Dixon’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Embudo Valley Library & Community Center serves 938 people in and around Dixon. Last year it lent 5,636 books, movies and e-books and logged 10K visits.
The short version on Dixon’s library
More library cards than residents
1,911 cards for 938 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
85% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 7%. What your card is worth ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Embudo Valley Library & Community Center logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is closer to typical, at 3.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Embudo Valley Library & Community Center spends $264 per resident a year, about five times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 100 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Embudo Valley Library & Community Center serves 938 people in and around Dixon, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Dixon’s civic life grade
Dixon isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of Embudo Valley Library & Community Center, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Embudo Valley Library & Community Center system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Embudo Valley Library & Community Center serves 938 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,636 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,084 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Embudo Valley Library & Community Center, 217a Hwy 75 Dixon, Dixon.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Embudo Valley Library & Community Center branch.
New in Dixon? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dixon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $248K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $89K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $248K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 1,911 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Embudo Valley Library & Community Center serves 938 people in and around Dixon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Dixon.
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 Dixon
Does Dixon have a public library?
Yes. Embudo Valley Library & Community Center, 217a Hwy 75 Dixon, serves 938 people in and around Dixon (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Embudo Valley Library & Community Center fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dixon’s library?
It logged 10.9 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Dixon’s civic life grade?
Dixon isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of Embudo Valley Library & Community Center, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Dixon.
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.