Thomas Branigan Memorial Library

Thomas Branigan Memorial Library; often referred to as simply "Branigan", is the public library serving Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Thomas Branigan Memorial Library
The library building in 2008
CountryUnited States
TypePublic library
Established1935
LocationLas Cruces, New Mexico
Branches2 (Robert Munson Senior Center, Sage Cafe)
Collection
Size187,623[1]
Access and use
Circulation541,036 (2008)[1]
Population served100,377 (legal service area)[1]
Members73,252[1]
Other information
Budget$2,630,700 (2008)[1]
DirectorMargaret Neill (2017 to present)
Staff41 FTE[1]
Websitehttp://library.las-cruces.org/
Map
Branigan, Thomas, Memorial Library
Location106 W. Hadley St., Las Cruces, New Mexico
Coordinates32°18′52″N 106°46′48″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1935 (1935)
ArchitectMcGhee, Percy Ware Jr.; Lembke, Edward & Co.
Architectural stylePueblo
NRHP reference No.04000981[2]
NMSRCP No.1861
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 15, 2004
Designated NMSRCPDecember 12, 2003

History

The library was founded in 1935 and a library building constructed at 106 W. Hadley (now 501 N. Main Street) as the result of a bequest from Mrs. Alice Branigan in memory of her husband Capt. Thomas Branigan.[3]:68–69[4]:1 Its immediate predecessor was the Woman's Improvement Association library founded in 1924; this library was disbanded in 1935 when the Branigan library opened and its collection became the core of the Branigan collection.[4]:1

The current 36,800-square-foot (3,420 m2) library building[5]:1 at 200 E. Picacho Avenue was constructed in 1979[3] :93 on the site of the former Lucero School (1942–1963).[6]:2 The architects were Dean and Hunt Associates Ltd of Albuquerque. The building was dedicated December 9, 1979[6] The 1935 library building is now the Branigan Cultural Center[3]:8 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The 1979 library was constructed in two floors, with the collection on the first floor and offices and work areas on the second floor. Beginning in 2008 part of the collection was moved to the second floor.[7] The library is running out of space and is looking at plans for expansion and the opening of branch libraries.[5][8] In July 2003 the library opened a satellite library in the Robert Munson Senior Center.[9]

Carol A. Brey-Casiano, the Library Director from 1996 to 2000, was president of the American Library Association for 2004–2005.[10]

Services

Library cards are free to residents of Doña Ana County. Card holders can check out books, audio books, compact discs, videos, art prints, and magazines.[11]

Summer Reading Programs have been running since 1972[4]:2 and attract about 600 to 800 children each year.[12] A homebound delivery program began in 1973.[4]:2 Two bookmobiles were purchased in 1975[4] and service continued until 2008 when they were replaced by a books-by-mail program.[12]

Regular art exhibits are held in the Terrace Gallery on the library's second floor.[12]

The library's weekly news column, "Branigan Book Notes", appears on Sundays in Las Cruces Sun-News, and a monthly column, "Greater Words & Things", appears monthly in The Ink, a free tabloid covering the arts.

See also

References
  1. Public Library Statistics Summary File, July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008 (Microsoft Excel file) (Report). New Mexico State Library. 2009-05-15. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. Harris, Linda G. (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.
  4. Thomas Branigan Memorial Library: A History 1935-1977. no publisher. February 1977. OCLC 4755777.
  5. Studio D-Hidell (2007-01-08). "Thomas Branigan Public Library: Space Needs and Master Plan" (PDF). City of Las Cruces. Retrieved 2009-09-06. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Foreshaw, Louise; Pat Greathouse (November 2001). Our First 25 Years: 1976-2001. Las Cruces, NM: Friends of the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library. OCLC 50158282.
  7. "Branigan Library full of opportunities". Las Cruces Sun-News. 2007-12-12. ISSN 1081-2172.
  8. Studio D-Hidell (2007-01-07). "Thomas Branigan Public Library" (PDF). City of Las Cruces. Retrieved 2008-06-20. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. "Thomas Branigan Memorial Library". 2010 Reference Guide (PDF). City of Las Cruces. April 8, 2010. p. 21. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  10. "Brey-Casiano elected president; Switzer is new treasurer. (News Fronts ALA)". American Libraries. American Library Association. 34 (6): 8. June–July 2003. ISSN 0002-9769.
  11. "Thomas Branigan Memorial Library: Loan Periods". City of Las Cruces. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  12. Moore, S. Derrickson (2008-06-08). "Read all about it: Myriad summer programs at Branigan Library encourage picking up a good book". Las Cruces Sun-News. ISSN 1081-2172.
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