New Mexico State Library

04/25/2026

A unique interactive display featuring a historic Library of Congress card catalog opened at the New Mexico State Library this week in honor of National Library Week, celebrated April 19 – 26. The display is one of only 56 in the country and was created from the original card catalog cases once used at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. It features 15 individual drawers, each highlighting a different program or service offered by the Library of Congress. By opening a drawer, visitors can find cards with brief descriptions and QR codes that link directly to expanded digital resources on the Library of Congress website.

Come check out this library relic in the State Library's reading room, Monday–Friday, 1 – 5 p.m., 1209 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, NM 87507

04/24/2026

Author Jenny Lacika was recently in the recording studio here at the State Library recording her newly released children's book, "Talking Books: Audiobook Inventor Dr. Robert B. Irwin and a New Way to Read" for the Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. This is extra exciting because her book is about the innovator Dr. Robert B. Irwin, who invented the audiobook!

"Talking Books" will be added to the National Library Service’s collection, reaching more people with visual impairments.

Lacika is a children’s writer from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her books include "Again, Essie?", "Beto's Berry Treasure," "Cesar's Cerulean Surprise," and "Measuring Up: How Oliver Smoot Became a Standard Unit of Measurement." Learn more about the author at https://jennylacika.com/home/

04/21/2026

If you're in Santa Fe this Friday, April 24 come check out the Museum Hill Libraries Open House from 2 - 4 p.m.! 📚

In conjunction with National Library Week, April 19 - 25, 2026, the Bartlett Library and Archives at the Museum of International Folk Art, the Laboratory of Anthropology Library at Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, and the new library at the Nuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum will be hosting a free public open house event on Museum Hill. Visitors can take a "book tour" of these libraries to see a curated selection of titles and learn more about the resources available. Visitors will receive a card to stamp at each location. Hope to see you there!

04/17/2026

This is your chance to show up for New Mexico. Join Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Salamanca Twins at The Great NM Clean Up, April 17 & 18 in Española, Taos, Los Lunas, and Socorro to help keep litter out of our territory. Keep Litter Out NM

Find clean-up events around the state at breakingbadhabits.nm.gov

03/16/2026

Take note New Mexico Libraries - the New Mexico Library Foundation Development Grant applications are open! See more at https://newmexicolibraryfoundation.org/development-grants/

03/14/2026

📜 Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham gathered with educators and students at the Roundhouse on Monday, March 9, to proclaim March as Read Across New Mexico Month. Her proclamation inaugurates a month-long celebration of New Mexico’s diverse books and authors and aims to inspire a lifelong love of reading. 📚

The New Mexico State Library has partnered with the National Education Association New Mexico and selected nine children’s books that reflect the unique cultural and linguistic diversity of our state. You can find the list of selected books on this StoryMap: https://pulse.ly/lh5adj7zwl

📷 Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham reads the proclamation with Santa Fe school children at the Roundhouse. Courtesy of the Office of the Governor.

03/06/2026

Accessing healthcare in New Mexico’s sparsely populated and geographically isolated communities can be difficult, but we've been working with The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center to address this issue through telehealth booths at public libraries.

Designed to fit within a public library space, these booths are soundproof, private, ADA compliant, and equipped with a computer connected to high-speed internet. Community members are welcome to use the telehealth booths for free for virtual doctor or nurse appointments, mental health therapy sessions, specialist consultations, and more.

There are currently seven telehealth booths installed at public and tribal libraries in Aztec, Fort Sumner, Gallup, Mescalero Apache Reservation, Hobbs, Bayard, and Colombus. Contact those local libraries for more information on how to use their booth.

📷 Cindy "Renee" Provencio, Head Librarian at Bayard Public Library, with the telehealth booth. Photos by Franky DeAngelis.

01/24/2026

New Mexico State Poet Laureate, Manuel González, stood in the House of Representatives of the State of New Mexico’s opening session on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, carrying the stories of our communities—past, present, and future—reciting his poem, “This Land Remembers.”

Poetry here is not symbolic.
It is presence, memory, and possibility.
Art is not a luxury.
It is a lifeline.

Listen here: https://pulse.ly/mq4bltqa4e

González is the third state poet laureate appointment by the New Mexico State Library and New Mexico Arts, divisions of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, a program created during the 2019 legislature.

Arthur Sze, the United States Poet Laureate, also brought the quiet power of language into the opening session of the New Mexico State Senate on January 20th, reminding us that policy shapes lives, and words shape how we care for one another.

Art belongs wherever decisions are made.
So do poets.

Listen to Arthur recite is two poems here: https://pulse.ly/tnucjtsubz

01/15/2026

📣 Nominations for the 2026 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts are now open! Presented by New Mexico Arts, nominations are open through February 23, 2026. It’s easy to nominate individuals and arts organizations in New Mexico using an online form: https://nmarts.pulse.ly/bz0nqezykf

Self-nominations and nominations by immediate family or members of the same household will not be accepted. Selected nominees will be recognized by the Governor at the annual award ceremony in the fall, and their work will be featured in an exhibition at the Governor’s Gallery in the Roundhouse State Capitol building.

01/07/2026

We are proud to administer this valuable program!

New Mexico residents who lack access to a public library may be eligible to have books sent to their home for free

MORE HERE: https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/nm-state-library-connects-with-rural-disabled-residents-through-free-books-by-mail-program/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KRQE_News_13

01/01/2026

🎆Happy New Year! We are closed today in observance of the holiday.