OUR MISSION
Improving lives with resources and opportunities that stimulate creativity and nourish the mind.
OUR VISION
Our vision is a literate and vibrant community with lives that are enriched by the Farmington Public Library, a focal point that connects and unites people. Through teamwork and innovation, we seek to engage and stimulate thinking, enhance knowledge of the world, and improve the quality of leisure time. We aspire to offer all a safe, accessible, attractive place conducive to lifelong learning, enlightenment, creativity and enjoyment.
The Farmington Public Library opened its current location on 20th Street on August 23, 2003.The building won New Mexico's Best New Buildings Interior and Exterior Lighting award in 2003, awarded by the New Mexico Branch of Associated General Contractors and New Mexico Business Journal.The architects were Bill Hidell and Associates of Carrollton, Texas (a suburb of Dallas.) The cost of the library building was $9,767,773. It was finished on time and $30,000 under budget. The project was paid for by the City of Farmington, partly through its reserve funds and partly through the sale of municipal bonds.
The rotunda forms a sort of "central kiva" which the library is oriented around. We have entered on the east, as the sun enters the doorway of the day on the east. Proceeding clockwise around the kiva, the children's area is on the south, which transitions into the teen area, then into the adult non-fiction and reference on the west, and the adult fiction and media items on the north.
The Storytime Theater doors are unique to our library. They were hand-made by former Farmington mayor Tom Taylor, who did the carving, and his wife, Bev, who did the calligraphy. They spent 400 hours on the doors and donated them to the library.
When the doors are closed they form an open storybook. When the doors are open, the storybook closes.
The Teen Zone was designed by local teenagers who met with the architects and explained what kind of space they wanted. This later led to the formation of MTAC, the Mayor's Teen Advisory Council, which continues to meet and advise the mayor on issues that affect the community's teenagers. This, in turn, eventually led to the organization of the largest chapter of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in the country.
Our Southwest Collection houses a special collection of books relating to the Four Corners area, including rare, fragile or irreplaceable books that are not available for checkout. This area features over 250 Hopi kachina dolls carved by one artist and donated by Bob Culpepper, former mayor of Farmington.
