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The El Paso Public Libraries is the municipal public library system of
El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by b ...
. The library serves the needs the public in
El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by b ...
,
Chaparral, New Mexico Chaparral is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana and Otero counties, New Mexico. The population was 14,631 at the 2010 census. Chaparral is primarily a bedroom community for the neighboring city of El Paso, ...
and
Ciudad Juarez Ciudad () is the Spanish word for City Ciudad may also refer to: *La Ciudad (archaeological site), Hohokam ruins in Phoenix, Arizona *La Ciudad, district of Durango City, Mexico *''La ciudad'', novel by Mario Levrero 1970 *La Ciudad ''The City'' ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. It consists of 14 branches and one Bookmobile service. Multiple outreach services are also available including a Homebound service. The main collection consists of 902,521 items in multiple formats including books, reference, downloadable eBooks, audiobooks, music and movies, DVDs, CDs, large-print books, magazines, and newspapers. Special Collections include a Government Documents Collection, Border Heritage Collection, and RAZA Collection.


History


Beginnings

The El Paso Public Library is the longest continuously active public library system in Texas. It was founded by Mary Irene Stanton, an El Paso area teacher. Stanton "single-handedly becomes founder of the El Paso Public Library" when in 1894, she donated her personal collection of 1,000 books for a boy's Reading Club which was housed in a room in the Sheldon Building. On June 1, 1895, women were also allowed to access this collection. In 1895, the El Paso Library Association was formed, with Mary Stanton as the president, to support further library efforts. On December 4, 1899, 4,000 books that were collectively owned by both Mary I. Stanton and Fannie J. Clark were moved from their location in the Sheldon Hotel to El Paso City Hall. Mary I. Stanton was the original librarian. She began cataloging the books in 1899. In 1900, Belle F. Read takes over as librarian. Citizens wanted to have a separate library. Petitions were formed and circulated for the library to have its own location. Finally, assistance from
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...
came in 1902. The Carnegie Foundation provided the El Paso Library Association a grant totaling $37,500 to build a separate library building to house the growing collection. In agreement with the " Carnegie Formula" which stipulates that a municipality must also provide support for the public library, the City Council agreed to vote in a tax to support the building efforts. The new library would be built on an old cemetery site, Buckler Square. The Library opened on April 25, 1904 in the newly named "Carnegie Square."


The Library Grows

The new Carnegie library needed repair by 1919 and the collection had outgrown the building. In fact, many books were housed by operating "branches" in four different drug and grocery stores throughout El Paso starting in 1915. A second story needed to be added to the original Carnegie building. In 1920, the library's book collection is moved temporarily to the courthouse so that construction could take place. In 1945, a second official branch library is opened at the Tays Housing Project. In 1950, the Memorial Park Branch was opened. The Lower Valley Branch opened in 1960. In 1961, two branches: Richard Burges Branch and the Josephine Clardy Fox Branch were opened. In 1957, a
Bookmobile A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...
was in operation with a second to serve underprivileged communities in El Paso to start operations in 1972. By 1943, the library's collections had again outgrown its original downtown building. By 1951, a bond issue was approved by El Paso voters for $975,000 to build a new, larger library. The new library opened on September 12, 1954. The building was described as "Modern Southwestern" and contained artistic contributions from artists Tom Lea, Jose Cisneros and Ewing Waterhouse. The original Carnegie Building was demolished in 1968.


Outstanding Early Collections

In 1906, the El Paso Public Library was designated a Federal Depository as part of the
Federal Depository Library Program The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) is a government program created to make U.S. federal government publications available to the public at no cost. As of April 2021, there are 1,114 depository libraries in the United States and its ter ...
. In 1908, the library began a Spanish-language collection of books. Later, librarian, Maud Durlin Sullivan would add to the Spanish language collection as well as grow a nationally recognized art and southwestern studies collection through the aid of donations and special funds. Maud Sullivan taught herself Spanish in order to better select appropriate books for the library's collection. Maud Sullivan was an avid patron of the arts and also helped create an important Mining Resources Collection for the library. Children's services at the library date back to 1912 when librarian, Marion Weil-Tappan, promoted children's literature and the connection between the library and public schools. In 1922, the library was fully departmentalized to include a juvenile department.


Services

The El Paso Public Library offers many services to the public. * Library Card * Checking out Materials * Databases * Website * eBooks * Online Resources * Classes * Meeting Rooms * Cultural Enrichment * Free Wireless Access * Computer and Internet Access * Programming


Special Library Departments

These departments of the El Paso Public Library have a specific focus and/or serve a targeted group of patrons.


Border Heritage

The Border Heritage Center is located at the Main Library and combines the library's Southwest, RAZA and Genealogy departments into a central location. The Border Heritage Center manages several special collections, some of which are digital. In addition to these collections, the Border Heritage department provides an online newspaper headline and obituary search for years 1997 through 2011 through it
El Paso Public Library Headline & Obituary Search Page
*
El Paso Times The ''El Paso Times'' is the newspaper for the US city of El Paso, Texas. The newspaper has an approximate daily circulation of 65,000 and 125,000 on Sundays. The paper is the only English-language daily in El Paso (when the ''El Paso Herald-Pos ...
on Microfilm: The Border Heritage Center has microfilm readers and printers for archived El Paso Times newspaper articles. For those who cannot visit the library, the Center provides mail services. * Southwest Collection: a historical archive of materials relating to the history of the El Paso-Juarez Border region. Beginning in 1902, the library has been collecting and archiving reference works, related monographs, photographs, architectural drawings, manuscripts, clippings, vertical files, maps, periodicals, postcards and other materials as they relate to the region. * RAZA Collection: dating back to the 1970s the RAZA collection contains works by and about
Mexican Americans Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexic ...
. * Genealogy Collection: relating specifically to individuals and families of any nationality that lived in the El Paso-Juarez Border Region. * Historical Documents Online: a small collection of important El Paso area historical documents is available online from the Border Heritage Center. Se
Historical Documents Online
* Otis A. Aultman Photo Collection: collects the historic photographs of Aultman, who lived and worked in El Paso. Part of the collection is available online. Se
Otis A. Aultman digital photo collection
* Yearbook Collection: this is an archive of El Paso area high school yearbooks. Starting in 2007 the library began to digitize this collection. Some yearbooks go back to 1885. Se
Digital Yearbook Collection


Children's Services

Children's services include special collections and programs at each branch of the system. During the summer months, the promotes an 8 week long Summer Reading Club in order to encourage literacy among children. The library was Ranked #6 in the list for Top 10 Libraries for Children by Livability.com. In addition, the library celebrates the annual Dia de los Niños/Dia de los Libros festival for children and literacy.


Government Documents

The El Paso Public Library is currently a selective Federal Depository for Government Documents, receiving 35% of documents published by the
Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...
(GPO). This department is also a depository for Texas State documents starting in 1966. Some items may be checked out and others are accessible online at the library'
Government Documents
page. On this page are guides and resources in addition to information about the Federal Depository Program.


Teen Services

Services specifically for teens are much newer. In the El Paso Public Library, Teen Services are created and implemented by the Teen Hangout Committee. Each library branch sends a member to the committee. Teen services include programming, special teen collections and a celebration known as TeenToberFest which is celebrated annually.


Branches

All El Paso Public Library Branches share resources and are connected to the same database. Materials from one branch may be requested and received at another. * Main Library (
Downtown El Paso Downtown El Paso is the central business district of El Paso, Texas. Historical downtown James Day, an El Paso historian, said that downtown's main business area was originally centered between Second Street and San Francisco Street. At a later ...
) at Oregon and Franklin * Armijo Branch (Armijo Library) on 7th * Richard Burges Regional Branch, on Dyer at Will Ruth * Chamizal Community Center and Library, 2119 Cypress Ave. * Cielo Vista Branch, on Hawkins * Clardy Fox Branch, on Robert Alva * Dorris Van Doren Regional Branch, on Redd Road * Enrique Moreno Branch at Valle Bajo Community Center, 7380 Alameda * Judge Edward S Marquez Branch, on Yarbrough * Memorial Park Branch, on Copper * Esperanza Acosta Moreno Regional Branch, on Pebble Hills * Irving Schwartz Branch, on Dean Martin at Trawood * Sergio Troncoso Branch ( Ysleta) on Alameda * Westside Branch, on Belvidere In addition, the system offers a bookmobile serviceOur Libraries
." El Paso Public Library. Retrieved on March 6, 2010.


Partnership Libraries

These libraries are a collaboration between the El Paso Public Library and another entity. * Jenna Welch & Laura Bush Community Library (EPCC Northwest) on South Desert Blvd.


References


External links


El Paso Public Libraries

El Paso Public Library Began Modestly
Borderlands article.
Maud Sullivan Made El Paso Public Library a Cultural Center
Borderlands article. {{authority control Organizations based in El Paso, Texas Public libraries in Texas Education in El Paso, Texas 1894 establishments in Texas Libraries participating in TexShare Culture of El Paso, Texas