,643 books.
The library was renovated 78 years later in 1990 to increase space and provide a handicapped accessible elevator but even with the expansion it was not up to the standard square footage required due to a land lock situation.
The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the State Register of Historic Places in 1991.
In 1999 the library board purchased the Swarthout property at 239 W. James Street for future expansion of the library. House removed in February of 2002.
The library was awarded South Central Library System Library of the Year on September 8, 2000. The library shared this award with American Family Insurance corporate library as winner of the special library category.
The library celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2002.
The library started providing wireless access in April 2005.
