Friends of the Belen Public Library

Gathered in the lobby of their storefront bookstore, Books on Becker, the board members of the Friends of the Belen Public Library chat freely and happily.

The group was nominated and selected as one of the Valencia County News-Bulletin’s 2025 Unsung Heroes.

As anyone who has ever been there might notice, Books on Becker is less a bookstore than it is a clubhouse for book lovers.

“Our goal is to increase the literacy within our community, and we have a number of different ways we’re approaching that,” said board vice president Maggy Fitzgerald. “One of which, as you can see, is that kids coming in here get two free books every time they walk through the door, and that’s not just small children. It’s kids all the way up to college age.”

Fitzgerald points out enthusiastically that Books on Becker, or as they affectionately call it, “BOB,” sell its books “at a really cheap price, because they come from donations from the community.”

Hardcovers got for a dollar a piece, she continues. Smaller paperbacks are priced at 50 cents a piece. The selection ranges from fiction to non-fiction, children’s picture books to classic novels.

“We donate books to a number of different places as well,” Maggy said enthusiastically. “Currently, we give new and gently-used books to the public health office. They need about 40 percent of their books in Spanish. We also give books to the Angel Tree, to the Head Start Program, to the women’s shelter and to the adult literacy program. It’s a big list.”

As stated on its website, “the Friends of the Belen Public Library is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with heart — and we heart the Library!”

The organization’s primary charge is to support the programs and initiatives of the Belen Public Library by providing funding and volunteers. One of the group’s main initiatives is the Belen library’s Summer Reading Programs for children, teens and adults, as well as administering the Deborah Graham Memorial Scholarships for local college-bound high school seniors.

The Friends also take on support of initiatives such as technology enhancements for the Teen Room and nonfiction book acquisitions for the Children’s Room.

Of course, there’s also BOB, the secondhand bookstore at 513 Becker Ave. in the downtown Belen Arts and Cultural District, which is open from noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday.

As one might expect, the Friends have a soft spot for teachers. Maggy said the group often gets requests for help from teachers who are in need of books, supplies or even technology.

“Teachers would come to us and say, ‘This is something I need,” and we would look it over, vote for it, and provide it,” she said. “I think one of our greatest things that we’ve given was last year. A local teacher wanted a translator system. She had many children that only spoke Spanish, and she was teaching science. So we bought her the translator system so she could speak into a microphone and the kids heard it in their headphones, in their own language. That was one of my favorites.”

As part of their ongoing membership with the Belen Public Library, the Friends have begun supporting free guitar lessons at the library.

“There’s a pop-up show with (musician) Tony DiNardo,” said board member and librarian Kathleen Pickering, who is also the director of the Belen Public Library. “He provides instruction for free. And the Friends have purchased guitars so we could start the program. After a child sticks with lessons for at least one year, they receive a gift of a guitar.”

Community engagement is also something the Friends of the Belen Public Library are committed to doing. In addition to the two student scholarships they sponsor, the group participates in National Night Out events, the Valencia County Resource Center and the annual Scarecrow Festival on Becker Street in Belen, by distributing children’s books. They also take books to laundromats and place them in “little libraries” around town, said president Mary Swanson.

The community impact is also felt among the elderly population in Belen, as board members point out, BOB provides a valued space for seniors and fosters a love of books among customers and volunteers.

“One of the original ideas was that (the bookstore) would give the senior community a place to feel valued,” Maggy said. “That was one of the ideas behind it.”

The current board members said The Friends of the Belen Library incorporated as a nonprofit in 2011 but has existed since the 1990s. In that time, the partnership with the Belen Library has been central to its efforts, said treasurer Merita Wilson.

Currently, the group has 83 members and is always looking for new members and volunteers. And, as several members point out, members do not need to be from Belen to participate. The group has participants who come from Socorro, Los Lunas and Albuquerque to play a part in the Friends’ mission and activities.

Several board members said the group has been a great addition to their lives in many ways, and they feel a personal enjoyment and empowerment by volunteering and being out in the community.

“You asked why (we’re part of the group). Well, first of all, all the membership reads. So when you make a reference to something, everybody laughs because they get it. Right? OK. Because they write it up to understand what’s going on,” said board member Terese “Tinky” Ulivarri, to a chorus of laughter.

“I think more than anything, my want here is for the kids because the better off they read, the better off they’ll be in their lives. So that’s why I’m here.”

Board member Mary Esquibel summed up both BOB and the Friends at the end of the conversation.

“The word that comes to mind to me about this place and everybody is that it’s alive,” she said. “Books can take you places. They talk to you. They teach you. They — it’s life. I am impressed with all of these people here, and I love seeing family members and friends come in.

“And the conversations are wonderful,” she concluded.

PHOTOS: Locals 2025 Citizen of the Year & Unsung Heroes