New Mexico Center for the Book

The New Mexico Center for the Book is affiliated with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and works to promote books, reading, literacy, libraries and the literary heritage of New Mexico through various activities.

National Book Festival

Letters About Literature

New Mexico Poetry Center

Palabra Archive

Summer Reading Program

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day)

Library of Congress Center for the Book

Contacts:

Lori Thornton, Coordinator of the New Mexico Center for the Book, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (505) 476-9717

Katherine Miles, National Book Festival and NM Letters About Literature programs, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (505) 476-9739

Deanne Dekle, Summer Reading Program, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (505) 476-9705

Tim Donahue, NM Poetry Center, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (505) 476-9760

New State Librarian

 

September 6th, 2018

(Santa Fe, New Mexico) – New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs Cabinet Secretary Veronica Gonzales today announced the hiring of new State Librarian Eli Guinnee, who comes to New Mexico from Jamestown, New York. Guinnee was previously the Executive Director of Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System in Jamestown, overseeing 38 public and tribal libraries in western New York. Mr. Guinnee will assume his new post as State Librarian on Monday, September 10, 2018.

Guinnee’s work focused on helping libraries with strategic planning, sustainability, community engagement, and securing stable funding. During his tenure he brought high speed broadband internet access to libraries in isolated rural communities with the help of federal funding and school partnerships.

“We feel extremely lucky to have found someone with Eli Guinnee’s experience and expansive knowledge to lead our State Library,” said Gonzales. “He has a native’s love of New Mexico, an understanding of the challenges we face with such a large geographic area to serve, and experience in expanding high speed internet to rural communities, an area we must aggressively expand.”

Guinnee has more than 20 years’ experience in libraries, including at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, the Buffalo Science Museum Research Library, and Patterson Library in Westfield, New York.  Born in Truth or Consequences, Guinnee says he is happy to move closer to family in New Mexico.

“I am thrilled to move back to such a beautiful, culturally-rich part of the country,” Guinnee said. “And to be part of the amazing work New Mexico’s libraries do day in and day out to strengthen their communities.” As New Mexico State Librarian, Guinnee will work to remove barriers to access, improve financial and environmental sustainability, and support childhood literacy.

"Libraries are democratic, inclusive places that preserve history, improve quality of life, and build a brighter future.  I feel very lucky for this opportunity to work for our wonderful New Mexico libraries," Guinnee continued. “Our focus has been on meeting the technology and literacy needs of communities and of children after school, on the weekends and during the summers, so that every child has the opportunities and resources they need to succeed." 

Featured @ NM State Library

Coronavirus Update 3/15/20

All Department of Cultural Affairs libraries, museums and historic sites, including this facility, are temporarily closed to the public as a public health precaution due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus). These closures are part of the larger effort by state government to minimize public exposure. Please continue to visit this website for updates and to explore online resources and collections. 

                                              New eBook Resource! 

The New Mexico State Library is pleased to offer a new resource for New Mexicans -- New Mexico Reads. This ebook collection primarily includes Southwest history and culture titles and fiction by New Mexico authors or set in the Southwest. New Mexico Reads also includes some books on racism in America, library and information science, national topics such as the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, and a selection of audiobooks. There is a small collection of books for children and tweens and teens.

Access is limited to New Mexico residents. See our eBook LibGuide for registration details.

Find FREE WiFi at a public library near you!

       WIFI is available from the parking lots of many New Mexico public libraries.

      When visiting these libraries, please stay in your vehicle and follow local governments’ rules for social distancing. 

       You can see the interactive map here.

 COVID-19/Coronavirus Information and Resources

Are you looking for information and resources for COVID-19/coronavirus? Please see our LibGuide COVID-19

Jobs and Unemployment Resource Information

Looking for Information for Unemployment Assistance and Career Resources? Please see our new LibGuide on Jobs and Unemployment Resources

Santa Fe Opera at Public Libraries

The Power of Story in Communities

Things will get rowdy this summer at public libraries across the state, with Libraries Rock!, this year’s summer reading theme that will get kids into the rhythm of reading when school is out.

With this year’s music-inspired theme, summer reading at public libraries will put books and reading front and center stage for children, teens, and adults. Throughout the state, New Mexicans can tune in to the fun at their local public library, joining in reading contests, special events, and performances.

As part of summer reading, the Department of Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce The Power of Story in Communities, a summer reading project that will bring high-caliber explorations into our culture, through stories, books, and sharing at libraries. The project, a partnership between DCA, the New Mexico State Library, the Santa Fe Opera, and the Embudo Valley Library, will be carried out over the next three years with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Kicking off this summer, there will be events at three pilot sites:  The Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Library, the Silver City Public Library, and the Embudo Valley Library in Dixon. At the library events, teens will interact with Santa Fe Opera educators, who will transform the library into a playground to unlock each participant’s cultural experience, merging individual stories into one community story through the Hero’s Journey. Participants will interact, developing characters, costumes, story elements, and a plot, culminating in a final performance finale at each 90-minute event. Inspired by the theme of this year’s summer reading program, Libraries Rock!, vocal artists will also join the workshop, resulting in a musical, artistic infusion into the performance.

The events will invite exploration, ignite creativity, and encourage all to think critically. Through the interactive storytelling process, teens and kids will reason and ask questions with the goal of bringing participants to new insights into their community, their culture, and the world around them.

As any lifelong learner knows, libraries rock…and this year, summer reading will make sure everyone knows Libraries Rock!

Learn more about summer reading by visiting your local public library.