Photo: Ser_Amantio_di_Nicolao · CC BY-SA 3.0Delmar’s library runs 116 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Delmar Public Library serves Delmar’s 6,936 residents. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 31K visits.
The short version on Delmar’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Delmar Public Library ran 804 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 116 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Delaware pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 63% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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.
What’s behind Delmar’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Delmar is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns. Delmar is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Delmar’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Delmar
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.9%
5.9% of Delmar’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.6% in the typical Delaware 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 Delmar’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Delmar last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Delmar Public Library serves 6,936 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
5,861 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Delmar Public Library, 101 North Bi-State Blvd, Delmar.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Delmar? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Delmar cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $385K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $741K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $385K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 5,026 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Delmar
Does Delmar have a public library?
Yes. Delmar Public Library, 101 North Bi-State Blvd, serves Delmar’s 6,936 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Delmar Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Delmar’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Delmar’s civic life grade?
C− Delmar is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Delmar.
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.