Farmington Public Library

Farmington Public Library is a public library system in San Juan County, New Mexico.

Farmington Public Library
Established1921 [1]:64
Location2101 Farmington Ave., Farmington, NM 87401
Coordinates36°45′0.09″N 108°10′44.34″W
Branches1
Collection
Size203,167 [2]:11
Access and use
Circulation521,500 [2]:11
Population served112,008 [3]
Other information
DirectorKaren McPheeters
Websitehttp://www.infoway.org/
Map

History

The library was founded in 1921 in the living room of Mrs. Lorena Mahany’s home [1] :64 at 506 West Arrington in downtown Farmington, New Mexico. Mrs. Mahany offered her services as the first librarian. In 1938 the library was moved to a new building constructed as a Works Progress Administration project [1]:65 located on the small city park at the corner of East La Plata and Orchard. The collection consisted of 2,000 books. This building was remodeled in 1961 and again in 1974. In 1984 the library was moved into the former First National Bank building located at 100 West Broadway in downtown Farmington.

Groundbreaking for the new Farmington Public Library building occurred in March 2002 in a vacant lot located on East Twentieth Street between Farmington Avenue and Schofield Lane. The architects were Bill Hidell and Associates [2] :1 of Carrollton, Texas. The project was paid for by the City of Farmington, partly through its reserve fund and partly through the sale of municipal bonds. The cost of the library building was $9,767,773. The grand opening of the new building took place on the evening of August 23, 2003. [4]

Notable features

The building won New Mexico's Best New Buildings awards for Interior and for Best Lighting - Interior in 2004, awarded by Associated General Contractors New Mexico Building Branch and the New Mexico Business Journal. [5] [6]:AGC-9, AGC-12

The building is decorated with images of local petroglyphs sandblasted onto glass panels. The words "Summer Solstice" and "Winter Solstice" are engraved at precise locations on the rotunda floor and are highlighted by the sunlight passing through a small window exactly on those dates.[6]:AGC-3

Growth

From 2001 to 2005, circulation has increased 92% and the number of visits has increased 57%.[2]:7 The new library building, completed in 2003, was already at capacity in collection space, public computer utilization and meeting room access by 2007.[2]:E The City of Farmington commissioned a master plan study from Hidell Associates in 2006 and is considering its options.[2]

Notes
  1. Harris, Linda G. (1998) [1998]. One Book at a Time: The History of the Library in New Mexico. Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Library Foundation. ISBN 978-1-887045-03-2. OCLC 38324662.
  2. "Farmington Public Library Needs Assessment and Master Plan" (PDF). City of Farmington, NM. 2007-04-02. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  3. "New Mexico Public Libraries Legal Service Area Populations FY2005-FY2008" (PDF). New Mexico State Library. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  4. "New Library for Farmington" (PDF). Hitchhiker: for librarians in New Mexico. Santa Fe, NM: New Mexico State Library (1515): 1. 2003-09-15. OCLC 2251674. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  5. "NM's Best Buildings" (PDF). Hitchhiker: for librarians in New Mexico. Santa Fe, NM: New Mexico State Library (1550): 1. 2004-05-24. OCLC 2251674. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  6. "Special Section on New Mexico's Best Buildings of 2004". New Mexico Business Journal. May 2004. ISSN 0164-6796. OCLC 4408579.
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