Children's room at Belen Public Library named for Dolores B. Padilla

BELEN—Dolores Padilla has valued literacy and the importance to share it with children in the community for her entire life.

As head librarian at the Belen Public Library for 33 years, Padilla made sure she got books into the hands of not only children, but the entire community. She was also one of three founders of the Valencia County Literacy Council.

For her years of dedication and passion for the community and her advocacy of literacy, a renaming ceremony was held on Wednesday, Nov. 27, of the Dolores B. Padilla Children’s Library.

During the ceremony held at the library, Belen Councilor Rudy Espinoza read a proclamation from Mayor Robert Noblin, who was not at the ceremony, in honor of Padilla.

“... for her selfless dedication and tireless efforts in providing and creating a foundation for a children’s education center within the Belen Public Library,” the proclamation reads. “(We) thank her for her work she has done, which has served as a catalyst in providing our young children with a learning center they can strive and thrive in.

“Her legacy and her love for her neighbor and her community will live on in the work she leaves for all to enjoy. You are loved by many, far more than you realize.”

Padilla began her career in 1966 at the former library, which was housed in a WPA building on Reinken Avenue. She was hired to help catalog the entire library. During her time with the city, Padilla was instrumental in transferring all the material at the old library into the new building at 333 Becker Ave. She retired in 1999.

Padilla said her work and success at the library wouldn’t have been possible without the volunteer mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers who helped with storytime.

“They volunteered their money, and they volunteered their time,” Padilla said.

When asked what her favorite memories were when she was a librarian, Padilla laughed, saying she didn’t have enough money for anything.

“I started out with $1 an hour,” Padilla said. “When my husband asked me why I just didn’t stay home, I told him I was home all day when the kids were in school and I wanted something to do.

“The librarian was my neighbor and she knew I had library experience,” remembered Padilla, a native of Los Nutrias. “We had shelves and shelves of books but no one knew where anything was. So that was my job at first — in the evenings and on Saturdays when my husband could be home with our four kids.”

Padilla, 86, said her legacy is her family and the way she’s lived her life. She said while life can sometimes be tough, she’s tried the best she could.

“I’m humbled and I’m honored,” Padilla said of the naming of the children’s library. “I loved the people, the work and the kids. You don’t expect payment for it.

“Our story hour was so successful that the state library came down to tape it because it was the only volunteer-run story hour in the state,” Padilla said.

Also honored last week was the late C. Lorraine Garcia, who volunteered with the library’s story hour. The story time corner was dedicated to her a few years ago, but the banner was recently hung.

Garcia’s family, including her husband, Gilbert; son, Alonzo; daughter, L. Mariel; and granddaughter, Alanna Young, were at the ceremony.

“Lorraine was very proud of story hour and of the library,” Gilbert said. “She had four families — our blood and extended family, but she also had the family at story hour. The other family was the Pilot Club ... and the last one was the Red Hat ladies.

“This is quite a tribute. We are grateful. She worked hard and it’s nice that you recognized her. She would have been very proud. This library is a bright, shining star in Belen.”