Friends pleased with new building

After experiencing multiple relocations throughout the years, the Socorro Friends of the Library (FOL) has proudly established a permanent home for their beloved bookstore in a spacious new building.

“I’m so pleased,” Penny Loman, president of FOL, said.

The modular building, financially supported by the City of Socorro, is complete with fresh paint, a porch, and a wheelchair-accessible ramp. On the inside, a custom floor plan is designed to suit their needs for sorting, storing and displaying books for sale.

“The building is a wonderful size for a book room and had a beautiful remodel. I am impressed with the work done by Robert Rincone’s crew and MRC Pro. I am excited with the amount of space in the room and the addition of a porch,” Chelsea Jones, Socorro Public Library director, said, “I look forward to many successful book sales.”

In February 2024, the FOL invited Mayor Ravi Bhasker to their meeting to discuss concerns about the move out of the Zimmerly building.

At that time, Bhasker proposed a 2,000-square-foot modular building as a permanent location for the Friends of the Library bookstore. He told them he would like to move the building to the empty property across the parking lot from their current location at Zimmerly.

He said that the City would have an architect meet with the group, remodel it to their needs, then help them move in and pay for the utilities.

At the meetings, members of the FOL expressed their concern about the move. Bhasker said he understood and would try to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Loman said the Mayor and City of Socorro came through with their promises, and their new building is lovely. Jones added she is thankful for the City’s funding of the building.

“They moved the trailer over here in February…we met with the architect in April. Work started at the end of October, and I was given the keys on January 10,” Loman said.

On February 10, the RISE Crew, a Socorro County Inmate rehabilitation program, and FOL members helped move over 200 boxes in under two hours.

“I lost count at 232 boxes.” Loman said, “We would back a pickup truck up to the old place. They’d come out and with dollies and they’d load them up. We’d bring them over here. They’d unload them. I had people over here, telling them, fiction goes over there and cookbooks goes over there. So that was great.”

Loman said having the RISE participants was a great help.

“Chelsea Jones, who is the library director, is working with the literacy program with the detention center, and so these were a lot of the guys that she worked with, and they were wonderful. They were strong.” Loman said.

She said one of the RISE participants was putting children’s books on the shelf, and he recognized a book from his childhood, the Choose Your Own Adventure series.

“He goes, ‘I used to read these when I was a kid. I loved these books,’ and I almost cried,” Loman said.

Loman said they are looking forward to their first book sale at the new location on March 1, with hardback books priced at $1 and paperbacks at 50 cents.

Friends of the Library members include Annika Bauman, Jim Boswell, Mary Cox, Skye Davis, Margaret DiBella, Robert Farnum, Yvonna Graham, Julie Johnson, Judy Kurtz, Jim Lommen, Pat Mills, Rex Myers, Phil Norton, Susan Oviatt, Susan Richards, Jim and Mary Ruff, Allan Sauter, Barbara Skoden, Susan Wiley and Phoebe Wood.

“They all (members) show up to sort and shelve the books every week, and since December, they packed up all of the books in preparation for the move. In the last two weeks, they have unpacked and re-shelved everything. Without them, our organization would cease to exist,” Loman said.

Last year the FOL raised $6,492 and spent $4,192 in library reading programs, family yoga, the Africa book project and other library needs.