Let’s Talk New Mexico 4/23, 9am
Everybody loves libraries, and generations of New Mexicans have used them to read and check out books for over a century.
But, there’s so much more to a modern library than books. They provide vital community meeting spaces, internet access, food pantries, telehealth and even phone services in cities and villages all across the state.
As technology makes it easier to never leave home, New Mexico’s public libraries are more important than ever. And the smaller the community, the more essential the library.
As an author who enjoys talking about the joys of reading and writing, I’ve had the opportunity to visit many of our state’s rural libraries. They have a special place in my heart. Vibrant and as diverse as the little villages they serve, these libraries are more than places for books. They are welcoming spaces where friendships grow, children are nurtured, and the elderly acknowledged. They are havens for new parents and grandparents to bring youngsters for story hours and places where anyone can use a computer to apply for job. Many offer adult education classes, workshops in cultural preservation, summer reading programs, tutoring, music, teen nights, movies and, of course, books!
For Andie Manzanares, one of the pleasures of helping run Abiquiú’s rural library is watching patrons “connect the dots” — whether it’s kids stumbling on new ideas in a book or families flipping through the archive of genealogical records dating back centuries to trace their roots.
They are community pillars in some of New Mexico’s towns. However, for dozens of the state’s rural libraries to survive, advocates are now hoping state lawmakers can pitch in with a crucial life-line.
Every day is different at the front desk of the Embudo Valley Library and Community Center, in Dixon. Volunteers like Shel Neymark help the local mayordomo book the community room for an acequia meeting one minute, then assist a local senior in setting up a video chat with their doctor the next.
Every day is different at the front desk of the Embudo Valley Library and Community Center, in Dixon. Volunteers like Shel Neymark help the local mayordomo book the community room for an acequia meeting one minute, then assist a local senior in setting up a video chat with their doctor the next.
The head of the nonprofit New Mexico Rural Library Initiative asked state lawmakers this week to allocate $29.5 million in next year’s legislative session to further fund an endowment assisting 60 rural and tribal libraries.
