A View from the Stacks: Check Out Southwest Collections at Mesa Public and White Rock Libraries
Do you want a nice cozy place to sit and relax? Come to Mesa Public Library and check out our Southwest Room.
You’ll find a comfortable place, with nice easy chairs where you can browse the shelves for all kinds of books about the Southwest. You’ll also be surrounded by Native American artwork, which was acquired through donations from the Friends of Los Alamos County Libraries.
The Southwest Collection at Mesa Public Library. Courtesy Photo
We have lots of new Southwest fiction including titles by New Mexico authors. We also have the popular Southwest mystery titles and even some Southwest science fiction titles. Remember that our White Rock Branch also has a browsing collection of Southwest titles.
If you search for a title in our online catalog http://library.losalamosnm.us and find a title you want to read, just place an online request and you can have it delivered to either Mesa Public Library or the White Rock Branch Library.
If you are looking for history titles, we have lots of books on our local history. You can start your search by using the online catalog and search by: Los Alamos New Mexico History. A few interesting titles you might want to read are:
- Homesteading on the Pajarito Plateau, 1887-1942
- Historic Roads of Los Alamos
- Los Alamos Place Names
Do you want to find places to explore? The library is the place to go to find an abundance of New Mexico travel books, including camping, hiking and exploring by car. Here are just a few of the travel titles that are available:
- By the way … A Guide to New Mexico’s 25 Scenic Byways
- Hiking New Mexico: A Guide to 95 of the State’s Greatest Hiking Adventures
- Ghost towns of the Southwest: Your Guide to the Historic Mining Camps & Ghost Towns of Arizona and New Mexico
- 50 Hikes in the Los Alamos Area
If gardening is one of your interests, we have titles to help you produce a nice garden. Try one of these titles:
- Nature has its way!: Gardening in the Southern Rocky Mountains
- Month-by-Month Gardening in New Mexico: What to do Each Month to Have a Beautiful Garden all Year
- Growing Food in the Southwest Mountains: a Permaculture Approach to Home Gardening Above 6,500 feet in Arizona, New Mexico, Southern Colorado and Southern Utah
- High Altitude Gardening
If railroads are an interest of yours, the library has two dozen books on railroading in New Mexico including titles about riding the scenic railroads.
The library is the place to go to learn all about our exciting New Mexico multicultural arts and traditions. A new title, Artists of New Mexico Tradition: The National Heritage Fellows, describes 15 New Mexico artists that have been named National Heritage Fellows. They have been recognized for their contributions to the nation’s traditional arts heritage. The author draws from the lives of these New Mexico artists–among them potters and weavers, storytellers and musicians.
Check out these titles about our New Mexico arts:
- Made in the Southwest: A Shopper’s Guide to the Region’s Best Native American, Hispanic, and Western Craft Traditions
- Chimayo Weaving: The Transformation of a Tradition
- Indian Pottery of San Ildefonso [DVD videorecording]
- Talking with the Clay: The Art of Pueblo Pottery in the 21st Century
- Art Journey New Mexico: 104 Painters’ Perspectives
We have more than 5,000 titles related to all things Southwest, including videos. Come on down to the library and find out what you have been missing!
