- the Public Library
- LibGuides
- Subject Guides - 25/50/25
- Local History
- Book & Periodical Collections
Local History
Books
Books
A bevy of print materials serves the needs of research and general interests. Noteable collections include:
New Mexicana - captures and showcases a broad array of research, narrative, memoir, historical, cultural non-fiction topics, and notable fiction works that focus on local and state subjects and authors
New Mexico Blue Books - pre-internet directories of elected and appointed officials, summaries of reports, and New Mexico trivia. Holdings cover every decade from Statehood through the early 21st century
Albuquerque city directories - Hudspeth (later Polk) directories covering 1908-1929, 1931-1947, 1949, 1950, 1952-1963, 1965-1990, 1992-1994, 1996-2000, 2002-2018; Cole directories from 1961, 1963/64, 1967-1982, 1991-1993, 1996-2008, 2010-2014.
New Mexico city directories - staff members are happy to assist in determining whether a city directory for a community other than Albuquerque is available
Albuquerque phone books - covering a complete run from 1949 - 2007 and additional holdings for 1935, 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1945
New Mexico phone books - some holdings for communities from Alamogordo to Zuni; staff members are happy to assist in determining whether a New Mexico phone book for a community other than Albuquerque is available
Albuquerque Metro-area neighborhoods - economic impact studies and sector development plans as well as published neighborhood histories.
Book Indexes
Images of America Indexes
Staff and volunteers at the Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County create indexes for books that do not include them in order to make the book more useful. We've created many of these indexes for the New Mexico books in the Images of America series from Arcadia Publishing Company. The series includes photos of people, businesses, churches, and more. These detailed indexes will help you to identify books relevant to your research.
- Combined Index for Images of America BooksA searchable index of people, places, churches, businesses, buildings, and other subjects from all indexes created by the Library for New Mexico Images of America books.
Alamogordo by
Now the Otero County seat, Alamogordo was established in 1898 by the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad as New Mexico's first preplanned development community. The book includes photos of Tularosa, La Luz, Cloudcroft, White Sands, and Holloman Air Force Base.
Call Number: 978.965 EidenbachPublication Date: 2010
- Index to Alamogordo Index created by Brooke Holland, the Public Library, 2020
Belen by
In 1740, a group of Hispanic families received a grant of more than 200,000 acres from the governor of Spanish New Mexico. In 1793, a church was built in the Belen Old Town Plaza. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad arrived in Belen in the 1880s, and the nearby "Belen Cutoff" in 1908 linked both north-south and east-west rail lines to give Belen the nickname of the "Hub City."
Call Number: 978.902 BurrPublication Date: 2013
- Index to Belen Index created by Brooke Holland, the Public Library, 2020
Deming by
Deming has been an essential stop for transcontinental travelers for centuries. Fort Cummings was established for the protection of wagon trains, and two military installations, Camp Cody (World War I) and Deming Army Air Field (World War II) are also part of Deming history.
Call Number: 978.968 KrolPublication Date: 2012
- Index to Deming Index created by Sally Berg and Brooke Holland, the Public Library, 2020
Hatch Valley by
In the 1920s Hatch Valley was well on its way to being known as the Chile Capital of the World. The hardy residents of the Hatch Valley have fought against the devastation of floods, the Great Depression, and a changing economy. Their tenacity has made the Hatch Valley what it is today.
Call Number: 978.966 CarpenterPublication Date: 2015
- Index to Hatch Valley Index created by Sally Berg and Brooke Holland, the Public Library, 2020
Albuquerque's Huning Castle Neighborhood by
German immigrant Franz Huning's 700-acre estate is now home to fine homes near the Albuquerque Country Club, as well as historic Route 66, Tingley Beach, the zoo, the Little Theatre, and a Christmas Eve luminaria tradition.
Call Number: 978.961 MahoneyPublication Date: 2013
- Index to Albuquerque's Huning Castle Neighborhods Index created by Sally Berg, the Public Library, 2020
Italians in Albuquerque by
The close-knit Italian-American community has been a strong presence in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since the transcontinental railroad first arrived in the city in 1880.
Call Number: 978.961 CiotolaPublication Date: 2002
- Index to Italians in Albuquerque Index created by Sally Berg, the Public Library, 2020
Las Cruces by
The city of Las Cruces, New Mexico's second largest city, blossomed from its adobe beginnings into a permanent, important city. The photographs contained in this volume tell the unique story of this town of contrasts.
Call Number: 978.966 Las CrucesPublication Date: 2003
- Index to Las Cruces Index created by Brooke Holland, the Public Library, 2020
Lincoln by
The town of Lincoln is in Southeastern New Mexico and historians often refer to it as the most authentic Old West town remaining in the United States. The town is connected with the names of Lew Wallace, Billy the Kid, Sheriff Pat Garrett, and John Chisum.
Call Number: 978.964 de AragonPublication Date: 2013
- Index to Lincoln Index created by Sally Berg, the Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, 2021.
Los Lunas by
The Luna family had a huge impact on the area, was instrumental in New Mexico's quest for statehood, and was singularly influential in the creation of the New Mexico State Constitution. From a population of 1,500 in 1986, Los Lunas has grown to more than 15,000 people today, making it the second fastest-growing community in New Mexico.
Call Number: 978.992 BurrPublication Date: 2012
- Index to Los Lunas Index created by Brooke Holland, the Public Library, 2020
Towns of the Sandia Mountains by
The Sandia Mountains have been home to humankind for millennia. Today's established communities include Carnuel, Tijeras, San Antonio, Cedar Crest, Sandia Park, San Antonito, Placitas, and others.
Call Number: 978.961 SmithPublication Date: 2006
- Index to Towns of the Sandia Mountains Index created by Sally Berg and Brooke Holland, the Public Library, 2020
Indexes for Other Books
Indexes created for books not in the Images of America series.
- Old Town, Albuquerque, New Mexico : A Guide to Its History and Architecture byCall Number: 978.961 JohnsonPublication Date: 1980
- Name Index for Old Town, AlbuquerqueIndex of people, buildings, and businesses created by Cheril Raub, 2021.
- Table of Contents and Index for Old Town, AlbuquerqueTable of contents and index compiled by Joe Sabatini, 2006.
Periodicals
Periodicals
Current issues - available to browse and read in-house, including:
- Albuquerque Journal
- Albuquerque: The Magazine
- New Mexico Magazine
- New Mexico Historical Review
Backfiles - journals and newspapers no longer published, but still of interest. Titles include:
- Albuquerque News
- Book Talk
- Century: a Southwest Journal of Observation and Opinion
- Common Bond Ink
- Health City Sun
- Herencia del Norte
- Journal of the West
- New Mexico Folkore Record
- Tsà’àszi’
Publication runs may be incomplete. Please check with staff to verify holdings.
Periodical Indexes
Periodical Indexes
- New Mexico Magazine archivesFor archived issues of New Mexico Magazine from 2012 to the present.
