Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make our annual Holiday Dinner a success. Thanks to the musicians David Garcia and Los Resolaneros, to all the cooks who prepared the delicious meal, to Pam Smith for printing the little Friends of the Library booklet covers on her letterset press, and to the artists who decorated the covers. Special thanks to all our friends and supporters who made donations to the Library. We’re looking forward to a great year!

Happy holidays from the library staff and board!

Dear Friends of Pueblo de Abiquiu Library & Cultural Center:

We invite you to join us at our Annual Holiday Party on the first night of posadas, Friday evening, December 16^th from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Parish Hall across from the Library. Tickets for our Holiday Party are $15 per person. You can enjoy a home-cooked buffet dinner while listening to music by Los Resolaneros with David Garcia & Company. After eating, browse our Book Table & Ornament Display. You can find a fine gift for a friend or relative that also supports the Library- a packet of historical postcards, a gift book, an array of ornaments hand-painted by local artists. Stay after dinner for the first night of posadas celebrated in the village.

Pueblo de Abiquiu Library has had a wonderful and productive year, despite the tough economic times for non-profit institutions, thanks in part to your participation & support. Our statistics for Library usage have increased. More students are using the computers and more adults are checking out books. The children’s summer reading program under the guidance of librarian Rachel Reyes was well attended. Students read books about bugs and pests, started seedlings for the three sisters- bean, corn and squash, learned how to make red worm compost for enriching soil, and built a scarecrow. They talked on the computer with students in a sister library in Alabama and made handmade memory books with book artist Pam Smith.

Many of you participated in our various events- read stories about the history of Rio Arriba County during our March Read-a-thon, looked up information on the computers, found a reference to your family’s genealogy in our record books, used our notary or photocopier services, attended our May symposium on the Genizaros or simply sat on the porch to watch the mounted riders prance into the plaza during the Fiesta de Santa Rosa de Lima. Many of you recently attended a Second Sundays afternoon as archaeobotanist Glenna Dean discussed cotton pollen and ancient rock mulch gardens. Comanche dancers who participated in the Genizaro panels, came back to the village this fall to teach new dancers. This November, a fine group of novice Comanche dancers joined Dexter Trujillo and others in the ceremonies on the plaza for the Fiesta de Santo Tomas.

This year we have greatly expanded our books on art from all cultures, especially many fine books of quilts and on Georgia O’Keeffe, thanks to donations from the staff of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Kristin Krautz. We continue to add photos and information into the digital archive of the village. The Archive now contains several historical collections, including the papers from the Santa Rosa De Lima excavations in the nineteen seventies as well as the Bodes/Gonzales Store receipts from the nineteen twenties & thirties and recordings of songs and interviews of the Santa Rosa de Lima Fiestas in the nineteen sixties. We have resumed offering Abiquiu Walking Tours.

We appreciate the help of our staff and volunteers. Iren Schio, Mimi Hurd, Marguerite Kearns, Alice Garcia, Dexter Trujillo, Sabra Moore, Isabel Trujillo and Rachel Reyes support the library in many ways by their activism. We appreciate the fine support from many foundations, including a recent grant to all RAIL libraries from Santa Fe Community Foundation and grants from the McCune and United Way Foundations as well as support from many individual donors.

 Pueblo de Abiquiu Library has had a wonderful year, but we have also had a year of financial struggle, like every not-for profit institution in our region. Now is the season when we ask our friends and neighbors for a donation to help us in the coming year. Any amount helps! We hope you join us at our Holiday Season Party, purchase an extra ticket in the name of a friend, buy an ornament or a book or reach deeper into your pocket and offer support. Every gift you give the library assures our survival and growth.

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo!

Isabel Trujillo, Director / Sabra Moore, Board President/ Rachel Reyes, Librarian Pueblo de Abiquiu Library, P.O. Box 838, Abiquiu, New Mexico 87510 Tel. (505) 685-4884

Call the library for tickets! 505-685-4884. Support the library and have fun!!!! Click on the image of the tree and enjoy the fine work of our board president in terms of designing the invitation and spreading the word!

Abiquiu Walking Tours:  Join local docents on a history tour of the Genizaro Pueblo every Saturday and Sunday through November. Morning tours are from 11 am to noon; afternoon tours from 3 to 4 p.m. Call Rachel at the Library to make reservations. Each tour is $15 per person and helps support our programming. 

Second Sundays at the Library Explore Local History Join us at Pueblo de Abiquiu Library from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 13th as we launch our Second Sundays talks and readings on topics of local history, agriculture, archaeology, wildfire, drought and other land based concerns.

Glenna Dean, archaeobotanist and former New Mexico State Archaeologist will make a power point talk on Archaic Rock Mulch Gardens. She will introduce us to the archaic gardens around Abiquiu and tell us about what they were planting and how they cultivated the dry gardens in our area around the twelfth century. Enjoy some hot drinks and treats and stay to watch a video about Bandelier National Monument.

We’ve recently received “Water for Elephants” by J Sara Gruen, “Familyhood” by Paul Reiser, “Snow” by Orphan Pamuk, and several books by Jimmy Santiago. They are now available for check out. 

 

Comanche Dancing started on the first Sunday in October.  A special thank you to Linda Firestone for her volunteer help on 10/10/11 with the used book sale during the Abiquiu Studio Tour. And a sincere appreciation to everyone who purchased books during our book sale.

IMPORTANT: The library will be closed on Thanksgiving. Santo Tomas el Apostol feast day is on the 26th at 10 a.m. the following Saturday. We will be closed on Sunday, December 25th and also Monday, the 26th. The library will be closed again on Sunday, New Years Day, and then return to the regular schedule the following Monday.

by Sandi Martinez

This year, Samuel Luchetti will be showing his art as part of the Abiquiu Studio Tour.  His is stop #21 and will be showing his art in the Pueblo de Abiquiu Library on the weekend of October 8-10^th, Saturday-Monday.  The library will also have a book sale; browse through a myriad of genres and find yourself a good read!  Thanks in advance to all the wonderful volunteers who will be helping with the book sale!

This is the 18^th annual tour and features the work of over 80 local artists.  Abiquiu is a beautiful and historic village; many tourists come to the area in hopes of seeing a glimpse of Georgia O’Keeffe’s residence, and a peek into her gorgeous gardens, as well as the sweeping views of orange, purple, green, and blue hues spread across the land like a live water-color painting.  But what most encapsulates the mind, and stirs the senses, is the historic architecture, the rich history of cultural connections, and heritage, but most importantly, the tight-knit relationships so common, protected, and nurtured in this intense and lively village.

Many authors also live in the surrounding areas and have inspired creative and intellectual conversations at the dinner table, at local events, the library and even at the local grocer store, with their work in all genres; easily weaving images, scenery, and story plots that engage the imagination.  You can find many of these books in the southwest section of the library.  Are you a local and would like a library card?  Don’t fret; Rachel Reyes the Librarian can help you fill one out.

Come by the library during the tour and get your glimpse of Samuel’s art, check-out a southwest-themed book, search through the various titles for sale, and take in the dramatic views.  See you there!

Library hours: Sun-Thurs, 1-6 PM.  Ph: 505.685.4884.

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by Sandi Martinez

This year the Summer Reading Program at Pueblo de Abiquiu Library and Cultural Center focused on the theme the “Three Sisters”: corn, beans and squash.  The Iroquois legend states that these are the three inseparable sisters who grow and thrive together.  The tradition of planting these in the same mound is a widespread practice among Native American farming societies.  This is a sophisticated and sustainable system providing long-term soil fertility as well as a healthy diet from generation to generation.

Nutritionally speaking, corn provides carbohydrates; dried beans are rich in protein and balance the lack of amino acids in corn; squash furnishes both vitamins from fruit and healthy savory oil from the seeds.

The librarian, Rachel Reyes, put together a fun and educational project with the young people who joined the summer reading program. They made a scarecrow, among many other fun activities.  As the last days of summer reach the outer edges of fall, Halloween’s just around the corner, and harvesting will be the focal point of many farmers in Northern NM!

The library was a recipient of the Libri Foundation grant.  Come by the library with your children and browse any of the 60 books donated; this will certainly inspire you and yours to keep busy during the cold, winter months!  Thanks to Nancy Hopkins-Riley who donated over three hundred dollars who matched the required amount of the Libri Foundation grant.  Congratulations to the 12 children who averaged reading about 18 books during the eight-week SRP period!  Keep on reading!

Corn on the cob anyone?

Commanche dancing is being offered by Los Commanches de La Serna from Taos.  They are willing to drive here just to teach who ever wants to learn the following:
El Aguila, El Torrito, El Espantado, Las Filas, Los Llanerros, etc. beginning in October.  List your name with the kids and bring everyone you like.  There will be a contest during Santo Tomas Fiesta and who ever wins will get a real drum!  Call Library for more information.

Abiquiu Walking Tours: Join local docents on a history tour of the Genizaro Pueblo every Saturday/Sunday through November. Morning tours are from 11 am to noon; afternoon tours are from 3-4 pm. Call Rachel at the Library to make reservations; each tour is $15 per person and helps support our programming.

Book Cart: The book cart with sale books is always being updated. Your purchase doubles the fine gifts by friends who donated their books to support the Library’s operations.New Books: The staff at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum delivered three cartons of beautiful books last month that have amplified our selections of art books and Southwest history. Come browse through the finely illustrated books on quilts, American folk art, Chinese painting, the Hudson River painters, Pueblo pottery, recent contemporary art. You will find other surprises and some samplings of adventures in the old west.  Thank you to Kristin Kautz and the O’Keeffe Museum for these donations and for printing the brochure for the Abiquiu Walking Tours.

Become a Friend: Friends of the Library help in many ways, by volunteering to assist with the children’s programming, by offering help for speciall projects with the librarian, by supporting our events or simply by being a reader and colleague. Ask Rachel or Isabel how to become a Friend of the Library.

Board: Anyone interested in serving on the Board should contact Sabra by calling the Library.

Rachel Reyes, the librarian at the Abiquiu Library and Cultural Center, is working with La Puerta, the Abiquiu Headstart and Abiquiu elementary students.  The La Puerta students visit once a month for an hour. Headstart will begin its weekly visits soon. A women’s book club is in the planning stages.

Library Hours are 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. 505-685-4884.

Mailing address: P.O. Box 838, Abiquiu, New Mexico 87510

EMAIL: abiquiupl@gmail.com

Pueblo de Abiquiu Library is inviting anyone interested in volunteering with our LIbrary Board to submit their names and ideas for Board participation to the librarian anytime during the month of September.  We will invite all prospective new members to visit with us during the regular October meeting.The Library Board helps the staff plan events and also helps with fundraising and developing community programs. We invite you to join us! 

Twelve children read 218 books during the summer reading program from June 7-August 11.  This averages out to about 18 books per child during the eight-week period. A special thank you to all of the Ghost Ranch volunteers and to William Benson for their help cleaning out the shed and inside the library.