Van Dongen family donates $100,000 to boost APS school libraries

A $100,000 donation from retired University of New Mexico professor Richard Van Dongen is heading into Albuquerque Public Schools libraries, where librarians say the money will help them keep collections fresh, relevant and more likely to pull students into reading. The gift, made through the APS Education Foundation, created the Van Dongen Books Kids Want to Read Fund, a new source of support for books students choose for themselves rather than whatever a tight budget can cover.

The fund is aimed at one of the district’s most basic literacy problems: school libraries need books that match student interests, but budgets often lag behind demand. APS said the new money will give library staff more flexibility to buy popular fiction, graphic novels, current nonfiction and other titles that can help keep students interested, inspired and engaged. In a district that serves about 65,000 students across more than 140 schools, that kind of purchasing power can shape what children actually find on the shelves.

Superintendent Gabriella Durán Blakey has tied the gift to APS’s broader push for stronger reading and math outcomes and for students who can read, write and communicate effectively. The district said recent early-literacy monitoring showed encouraging gains across elementary schools, but APS also framed school libraries as part of the district’s larger literacy infrastructure, helping students build information literacy skills, gain equitable access to books and electronic resources, raise test scores and develop a lifelong love of reading.

The donation carries a deep Albuquerque history. APS said Richard and Barbara Chamberlin Van Dongen were both born and raised in the city. Barbara Van Dongen, who died in 2016, earned an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Maryland. She worked as a classroom teacher and librarian for APS before becoming Head of District Library Services.

Richard Van Dongen also started his career in APS elementary education before earning a doctorate in education from UNM and moving into senior leadership in the university’s College of Education & Human Sciences. APS said the fund honors Barbara’s legacy as well as the couple’s shared commitment to learning and to Albuquerque schools.

The APS Education Foundation, which was established in 1995 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will administer the fund. APS said the foundation has already granted more than $500,000 to innovative programs, and community members can contribute to build on the Van Dongen gift. For Bernalillo County, the donation is more than a one-time boost: it offers a local model for how philanthropy can directly strengthen reading access inside neighborhood schools.