The story of Shuter Library is phenomenal; it shows the great heart and devotion of an entire community united to make its dream of a library come true.
The Angel Fire Community Library was started in 1978 in a back room of the Angel Fire Country Club by seven ladies who found out their beloved bookmobile was not going to make it to town that day. Then and there Jeanette Stromberg donated the first $300 to go towards a local library. Now – 32 years later and with a name change— the Shuter Library is an independent, incorporated, and registered 501(c)(3) organization that owns the library building outright.
The dream was born long before the Village of Angel Fire was even incorporated; before any government administration was in place. There were no taxes or means to create a library, but the community was strong and willing to move mountains to get one.
Determined people organized and started extensive fund raising, from bake sales and galas to petitioning for donations. At a fundraiser on June 5, 1999 Tim Allen told Ruth Lawrence, “Let’s don’t build on. Let’s build a whole new library.” So Angel Fire Resort donated the land to build the library.
With this boost, everything kicked into high gear. Everything revolved around fundraising for the library: Love Your Library Golf Tournaments, Fashion Shows, and Trash to Treasures flea markets built-up the funds.
Friends and neighbors all joined the frenzy to make the dream come true. The rural community dug deep into its pockets. It would be rare for Martha Lassetter to return home without having recruited a new volunteer, sold a ticket to an event or talked somebody into writing another check for the library. The checks accumulated and building plans began.
Things are rolling
Brian Shuter, of Shuter Construction offered to build the library at cost. Chuck Hasford drafted the plans pro bono. Chris Sandoval sub-contracted the plumbing, Ray Honea the electric, and Alex Herrera the dirt work- all at cost. RBS True Value Lumber and Hardware and AC Houston Lumber gave discounts and donated some materials. Numerous local businesses gave or discounted fixtures and materials. Shuter Library became a labor of love.
In July 2002 the brand new 3,000 square foot Shuter Library of Angel Fire opened its doors to the public. Celebration was short because now all the resources had to be converted to operating the new library. The dream was to share the love of reading with the entire Moreno Valley and connect the small community up to the world. Even though the library wasn’t funded through any taxes, the standard was to provide free library services to the public.
Again, exhaustive work commenced, now to run the library in a professional manner as well as to continue raising money to pay all the operations bills. Volunteers regularly donated hundreds of hours to run the library. It was a steep learning curve of policies required for operation and laws regulating libraries.
Devoted volunteers met the challenge as if it were their new career. The nine member Library Board of Directors, led by President Debby Clanton, managed the facility and about 40 individuals from the community worked shifts. Everyone continued to give what they could. The electrician and plumber would only charge costs of materials. A family contributed cleaning supplies and cleaned weekly at cut rates. And the Angel Fire Garden Club planted and maintained a lovely Butterfly Garden.
Generous neighbors such as Bill Allen of RBS True Value and Linda Davis of the CS Ranch continued to contribute toward operating costs. The Angel Fire/South Moreno Valley Community Corporation (now the Angel Fire Community Foundation) continued to grant $5,000 to the library annually. The Rotary Club bought software for the children’s computers. The Gates Foundation provided computers and technology and the McCune Foundation monetary grants.
It was exciting to be part of the library family and such a vibrant community. The essence of our library evolved. Full and part-time residents and visitors have always flocked through the doors to get a book, use a computer, ask directions or just pass on a friendly word. Everyone has always been impressed with the beautiful facility and the gracious ambiance.
Making ends meet
But behind the scenes, the dedicated workers continued to struggle to make ends meet. The Board was frugal, even turning off the hot water in the facility for several months each year. Thermostats were kept low and on occasion, desk volunteers wore gloves, sweaters and big smiles. Every dime was squeezed until it screamed, “Uncle.”
After about a year, a most difficult decision had to be made. It was necessary to hire a library director to relieve some of the demands on the board. It was tough enough getting funds to pay the bills, never mind trying to pay for an employee. So, once again, a group took on the challenge. Friends of the Shuter Library, another 501(c)(3) organization, incorporated in 2002 explicitly to pay the new employee salary and taxes.
“Friends” became the fund raising arm for the library.
Leaders such as Frances Ackerman, Bonnie Reilly and Sue Cotton became known as the “Lively Library Ladies” and would cater for parties or even serve or wait tables at other events. The generous, dynamic, hard working “Friends” continuously hosted events to bring in the bucks. Today you’re probably familiar with “A Taste of Enchantment”, the “Cajun Fiesta”, “An American Holiday”, BINGO and more.
But all these events have taken their toll, each requiring thousands of man-hours from planning to execution, often requiring back-breaking work from primarily senior citizens. Our generous local merchants have given and given, from food to materials to auction items. Despite all these efforts, our event proceeds continuously diminished to the point where we now raise between $1 and $3 per man-hour expended.
Future approach
As you might guess, this “Little Library That Thought It Could” is stepping up to toe the line. The future approach will be a multi-source income base. While in the past eight years the Village of Angel Fire has contributed less than $10,000 total, they have now committed $17,500 for this coming fiscal year.
Regrettably, we must start to charge our patrons, but in order to keep patron charges more affordable, we are initiating a development effort focused on more permanent support from local and regional businesses and foundations and individual donors.
We’re mighty proud of our grand little library and believe it worthy of recognition. The collection of over 10,000 print and audio books, educational videos, and five public use computers receive steady use by some 2,500 year-round and seasonal patrons — a remarkable usage since Angel Fire only has about 1,000 full-time residents.
Another feather in our cap, is that Shuter Library was rated second in the country for its budget class, receiving the highest five star award from The Library Journal.
We serve over 22,000 visitors per year. Our computer and Wi-Fi service is the fastest available locally. During the two heaviest use summer months, we serve over 3,000 people on our computers, averaging about 70 sessions per day.
About 50 volunteers work at the circulation desk, repair well-used books, locate just the right reading material for visitors, and conduct children’s and youth programs. Our enthusiastic volunteers do just about anything that needs doing in order to keep the library going.
We do all this at considerably less cost per capita than nearby municipal libraries. As reported in the last annual report (required by the State Library), Shuter Library operated on $50 per capita compared to $70 for Eagle Nest, $113 for Taos and $134 for Red River. And only $1 of our $50 annual cost was paid through municipal taxes.
As Shuter Library faces the next hurdle in our history, we once again look to our community for support. We thank our volunteers for their tremendous efforts to get us where we are, but it is necessary relieve at least their fund raising burden by shifting to a multi-source income base.
Now that you understand Shuter Library’s history, won’t you become a vital part of our future? Please contact Shuter Library at 575-377-6755 to become a member, or the Shuter Library Development Committee at 575-377-2802 to become a sponsor. Or just come on in to see us on South Angel Fire Road.
BY GINGER LAGASSE
For the Sangre de Cristo Chronicle | Published: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 11:50 AM MDT
