Lucía Abello

Lucía Abello
Occupation(s)	Librarian, naturalist, botanist
Known for	Exploration, study, documentation, and dissemination of Chile’s native plant species; integration of environmental consciousness into public library programming

Lucía Abello is a Chilean librarian, naturalist, and botanist dedicated to the exploration, study, documentation, and dissemination of Chile’s native plant species and their traditional applications through photography and written works. She incorporates environmental consciousness into public library programming to foster ecological awareness alongside reading.

Libraries and environment

Currently, Lucía Abello holds the position of Coordinator for the Regional Public Library system in Los Ríos. Her previous roles include directing the Municipal Public Library in Doñihue and managing the Agricultural School Library in San Vicente de Tagua Tagua.

Abello has pioneered the integration of environmental stewardship with information science by promoting biodiversity and climate education via library projects across Chile and Latin America. While leading the library in Doñihue, she forged collaborations with institutions such as Parque Safari to develop educational initiatives. Her contributions have been acknowledged by UNESCO’s Regional Center for book promotion in Latin America. In 2012, she received the Outstanding Librarian of the Year distinction from the Chilean National Library Association (Colegio de Bibliotecarios de Chile).

Awards and distinctions

• Illustrious Municipality of Doñihue awarded her a Merit Award recognizing exceptional professional achievements (1995).
• Claudio Arrau León de Doñihue High School Learning Resource Center honored her support to students (2003).
• National Council of Culture and the Arts granted her a scholarship for an internship at the Germán Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation in Salamanca, Spain (2004).
• The Regional Council for Culture and the Arts paid tribute to her as an essential member of its Regional Directory (2007).
• She earned the Outstanding Librarian Award by the College of Librarians of Chile (2012).
• San Vicente de Paul Agricultural School recognized her educational contributions to students (2013).
• The Illustrious Municipality of Doñihue expressed appreciation for her two decades of dedication to education (2014).
• She was named an Honorary Member of the College of Librarians of Peru (2014).
• Selected for participation in the International Training Program Network of Emerging Library Innovators (INELI-Iberoamérica), organized by CERLALC alongside the Germán Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Chosen as a trainer for the International Advocacy Program (IAP - IFLA LAC - SDGs and Agenda 2030) by the College of Librarians of Chile (2016).
• Recipient of the FILSA Award 2022 for her efforts in promoting reading.

Publications

• Cordero, Sebastián; Gálvez, Francisca; Abello, Lucía. (2021). Traditional uses of Chilean flora Volume I: Natives. Valparaíso: Planeta de Papel.
• Abello, Lucía. "La biblioteca y su relación con el conocimiento." Presentation at VII Congreso Nacional de Bibliotecas Públicas, Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia, 2020.
• Abello, Lucía; Reyes, Josefina; Cuevas, Claudia; Fuentes, María Angélica. Libraries, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and UN 2030 Agenda: Brief Selection of Good Library Practices in Chile (2019), IFLA Commission College of Librarians of Chile.
• Abello, Lucía et al. "Espacios para la creación. Modelos para generar espacios de creación en tu biblioteca" (2018). CERLALC.
• Abello, Lucía. "Ecoguides training course in Doñihue: Exploring readings contributing to SDGs," presented at IFLA WLIC 2017.
• Abello, Lucía and Reyes Muñoz, Josefina. "Map of partial situation of libraries in Chile and their contribution to Agenda 2030 through Good Library Practices," IFLA WLIC 2017.
• Cordero, Sebastián; Abello, Lucía; Gálvez, Francisca. Edible and medicinal wild plants of Chile and other parts of the world (2017).
• Abello, Lucía; Macaya, Jorge. Report on Adesmia pirionii discovery in Alhué, Chile (2013).
• Abello, Lucía. "Environmental Education from the Public Library: an imperative need," presented at IFLA WLIC 2011.
• Abello, Lucía and Ricci, Marcia. Joyas de Doñihue and the Roblería del Cobre de Loncha National Reserve (2012).
• Marticorena, Alicia et al., including Abello, Lucía. Plantas Trepadoras, Epífitas y Parásitas Nativas de Chile. Guía de campo (2010).
• Abello, Lucía. "The Public Library: between reading promotion and Digital Literacy," presented at 2nd Iberoamerican Congress of Librarianship, Buenos Aires (2007).
• Abello, Lucía. "The role of libraries and information professionals in cultural consumption," Biblios (2006).
• Abello, Lucía. "The public library: an agent of socio-cultural inclusion," 1st Congreso Nacional de Bibliotecas Públicas, Santiago (2006).