News and Updates

With HB26 being pre-filed this week, we have taken a major step forward for the right to read in New Mexico.

Freedom to Read New Mexico (FTRNM) endorses both the 2026 New Mexico General Obligation (GO) Bond for Libraries and the continued investment in the Rural Library Endowment Fund. Together, these initiatives demonstrate that the freedom to read relies on a healthy, well-funded, and interdependent library ecosystem.

What became clear at our most recent coalition meeting on 12/4 is that Governor Lujan Grisham needs to hear the personal stories and reasons why we care about the freedom to read.

Join us for coffee and conversations about censorship in New Mexico. A local anti-censorship group, Grandparents and Allies for Truth, has invited guest speaker and Albuquerque author Holly Harrison. Holly will be speaking at the International District Library at 10:30am on 12/4.

Several lawmakers in New Mexico have announced plans to introduce legislation during the 2026 session aimed at protecting access to books in public libraries, K-12 school libraries, and academic libraries. Representative Kathleen Cates, Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Senator Brenda McKenna, and Senator Pope are preparing bills that reflect a growing recognition that access to books is both a First Amendment right and an issue of civil rights and educational equity in our state.

Freedom to Read New Mexico is a new, statewide, nonpartisan coalition consisting of parents, grandparents, educators, librarians, community leaders, authors, students, and allies. Our mission is to protect the First Amendment, civil rights, and the right of all New Mexicans to read freely and learn without unlawful interference.