Dulce’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Jicarilla Public Library serves 2,788 people in and around Dulce. Last year it logged 1,363 visits.
The short version on Dulce’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Jicarilla Public Library offered 12 programs last year, 4.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Jicarilla Public Library spends $117 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (85%) comes from local taxes. 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; Jicarilla Public Library serves 2,788 people in and around Dulce, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Dulce’s civic life grade
On library visits and volunteering, Dulce has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Dulce is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Dulce’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($30K–$50K) 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 →
Volunteering in Dulce
Dulce is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
3.0%
3.0% of Dulce’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.2% in the typical New Mexico 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 Dulce’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dulce cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $326K.
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 678 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Jicarilla Public Library serves 2,788 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Jicarilla Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jicarilla Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 323 items borrowed against 1,363 visits, so we leave the count out.
12 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Jicarilla Public Library, 165 Hawks Drive, Dulce.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Jicarilla Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Jicarilla Public Library serves 2,788 people in and around Dulce, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Dulce.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 Dulce
Does Dulce have a public library?
Yes. Jicarilla Public Library, 165 Hawks Drive, serves 2,788 people in and around Dulce (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jicarilla Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dulce’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Dulce’s civic life grade?
D− Dulce has fewer library visits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Dulce.
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.