Become a Member
Membership is open to all ages. The New/Renewal Membership form is available at the FriendShop or by printing this form (MS Word or Adobe PDF).
Membership benefits include:
- 10% discount at the FriendShop when you present your membership card at checkout
- Regular emailed newsletters with updates on Friends’ activities
- Numerous volunteer opportunities
The Friends’ Annual Membership Meeting and Spring Luncheon is usually held in April. At that meeting the Volunteer of the Year is announced, new Board members are elected, and a summary of the Friends’ past year is presented.
Sadly, until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the Membership Meeting and Board election must be held online for the safety of our members.
Grant Requests
The Friends support libraries and fund literacy programs for children, teens and adults in Sandoval County, New Mexico. A simple one-page form (available in Acrobat PDF and MS Word formats) is all that is required to request a grant.
Most grants are $100 to $1000. Requests received by the second Monday of each month are usually reviewed within the month.
Examples of recently approved grants can be seen on the home page.
History
Friends of the Library of Rio Rancho was incorporated in 1982 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) all-volunteer charity to establish a library in Rio Rancho. The Friends raised money to build the first Rio Rancho library and made significant contributions to build and furnish the second library.
For 37 years the Friends operated stores in the Rio Rancho Public Libraries and conducted monthly sales of community-donated books and media. The profits were used to support the two libraries and to fund library programs for children, teens and adults. Sadly, in 2020 the Rio Rancho City administration unilaterally dissolved the partnership.
The Friends changed their name to Friends of Libraries and Literacy, Rio Rancho Inc. and expanded their mission to include libraries and literacy programs in Sandoval County, New Mexico. To fund these programs, the Friends continue to sell community-donated books and media at the FriendShop that opened in January 2021 and at the FriendShop Too! in the Bernalillo Public Library that opened in February 2022.
Books for Babies
By reading to babies and toddlers, parents develop their children’s language skills that starts them on the path to success in reading and learning. The Friends and the national literacy program Books for Babies help new parents with this role.
New parents at Presbyterian Rust Medical Center, Lovelace Westside Hospital and at WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) receive a free Books for Babies kit from the Friends that includes a board book for baby, a certificate for baby’s first library card, and brochures with reading tips and early literacy information from nationally-recognized educational organizations. The kits are available in both English and Spanish.
Sales of the sturdy Friends’ Totes at the FriendShop help fund the Books for Babies program along with a generous grant from the Brindle Fund Santa Fe Community Foundation. This allows the kits to be distributed free of charge to new parents..
Newsletters
[To do: table of past newsletters]