Lucía Abello is a Chilean librarian, naturalist and botanist.[1] She has been in charge of exploring, researching, documenting and disseminating the native flora in her region and in her country, as well as its traditional uses through photography and bibliographic publications. She has also been in charge of promoting reading from the public library with a respect for the environment approach.
Lucía Abello is the Coordinator of the Los Rios Regional Public Library system.[1] Before this position she was the Director of the Doñihue Municipal Public Library and the San Vicente Agricultural School Library.[1]
Abello has pioneered a unique role within libraries that combines environmental conservation and information science.[2] This is of particular importance in Chile and other parts of Latin America where education about biodiversity and the climate is transferred to learners through the act of reading. As library director at the Municipal Public Library in Doñihue, she created partnerships and educational programs between the library and Parque Safari.[3] She has given several interviews[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] and her work has been recognized by UNESCO's Regional Center for the promotion of books in Latin America and the Caribbean.[11][failed verification – see discussion] In 2012 she was chosen as the Outstanding Librarian of the Year, the highest honor bestowed by the Chilean National Library Association (Colegio de Bibliotecarios de Chile [es]).[12][13]