When it was time to raise money for a new library on the south side of Santa Fe, they did what they had to do.

They asked.

And asked. And asked.

The hundreds of volunteers who make up the Friends of the Library nonprofit have been working to support library programs for nearly 30 years, but from 1999 until this spring, the Southside Branch Library was their main fundraising goal.

The group's activities at the state Legislature, in private homes, at community gatherings and in schools helped glean more than
$1.5 million in the past 25 months to pay for books, audio and visual materials, computers, furniture and programs at the library — a sum without which the library would not be what it is today, said Pat Hodapp, the city's director of libraries.

The work can't be credited to one person, said former City Councilor Carol Robertson Lopez, but to a wide group of people who contributed their talents and time.

"There were so many people that were pivotal along the way. It seemed to me that the right people were there at the right times," she said. "They always kept the vision and the need for the library in front of decision makers and the community, and they refused to be turned away."

Jane Guillentine never really got used to asking people for money, but she kept doing it anyway. Mostly, she said, that was because she knew the library's programs for children would only happen if she and other volunteers were persistent. Other reasons also drove her.

"One of our big selling points was that you did not have to live on that side of town — that this would be $1 million worth of additional materials in the library system that will benefit everyone," she said.

Guillentine, a retired librarian who served as Friends president for several years and also was on the city-appointed Library Board, said she was frequently surprised by the generosity of donors. Early in the campaign, she remembers getting a phone call from the family of Claude and Juanita Sena, who informed her the couple had left $50,000 to the library in their will.

Even the smallest donations were touching, she said.

"We wanted everybody to feel like it didn't matter what your contribution was; every bit was important," said Guillentine.

Shirley Ortega was another volunteer who worked with the Friends to collect money in the first years of the process. She helped local schools collect more than $1,500 in loose change for the project.

Along with Ortega, Lisa Bemis and Andrea Gross also lobbied the Legislature for the project. When she walked into the library building for the first time this spring, Ortega said she was stunned.

"I waited until it was finished to go in, and it was so wonderful to be in this new building that I had helped build," she said.

Like many who work with Friends of the Library, both Ortega and Guillentine volunteer at a recycled-book store inside the Southside Branch Library; the store's proceeds go right back into library programs.

The last two years of the fundraising efforts were challenging for organizers, but with Angela Matzelle tirelessly chairing the committee, they continued.

"I didn't know any better," Matzelle said of her decision to take the volunteer job. "I didn't have any idea what that would be like except that we could do it."

Matzelle, a Santa Fe mortgage specialist, visited businesses and private homes to make presentations. While the tally of cash that came in during that time speaks to her success, Matzelle said she was
a nervous wreck speaking in front of groups. During most presentations, donors put her at ease right away.

"People love to give to the library," she said, flashing her key-chain library card. "I think everyone should have a library card."

In an interview more than eight months after the library opened, Matzelle said she felt like her efforts had paid off. "On grand-opening day, when the kids' room was packed, wall to wall, I just felt like dancing," she said.

There were certainly times during the campaign when dancing was the last thing on her mind — for example, when a family that planned to donate $1 million backed out of the deal because of political drama over the library naming.

"The reaction from some people was just outrageous. People were misinformed," she said, noting she's sad that the donor family — the Maloofs of beer and basketball fame — felt so attacked and that the money didn't make its way to the community.

Although the formal campaign to get the library open is over, Matzelle continues to serve on the development committee for the Friends. Future campaigns are coming, she said.

"Put on your roller skates. We are not done yet," she said.

The Southside Branch Library opened in March and already serves a quarter of the patrons in the library system. Its focus on children is evident in the amount of circulation of kids' books in its seven months of service — more children's materials are checked out than adult materials.

The Santa Fe Community Foundation this year gave Friends of the Library a Piñon Award, known in the area as the "Oscars for nonprofits."