Library initiative seeking support

The New Mexico Rural Library Initiative is seeking support from New Mexico residents in efforts to secure an additional $27 million in appropriations from the New Mexico Legislature in its 2024 session.

The $27 million, the initiative stated in a news release, “would sustain these libraries in perpetuity.”

According to the release, residents are asked to contact state legislators and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to voice support for the New Mexico Rural Library Initiative.

The endowment that funds the initiative was created by the state legislature in 2019 and signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and currently holds $28 million, according to the news release.

The initiative advocates for a statewide endowment of $55 million dollars, $1 million for each of 55 eligible rural libraries, more than half of the 98 public libraries recognized by the New Mexico State Library. Over half of the rural libraries in the state are run by only one paid employee or volunteers. Many need repairs, technology, employees, and more, according to the release, and many library directors are paid minimum wage or slightly above.

If fully funded and invested, the release stated, the endowment would provide each of 55 community and pueblo libraries with about $45,000 per year. Grant funds would also be available for establishing libraries in small communities that don’t already have one, and to fund specialized services to rural libraries though the New Mexico State Library, the news release stated.

Many rural towns are unincorporated, and their non-profit public libraries have no access to municipal funds. Other towns have only a small commercial sector with insufficient tax revenue to provide local services. Consequently, rural libraries struggle to stay open, according to the release.