Alamogordo Public Library

Alamogordo Public Library is the public library serving Alamogordo, New Mexico and Otero County, New Mexico. The library has extensive collections of Spanish-language and German-language books and of materials related to the Western writer Eugene Manlove Rhodes.

Alamogordo Public Library
Established1900[1]
Location920 Oregon Avenue, Alamogordo, New Mexico 88310
Coordinates32°53′56.59″N 105°56′40.33″W
Collection
Size112,000 (2007)
Access and use
Circulation250,875 (2007)
Population served54,772[2]
Members26,022 (2007)
Other information
Budget$900,000[3]
DirectorSharon Rowe
Staff14 FTE[3]:127
Websiteci.alamogordo.nm.us/coa/communityservices/library.htm
Map

History

Alamogordo Public Library first opened on March 1, 1900.[1]:1 Alamogordo was unusual for a Southwestern town at the time in that it was a planned community, the planning being carried out by Charles Bishop Eddy's and John Arthur Eddy's Alamogordo Improvement Company.[1]:2 The Eddys saw a library as being necessary for their community and they gave financial support to the Alamogordo Woman's Club to start the library.[4]:90 Ownership passed to an offshoot, the Alamogordo Library Association, and then to the Civic League.[4]:90 The Civic League retained ownership of the library until 1958 when it was sold for one dollar to the City of Alamogordo.[1]:7

The library had resided in a series of rented rooms until 1962 when a library building was constructed at 920 Oregon Avenue. The building was 10,280 square feet (955 m2) and cost $175,000. John Reed of Albuquerque was the architect.[1]:8 The library building was doubled in size in 1987 to 20,764 square feet (1,929.0 m2) at a cost of $871,042. The architect was again John Reed.[1]:16–17

In 2001 a block of land next to the current library was donated to the city to be the site of a new library building, planned at 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2).[5] Bond elections in 2005 and 2009 to fund construction of the new building failed.[6][7]

Services

Alamogordo Public Library is a city-owned library, but library cards are free to all residents of Otero County.[8] (County government pays a yearly subsidy to the city for this service; in FY 2008 the subsidy was $35,320.[9]) The library has 112,000 items in its collection, including books, videos, compact discs, and magazines. There are extensive collections of Spanish-language and German-language books. (The German Air Force has a tactical training center at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, and many German families live in the city.) Inter-library loan services are provided. Through the Alamogordo Public Library's inter-library loan service, patrons can request any type of material that is usually available at a public library, including books, photocopies, microfilm, consumer audio books, music CDs, and DVDs. The library installed a system for automating collection and catalog records in 1995,[1]:20 and the catalog became available over the Internet in 2004.[10]

The library has 12 adult computers and 6 children's computers that are free to library customers and visitors. These provide Internet access and Microsoft Office programs; the children's computers have some educational programs. The library also offers free wireless Internet (WiFi) access.[11]

The children's Summer Reading Program is held every year. There are entertainment programs throughout the summer, and prizes given to the best readers. In 2007 there were 1,496 children in the program.[12]

A homebound delivery program at the library offers free selection and delivery of books to customers who find it difficult to come into the library. The program operates in cooperation with the Alamogordo Senior Center's Retired Senior and Volunteer Program.[11][13]

Notable features and collections
Story Book Wall, created in 1963

The Story Book Wall is a collection of 247 tiles illustrating children's books and installed on the wall near the Children's Library. Drawings were created by local schoolchildren in 1963 and copied onto tiles. The project was carried out by the local chapter of American Association of University Women.[1]:9

The Eugene Manlove Rhodes Room, constructed as part of the 1987 expansion, holds the library's collection of Southwest books and materials. Within the room are a bank teller wall rescued from a bank in Vaughn, New Mexico and desks and other pieces of furniture from the early 1900s.[1]:16 In 1958 the Civic League purchased W. H. Hutchinson's collection of Eugene Manlove Rhodes materials and donated them to the library.[1]:8 The collection consists of books, correspondence, clippings, some magazines, and a few original manuscripts. These items and some other Rhodes-related items collected by past library director June Harwell have been photocopied, cataloged, and scanned into computer files and are available to researchers.

Notes
  1. Harwell, June (2000). Alamogordo Public Library: A Community Treasure, 1900-2000. Pioneer. 3 no. 1. Alamogordo, NM: Tularosa Basin Historical Society. OCLC 45084643.
  2. "New Mexico Public Libraries Legal Service Area Populations FY2005-FY2008" (PDF). New Mexico State Library. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  3. City of Alamogordo Budget FY2008. Alamogordo, NM: City of Alamogordo.
  4. Townsend, David; Clif McDonald (July 1999) [1999]. Centennial: Where the Old West Meets the New Frontier. Alamogordo, NM: Alamogordo/Otero County Centennial Celebration. ISBN 978-1-887045-05-6. OCLC 41400788.
  5. "City Commission Regular Meeting Minutes, May 8, 2001" (PDF). City of Alamogordo: 5–12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2008-05-19. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Brown, Monica M. (2005-03-16). "Those against easily defeat bond". Alamogordo Daily News. pp. 1A. OCLC 10674593.
  7. "Wastewater, road bonds pass; Library, flag pole, quality of life bonds fail to garner support". Alamogordo Daily News. 11 March 2009. pp. 1A, 6A. Archived from the original on 2009-03-12.
  8. "Library General Information". Alamogordo Public Library. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  9. Eckman-Onyskow, Bev (2007-10-05). "Freedom to read addressed at Sunday film festival". Alamogordo Daily News. pp. 7A. OCLC 10674593.
  10. "Alamogordo Public Library Catalog (OPAC)". Alamogordo Public Library. Archived from the original on 5 April 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  11. "Library Services". Alamogordo Public Library. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  12. "Summer Reading Program wraps up". Alamogordo Daily News. 2007-08-08. pp. 6A. OCLC 10674593.
  13. Smith, Shelley E. (2004-12-22). "Homebound program available to those who cannot travel to the library". Alamogordo Daily News. pp. 3A. OCLC 10674593.
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