New Mexico State Library

Letter from the State Librarian

June 2017

Happy Summer to All!

 I am sure that many of you are busy with the start of your Summer Reading Programs. I was fortunate to join Secretary of Cultural Affairs Veronica Gonzales, Youth Services Specialist Deanne Dekle and Library Director Cynthia Aguilar for the June 5th kick-off activities at the Santo Domingo Pueblo Library. Secretary Gonzales read “Good night, good night, construction site” in keeping with the Build a Better Worldtheme. We even had participation from their pueblo Governor Robert Brian Coriz.

In other news, the momentum that started with the statewide library assessment and Libraries Transform New Mexico conference in 2016 has continued. A Steering Committee composed of representatives from multi-type libraries met and designated task forces to conduct follow-up studies on three themes from the conference: broadband, sustainable government funding and alternative income sources. These task forces will be meeting in the summer and fall, with recommendations to be made in conjunction with a presentation by Siobhan Reardon on October 18th.

I have been conducting library site visits since I began work at the New Mexico State Library two years ago, with the goal of visiting all public and tribal libraries in the state over the course of three years. I am now at sixty-three visits so I am hopeful that I will reach my goal by this time next year. Everyone has been so welcoming to me and so proud to show me the good work that they are doing in their communities!

Finally, State Library staff are already preparing for what promises to be another excellent New Mexico Library Association Annual Conference November 1-3 in Albuquerque. We plan to sponsor breakfast for attendees on Friday morning; have a presence in the exhibit hall; present programs, pre-conferences and poster sessions pending acceptance by the conference committee; and have the opportunity to meet as many of you as we can.

Best wishes, and please feel free to contact me if I may be of service to you.

Kathleen Moeller-Peiffer