Please Use Us

Over the past few years, we've added a bunch of online resources that can help enrich and improve your life. For example, we now have One-Click Downloadable Audiobooks, Mango Languages, Research Pro, Grzimek's Animal Life, and Britannica Online. While we're all busy, and all the information out there can be overwhelming, we need to know that we're spending your money wisely on these products.

Two resources that we feel a need to remind you about are the LearningExpress Library and the Literature Resource Center:


LearningExpress has over 800 online courses, tests and e-books. It includes GED, AP, SAT, and ACT test prep, as well as modules for different jobs and careers. You can create your own account and help track your progress as you take practice tests and skill-building modules. There are modules for Elementary, Middle, and High School students to improve their math, reading, and writing. There's also a section to help you with a job search, résumés, cover letters, and interviews.


With the Literature Resource Center, you'll be able to find biographies, criticism, overviews, reviews and primary sources for many of your favorite writers. Students of any age who need to do a report on an author will love this, and many author biographies have photos!

All these resources are available both inside the library and from home with a SFPL library card. If you have any questions about using them, please ask a reference librarian, on the phone, in person, or by email at library@santafenm.gov.

So please, if you need them, use them!

Imagination Conversation

Thursday, June 16
5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Warehouse 21
1614 Paseo de Peralta
Railyard District


You're invited to a free panel discussion about imagination and education sponsored by the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission. The first half hour will be a reception with refreshments, then an hour and a half of discussion. The panelists include people working in the arts, science, business, and education. They will discuss the various roles of imagination in their work, how innovative ideas emerge, and their strategies for encouraging their own creativity. They will consider ways in which students’ imagination can be encouraged and developed in our schools. The Santa Fe area includes a rich diversity of traditions and approaches to the admittedly broad topic of “imagination,” and we look forward to a lively exchange of ideas.

The panel members are:

Eric Blinman
Director, New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies

Denise Johnston
Associate Superintendent, Santa Fe Public Schools

John Kennedy
Composer, Artistic Director of Santa Fe New Music & Resident Conductor of the Spoleto Festival

Jennifer Kimball
Chairman of the Board, Corporación de La Fonda

Dolly Naranjo Neikrug
Artist & Principal, Santa Clara Day School

Laura Mayo Rodriguez
6th Grade Teacher, Nava Elementary School

Moderator: Peter Chapin, Artist & Retired Art Department Chair, Drew University

This Conversation is part of the Lincoln Center Institute’s Imagination Conversations. The two-year project, featuring conversations throughout the United States, will culminate in America’s Imagination Summit to be held at Lincoln Center in New York City, July 21-22, 2011.The outcomes of the Santa Fe Conversation will be disseminated to Santa Fe educators in the form of a DVD and a written summary, in order to encourage much needed “imagination education” for students who will face the challenges of the 21st century. Distribution will be timed to provide inspiration to educators as they plan the 2011-12 school year.

For more information about Santa Fe’s Imagination Conversation, please visit the Santa Fe Arts Commission website.

National Academy Freebies

A popular saying among librarians is "information wants to be free". Whether we mean it as free as in unfettered, or free as in no-cost, can depend on the situation. But either way, no-cost, easily-accessible, not-charging-a-dime, click-of-a-mouse information is a wonderful thing.

So it's incredibly exciting that the National Academies are making a lot of their information, you guessed it, FREE! Over 4,000 reports and books from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council will now be available as free PDFs. Topics are numerous and include Biology, Education, Social Sciences, and Environmental Studies. Just head to the National Academies Press website, and see what sort of free information tickles your intellect.

Back to School!?

We can help!

In addition to books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and awesomely knowledgable reference librarians, the Santa Fe Public Library has the following resources to help you out in school this year. Whether you're in kindergarten or college, you can access any of these in all library branches or on your home computer with a SFPL library card. If you ever have any questions, we encourage you to call your local reference desk!

Research Pro
What it is: Don't know where to start? Go to Research Pro to search across our databases and catalog to get newspaper and magazine articles and book titles.


LearningExpress Library
What it is: Over 800 online courses, tests and e-books. Includes GED, AP, SAT, ACT test prep, as well as modules for different jobs and careers.



Literature Resource Center
What it is: Do you need to do a report on an author? Do you need to find criticism or articles for your English class? Start here!



Mango Languages
What it is: An easy-to-use, self-paced, online language system. If you need extra practice for your Spanish, German, French, or ESL class, spend some time on Mango and track your progress.


Opposing Viewpoints
What it is: If you have to do a report for Social Studies, History, or Current Events class about an issue, such as Gangs, Medical Marijuana, or Gay Marriage, you can access pro/con essays and magazine or newspaper articles to back up your argument.


Grzimek's Animal Life
What it is: If your doing a project for Science class on any type of animal, check this out. You'll find useful facts, photos, videos, and even sound clips to hear what types of calls your animal makes.

A library card is the most important card in your wallet! You can get one if you live, work, or go to school in Santa Fe City or County. Just bring photo ID and proof of mailing address to any branch! Check this page for applications and more information.

New Meet the Author Series

While it's wonderful to have the quiet, private, dialogue with a writer that takes place when you read a book in a cozy corner, it's even more of a treat when you get to meet the author in person and have an open, many-voiced dialogue with them and other readers. To facilitate this great experience, Garcia Street Books has teamed up with the Inn and Spa at the Loretto for a new Meet the Author Series. The first in the series featured award-winning author and local favorite Luis Alberto Urrea on Sunday, June 27. A library staffer in attendance reports that it was a fantastic event, attended by all ages, and is a harbinger of fantastic programs to follow.

While many of the events are free, some of them, such as the August 5 Luncheon with Bob Shacochis, do have a fee to attend. Other upcoming events include John Hofmeister discussing his book, Why We Hate Oil Companies: Straight Talk From An Insider, on Wednesday, July 14, from 5:00-6:30pm; and artist Judy Chicago presenting Face to Face: Frida Kahlo at a November 14 Luncheon. Be sure to check out all the details for this new series at the Garcia Street Books site and join in the dialogue!

Virtual Travel on the Santa Fe Trail

The National Endowment for the Humanities has selected the Santa Fe Trail and New Mexico as its featured virtual destination for the month of June. On its EDSITEment page, NEH has teamed up with UNM to travel to places such as San Ildefonso and Taos Pueblos, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, and our very own Palace of the Governors in The Road to Santa Fe: A Virtual Excursion.

While this is geared towards K-12 teachers, the wealth of information is useful to all ages and levels of interest. Excellent links to articles, photographs, maps, and interactive sites will keep you busy for a while. If you're planning a trip to New Mexico or are here already, browse through the site for some history and sightseeing ideas. If you're not fortunate enough to be in The Land of Enchantment this summer, hopefully this virtual tour will suffice, despite the absence of virtual chile.

“Who’s Caring for our Babies?”

Town Hall Meeting
Join us to discuss childcare and education for infants & toddlers in Santa Fe.

Tuesday, May 25
6:00 - 7:30 pm
Southside Library
6599 Jaguar Dr. at Country Club Rd.

Without high quality childcare and education in the first three years of life, children start preschool and kindergarten already behind — and often remain that way for the rest of their lives.

The program is geared for parents, caregivers, early childhood teachers and advocates, policy makers, and members of the business community. The meeting is free and open to the public.

The meeting will include a program for young children. Refreshments and childcare will be provided. A Spanish translator will be available.

The program is sponsored by the Santa Fe Community College’s Early Childhood Technical Assistance and Training Program and the Santa Fe County Maternal and Child Health Planning Council.

Educators at Heart

Many of you are already acquainted with Kiva, a microlending program that helps out entrepreneurs in developing countries. I've recently come across a similar site that provides small loans to students pursuing higher education. Called Vittana, the principle and process are pretty much the same. You pick a student, lend an amount of money starting at $25, and you can track the student's progress. Once they've received their degree and are earning a paycheck, you get the loan back.

Since education seems to be one of the first casualties of any sort of budget struggle, here's a way to help reverse that trend. However, I did a search for students looking to pursue Education as a field, and not one turned up. Accounting, however, seems enormously popular. Perhaps as word spreads, more students will make use of this microlending service.