Rio Arriba Independent Libraries (RAIL) provided the inspiration to create the initiative. RAIL was a coalition of five 501 (c)(3) libraries in Rio Arriba County: Embudo Valley Library, El Rito Library, Pueblo de Abiquiu Library, Truchas Community Library, and Vallecitos Community Center & Library.
Each of these libraries was established through grassroots community efforts. RAIL libraries worked together for about 20 years. Despite providing invaluable resources, RAIL libraries frequently navigated fiscal crises as none had a dependable source of operating funds.
The shared experiences of the coalition sowed the seeds of a larger advocacy push: a designated state-based fund to support rural libraries. Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino (D: Albuquerque) sponsored the legislation in the Senate, and Representative Gail Armstrong (R: Magdalena) sponsored it in the House. The endowment was enacted by the Legislature and signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2019 with an initial $1 million investment.
Since then, NRMLI has sustained its advocacy efforts to achieve a total of $60 million appropriated (or $1 million per library). As of 2026 the Legislature has appropriated $32.5 million towards the Endowment.
