Schools, Partnerships and Growth

Canal Winchester Branch

It now hosts our youngest branch, but Canal Winchester has been a service point for a long time. The community opened the first county library station in 1937, and was later served by a bookmobile. The branch opened at its present location on 115 Franklin St. in 2016.

First New Albany Branch Building

The New Albany Branch opened in 1998 at the local high school, and featured a brick building with a dome, which the library’s amenities encircled. New Albany Branch moved to its own building in 2003.

The final three branches in the Columbus Metropolitan Library system highlight the value of school partnerships to the library system over time. Early county station libraries, which were located in school buildings and staffed by school employees, reached new audiences as central Ohio grew. Recent school partnerships made our final three branches possible; they all opened in current or former school buildings. New Albany Branch opened in 1998 at the New Albany High School, Marion-Franklin Branch opened in 2014 in the former Beery Middle School, and Canal Winchester Branch opened in 2016 in the former gym of the old Canal Winchester Middle School. The 2010 library levy allowed the latter two branches to be established.

Efforts to refurbish or rebuild other branches are still ongoing, with Gahanna Branch, which re-opened in 2023, and Reynoldsburg Branch, which will reopen in 2024. In addition to Main Library, Columbus Metropolitan Library now operates 22 branches across Franklin County, ensuring that residents can get help from staff, enjoy public programs, access resources online, and check out educational and entertaining materials near their homes. New partnerships have also expanded access to resources at all of our branches: The library joined the Central Library Consortium in 2013, and began sharing books through SearchOhio and OhioLINK in 2018. What does the future hold for our branches? We will continue to grow with Central Ohio!

Dual Celebration at Gahanna Branch Opening

On March 4, 2023, Columbus Metropolitan Library celebrated both its 150th birthday and the re-opening of the Gahanna Branch. Children and staff celebrate the opening with confetti.

Marion-Franklin Branch's Summer Fun

Children participate in a Summer Reading Challenge program in 2019.

Reynoldsburg Branch

The Reynoldsburg Branch moved to a temporary home in 2022. After a wall breaking ceremony in August, demolition began in September 2022. The new Reynoldsburg Branch will be nearly twice as large, and will open in 2024.