Columbus Metropolitan Library | |
---|---|
Location | Columbus, Ohio |
Type | Public library |
Established | 1873 |
Branches | Main Library and 22 branches |
Collection | |
Size | 1,483,433 |
Access and use | |
Circulation | 13.1 million |
Population served | 872,000 |
Other information | |
Budget | $66 million |
Director | Lauren Hagan |
Employees | 846 (pre-pandemic numbers) [1] |
Website | www |
The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) is a public library system in Franklin County, Ohio, in the Columbus metropolitan area. The library serves an area of 872,000 residents, has a collection of 1,483,433 volumes, and circulates 17,262,267 items per year. [2]
The library consists of the Main Library and 22 branches located in neighborhoods throughout Franklin County. The branches are Canal Winchester, Driving Park, Dublin, Franklinton, Gahanna, Hilliard, Hilltop, Karl Road, Linden, Livingston, Marion-Franklin, Martin Luther King, New Albany, Northern Lights, Northside, Parsons, Reynoldsburg, Shepard, South High, Southeast, Whetstone, and Whitehall. CML also jointly operates the Northwest Library in cooperation with Worthington Libraries. Columbus Metropolitan Library is a member of the Central Library Consortium, which enables its 17-member library systems to share a catalog. [3]
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Following the founding of Columbus in 1812, [4] the people of the city struggled to establish a public library. While several attempts were made with private funds, such as the 1835 Columbus Reading Room and Institute and the 1853 Columbus Athenium, these were all short-lived. On January 1, 1872, John J. Janney introduced an ordinance to the Columbus City Council which would allocate public funds for the construction of a library. The Columbus Public Library and Reading Room was opened on March 4, 1873, in the reading room on the first floor of City Hall, with a collection of 1,500 books. [5] These included 1,200 from the Columbus Athenaeum (1853-1872), [6] 358 from Columbus's high school library, and 33 from its horticultural society. [7] In 1906, the reading room moved to a separate building across from the Ohio Statehouse. [5] James L. Grover served as the first director of the library, for a period of six years beginning in 1872. [8]
The system's Main Library was built to replace the reading rooms. It was constructed from 1903 to 1906 primarily using funds donated by Andrew Carnegie. Columbus was initially passed over by Carnegie for funds to build a large main library, as it was against his preference for smaller branches accessible to local working class residents. [9] Library director John Pugh traveled to New York City and secured Carnegie's $150,000 donation after bonding over their similar heritage; Carnegie was Scottish and Pugh was Welsh. [10] Carnegie's secretary composed a letter stating that, “not more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars would be spent upon the main building,” on the condition that the city fund the library for, “at least twenty thousand dollars a year.” The City Council approved the offer and used the initial funds to purchase the $40,000 estate of Thomas Ewing Miller at 96 S. Grant Avenue. With cost of construction exceeding initial estimates, Carnegie agreed to fund an additional $50,000, bringing his full donation to $200,000. A construction contract was awarded to James Westwater & Company, and the building was ready for occupancy in the fall of 1906. [8] [11] The building had a cost of $310,000; the city covered the remaining amount and agreed to pay at least $20,000 per year in maintenance and growth; a stipulation of Carnegie's gift. [7] Carnegie's library was dedicated on April 4, 1907. [12]
On January 23, 1928, the City Council approved $30,000 to fund the first four branch libraries. The Clintonville, Linden, Parsons, and Hilltop branches opened on October 4 of the same year. Additional branches included Linden, Northside, Franklinton, Hilltop, Whitehall, Eastside, Beechwold, Parsons, Northern Lights, Hilliard, Livingston, Reynoldsburg, Bolivar Arms, Morse Road, Gahanna, Clintonville, Martin Luther King, Dublin, South High, Driving Park, House of Knowledge, Channingway, Hilltonia, and Shepard, opened between 1935 and 1980. All branches were converted for handicapped access beginning in June 1980. On June 28, 1989, library trustees voted to change the name of the library from Public Library of Columbus and Franklin County to Columbus Metropolitan Library. [13] Since it initially opened, the Main Library has undergone four major renovations and expansions to accommodate the city's increasing population, in the 1950s, 1961, 1990–1991, and 2015–2016. [14]
Staffing at CML consisted of 846 employees in April 2020, of whom 42 were fully accredited librarians, plus volunteers. The annual expenditures for the library collection totals $7.97 million. In 2017, CML had 5.8 million visits and loaned out 15.7 million items. [15]
The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) system aims to inspire reading, share resources and connect people through their numerous programs and activities. Those services target various groups among its diverse patronage. CML provides help for adults with General Educational Development (GED) classes, technology training for basic computer knowledge, adult basic learning classes, an introductory class on the use of Microsoft Word, Job Help Centers, and classes on basic internet skills. To attract young children and adolescent patrons to the library, CML provides Homework Help Centers at all 23 CML locations. There is also help for children who are home schooled. They also have several teen gaming nights and book groups - such the Summer Reading Challenge, "Comic Book Café," [16] and the Manga & Anime club. Due to the growing population of Hispanics and Somalis, the library has an extensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program at several branch libraries. [17] There is also Spanish reading time and technology classes taught in Spanish.
The Ready for Kindergarten program is for preschoolers and their parents or caregivers. The library coordinates with teachers and schools to provide Ready for Kindergarten Storytimes and Classes. Storytime is also provided to children with special needs. [18] The Lobby Stop program is for senior citizens in retirement apartments. It utilizes a specially designed truck to transport book carts with large print books, DVDs and other materials and set up a temporary library in the common areas. The Book by Mail program, which started in 1977, is for the homebound. Large print books and other materials are mailed monthly or bi-monthly through the US postal system.
The Library offers a unique Dial-A-Story services that provides 24/7 access to recorded content. Patrons can call 614-924-1800 from any phone and use the menu to navigate to various recordings. Children will especially enjoy story time on Dial-A-Story as it requires no internet access to use.
CML first offered its patrons a public computer in 1977 and internet access in 1997. CML now has computers at all library locations and is WiFi enabled. In 2004 CML started the program "Know-It-Now", a 24/7 virtual reference service. [19] The "proactive reference" approach is another way the library is geared towards maximizing patrons' satisfaction; this approach ends the passivity of the reference librarians by taking the chair away and having the librarians interact with patrons throughout the library. [20]
Hennen's American Public Library Ratings listed CML as the top library system serving populations of 500,000 or greater in 1999, 2005, and 2008. These rankings were first published in the American Libraries magazine in 1999. Since that time, CML has been listed within the top four libraries for its population size every year (note: no rankings were published in 2003 or 2007; Hennen ceased to produce this content after 2010). [21] CML was also named Library of the Year by the Library Journal in 2010. [15]
The Cleveland Public Library is a public library system in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1869, it had a circulation of 3.5 million items in 2020. It operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the city, a mobile library, a Public Administration Library in City Hall, and the Ohio Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled. The library replaced the State Library of Ohio as the location for the Ohio Center for the Book in 2003.
Gahanna-Lincoln High School is a public high school in Gahanna, Ohio, United States. It is in the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools district. It is one of the largest high schools in Greater Columbus, and was established in 1928.
Hilltop is one of the largest neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio, located west of Franklinton and Downtown. The Greater Hilltop area contains newer and historic neighborhoods, schools, various stores, industrial areas, and recreational facilities. The development pattern is considered a distinct suburb. The majority of the area is predominantly single family residential.
Westgate is a community within the Hilltop area of Columbus, Ohio. It was partially constructed on land that formerly housed the American Civil War Camp Chase and a Confederate prison. After the Civil War, the land was purchased by Joseph Binns and his associates with the intent to start a Quaker community. These plans failed to materialize and the land was developed as a "streetcar suburb" in the 1920s. Located 4 miles (6.4 km) west of downtown, the neighborhood is home to Westgate Park and Recreation Center, Westgate Alternative Elementary School, St. Mary Magdalene Church and school, and Parkview United Methodist Church. 4,500 residents live within the Westgate boundaries, most in single family houses.
Blacklick is a small unincorporated community in southern Jefferson Township, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. Blacklick is also included in the Columbus Metropolitan area.
Jefferson Township is situated on the northeast edge of Franklin County, Ohio as a part of the Columbus metropolitan area and situated between the Blacklick Creek, Big Walnut Creek and Swisher Creek watershed. The township is one of the seventeen townships of Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 14,475 people in the township. It was established on September 6, 1816.
Columbus City Schools, formerly known as Columbus Public Schools, is the official school district for the city of Columbus, Ohio, and serves most of the city. The district has 46,686 students enrolled, making it the largest school district in the state of Ohio as of June 2021. At its peak during the 1971 school year the district served 110,725 students.
The Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in Central Ohio surrounding the state capital of Columbus. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, it includes the counties of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, and Union. At the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 2,138,926, making it 32nd-most populous in the United States and the second largest in Ohio, behind the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The metro area, also known as Central Ohio or Greater Columbus, is one of the largest and fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the Midwestern United States.
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Columbus, the state capital and Ohio's largest city, has numerous neighborhoods within its city limits. Neighborhood names and boundaries are not officially defined. They may vary or change from time to time due to demographic and economic variables.
The Ohio Capital Conference is a high school athletic conference located in Central Ohio. It comprises 34 public high schools located primarily in suburban Columbus, Ohio, encompassing Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking Licking, Pickaway and Union counties. The league is geographically divided into three divisions of six teams each and two divisions of eight teams. Twenty-four schools compete in the OHSAA's Division I classification for football while ten schools compete in Division II. All conference members compete in the Central District postseason tournaments prior to the regional and state tournaments.
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Andrew James Ginther is an American Democratic politician, the 53rd mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and the 48th person to serve in that office. He previously served as President of Columbus City Council from 2011 until 2015.
The Main Library of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) system is located in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States. The public library is the largest in the library system and holds approximately 300,000 volumes. It includes numerous rooms, including separate spaces for children, teens, an adult reading room, newspaper room, auditorium, gallery, gift shop, and a cafe. The third floor includes a computer lab and houses the Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society.
The Columbus Landmarks Foundation, known as Columbus Landmarks, is a nonprofit historic preservation organization in Columbus, Ohio. The foundation is best-known for its list of endangered sites in the city and its annual design award, given to buildings, landscapes, and other sites created or renovated in Columbus. It was established in 1977 as a project of the Junior League of Columbus, Ohio, following the demolition of the city's historic Union Station. It is headquartered at 57 Jefferson Avenue, a contributing structure in the Jefferson Avenue Historic District in Downtown Columbus.
The Great Flood of 1913 severely affected Columbus, Ohio. The area most affected was Franklinton, also known as the Bottoms, for its low elevation near the Scioto River. Among many infrastructure projects, a 7.2-mile floodwall was built from 1993 to 2004 to protect most of Franklinton from flooding.
The 10 E Broad / W Broad is a Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) bus service in Columbus, Ohio. The line operates on Broad Street, the city's main east-west thoroughfare.
Columbus-style pizza is an American regional pizza style associated with Columbus, Ohio. It has a circular shape, pieces cut into short or long rectangles, thin crust, dense toppings that cover the surface, and, usually, provolone cheese and a slightly sweet sauce. It was developed in the early 1950s.