Advocates eye New Mexico fund for rural village libraries

EL RITO, N.M. (AP) — Dozens of nonprofit village libraries across New Mexico are in danger of closing without adequate funding and a steady stream of municipal support.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports advocates are pushing for new legislation that would create a $50 million state permanent fund to save small libraries in rural areas that lack bookstores. Advocates say the permanent fund would provide an estimated $50,000 per year for more than 40 rural community libraries.
Under the proposal, New Mexico voters would have to approve a constitutional amendment creating the endowment.
Leaders from the Embudo Valley Library in Dixon, New Mexico, and the Pueblo de Abiquiú Library in Abiquiú, New Mexico, say the plan would give them a greater ability to thrive with annual disbursements from a state rural library endowment.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com