Alamogordo Public Library
Encyclopedia
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 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.. 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.
Ownership passed to an offshoot, the Alamogordo Library Association, and then to the Civic League.
The Civic League retained ownership of the library until 1958 when it was sold for one dollar to the City of Alamogordo..
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 10280 square feet (955 m²) and cost $175,000. John Reed of Albuquerque was the architect. The library building was doubled in size in 1987 to 20764 square feet (1,929 m²) at a cost of $871,042. The architect was again John Reed.
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 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²).
Bond elections in 2005 and 2009 to fund construction of the new building failed.
.
(County government pays a yearly subsidy to the city for this service; in FY 2008 the subsidy was $35,320.
)
The library has 112,000 items in its collection, including book
s, video
s, compact disc
s, and magazine
s. 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, and the catalog
became available over the Internet in 2004.
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.
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.
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
.
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
.
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. In 1958 the Civic League purchased W. H. Hutchinson's collection of Eugene Manlove Rhodes materials and donated them to the library. 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.
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
serving Alamogordo, New Mexico
Alamogordo, New Mexico
Alamogordo is the county seat of Otero County and a city in south-central New Mexico, United States. A desert community lying in the Tularosa Basin, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains. It is the nearest city to Holloman Air Force Base. The population was 35,582 as of the 2000...
and Otero County, New Mexico
Otero County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.7% White*3.5% Black*6.7% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.2% Two or more races*11.2% Other races*34.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
. The library has extensive collections of Spanish-language and German-language books and of materials related to the Western writer Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Eugene Manlove Rhodes was a writer who was nicknamed the "cowboy chronicler".Rhodes was born in Tecumseh, Nebraska. He moved to New Mexico with his parents in 1881 and "fell in love" with the state. By age sixteen, he was an accomplished stonemason and road builder...
.
History
Alamogordo Public Library first opened on March 1, 1900.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.. 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.
Ownership passed to an offshoot, the Alamogordo Library Association, and then to the Civic League.
The Civic League retained ownership of the library until 1958 when it was sold for one dollar to the City of Alamogordo..
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 10280 square feet (955 m²) and cost $175,000. John Reed of Albuquerque was the architect. The library building was doubled in size in 1987 to 20764 square feet (1,929 m²) at a cost of $871,042. The architect was again John Reed.
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 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²).
Bond elections in 2005 and 2009 to fund construction of the new building failed.
Services
Alamogordo Public Library is a city-owned library, but library cards are free to all residents of Otero CountyOtero County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.7% White*3.5% Black*6.7% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.2% Two or more races*11.2% Other races*34.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
.
(County government pays a yearly subsidy to the city for this service; in FY 2008 the subsidy was $35,320.
)
The library has 112,000 items in its collection, including book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
s, compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s, and magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s. 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
Holloman Air Force Base
Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located six miles southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, a city in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The base was named in honor of Col. George V. Holloman, a pioneer in guided missile research...
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, and the catalog
OPAC
An Online Public Access Catalog is an online database of materials held by a library or group of libraries...
became available over the Internet in 2004.
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.
The children's Summer Reading Program
Summer reading programs
Summer reading can be assigned to students during their summer vacation. This can range from the simple book reports to in depth projects that support the curriculum including Science, Language Arts, Social Sciences, and Math....
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.
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
Senior Corps
Senior Corps is a United States government agency under the authority of the Corporation For National and Community Service. Its stated mission is to provide aid to senior citizens in communities while promoting a sense of community...
.
Notable features and collections
American Association of University Women
The American Association of University Women advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. It was founded in 1882 by Ellen Swallow Richards and Marion Talbot...
.
The Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Eugene Manlove Rhodes was a writer who was nicknamed the "cowboy chronicler".Rhodes was born in Tecumseh, Nebraska. He moved to New Mexico with his parents in 1881 and "fell in love" with the state. By age sixteen, he was an accomplished stonemason and road builder...
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
Vaughn, New Mexico
Vaughn is a town in Guadalupe County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 539 at the 2000 census.Vaughn is located at an intersection of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroad lines.-History:...
and desks and other pieces of furniture from the early 1900s. In 1958 the Civic League purchased W. H. Hutchinson's collection of Eugene Manlove Rhodes materials and donated them to the library. 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.
External links
- Friends of the Alamogordo Public Library Advocacy group for the library.
- Alamogordo Public Library Foundation Fundraising group for the library.
- Alamogordo Speaker Series Subcommittee of the Friends of the Library, that produces an annual event with regional and cultural significance to the Otero County community