About The Library

The Nesbitt Memorial Library is the municipal library of the City of Columbus, Texas. It is named in honor of the family of Lee Quinn Nesbitt, who financed the construction of the building and whose estate continues to provide financial support for the library. The collection of the city's previous municipal library, the Mansfield Memorial Library, which was named in honor of Joseph Jefferson Mansfield, who provided the land for the building and its initial collection, was absorbed into that of the Nesbitt Memorial Library.

The Mansfield Memorial Library opened on March 2, 1948. The Nesbitt Memorial Library opened March 18, 1979. Less than a decade later, a major addition, paid for by Miss Nesbitt's estate, nearly doubled the size of the building, and added a special archival vault and Texas Room. The addition was formally opened on October 25, 1987.

The Nesbitt Memorial Library is a member of the Houston Area Library System. Through its membership in HALS, patrons of the Nesbitt Memorial Library have access to thousands of items that are not maintained in the library's permanent collection.