More Than Books

New Mexico's rural libraries play a vital role their communities.  They provide internet and computer access to people who don't have them at home.  Rural libraries are often community centers where local groups hold meetings and sponsor events. Some provide the only local early childhood education or tutoring programs. They can serve as repositories of local history.  Many host programs like archeology talks and workshops, author readings, adult computer literacy classes, STEM classes, maker spaces, and art workshops. Some even host free movie nights.

In a crisis, such as a flood or fire, the library is often the first place place people go for information. Rural libraries spur economic development.  Some help with resume writing, computer skills, and long distance entrepreneurship. Others hold job fairs.

And they lend out books. Small towns have fewer services than cities, so rural libraries are called upon to do many things to help their communities survive and thrive.  They are a place to connect with others in community, strengthening relationships and fostering grassroots problem solving.

Other things many rural libraries provide include;
• Notary, copy and fax services
• Summer reading programs
• Connections with other state resources including Museums, the Albuquerque Zoo, wildlife centers, the Santa Fe Opera, Explora, and more
• Oral history projects
• Opportunities for community service
• Help accessing government services such as Affordable Care Act registration and tax forms
• After school programs

Individual New Mexican rural libraries have created projects unique to their communities such as sponsoring a;
• Radio station
• Public Park Kids reading to dogs project, to develop confidence to read aloud
• Local Fiesta
• Day care center Heritage orchard and pollinator garden
• Genealogy research project
• Second hand store
• Farmer's Market

As grassroots organizations, rural libraries are in a position to know and address their community's needs.

The Vallecitos Library, for example, learned through a survey of their community that many locals can't afford to add minutes to their phones.   The library now provides free phone service when they are open.

Jemez Springs Public Library participated in the Valles Caldera Elk Festival on September 24, 2016.  Kids enjoyed making their own bugle to “bugle like an elk” and adults learned about library services and enjoyed a “make the coyote chase the elk” Mobius strip challenge.

A regular library patron requested help formatting a word document. It was a final essay for her GED.  She came into the library a month later to write a cover letter and submit an online job application, and she showed me her successful GED certificate. She told me “I’m not doing it for myself, I’m doing it for my kids so they can see that education is important. - Embudo Valley Library and Community Center