BOOK SIGNING

We would like to invite everyone to come support local author Pat Walsh on Saturday, August 6, 2016 from 2-4 at the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library, located at 244 Cook Avenue, Raton, NM.

She is selling her book "A Prairie Mourning" for $12.00 at the signing. If you miss the signing the book is on sale on Amazon.com.

Wildlife activist Trish O'Neill sprawls dead from poison gas in a Colorado prairie dog town. Police think it's an accident, but Trish's sister Faith isn't buying. She recruits Native American Game Warden John Fox, who reluctantly joins Faith's quest for the truth. As violence sparks around them, Faith struggles to find inner courage by looking to her historical hero—Silas Soule, who opposed the Sand Creek Massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people. But while writing Soule's story provides Faith with a model of bravery, her infatuation with a man dead for more than a hundred years interferes with her chances for love in the present. Both Faith and Fox face hard choices as danger swirls around them.

Dual Book Signing!

The will be a DUAL BOOK SIGNING featuring two authors on Saturday, April 30th, at the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. The authors are Kurt Jansen and Sharon Niederman. Both of their books focus on different aspects of New Mexico.
"Vermejo Park Guides: Their Stories" by Mr. Jansen is sure to be of interest for hunters, history buffs and those interested in books on northeast New Mexico and Colfax County. The biographies and stories of these guides cover the past and present and are a wonderful account of the 'guiding' life at Vermejo Park Ranch.
"The New Mexico Farm Table Cookbook: 150 Homegrown Recipes from the Land of Enchantment" is for anyone interested in food in New Mexico with a cultural twist.. Long before 'farm to table' eating became a national trend, New Mexico's small farms and ranches provided for its families and communities. This book celebrates the authentic, local ingredients of a true melting pot that combines Native American, Spanish, American and Mexican cultures and their delicious cuisines.
Both books make a great addition to personal libraries or wonderful gifts for those people you know will appreciate them. Come down and enjoy yourself meeting the authors and talking about their work.

Friends of the Library Book Sale

The Friends of the Library will be holding their spring book sale on Saturday, April 23, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the second floor of the library.  Fiction and non-fiction for readers of all ages will be on the tables. Come early for the best selection and stock up on your summer reading!

New Writer's Group

Are you interested in participating in a Writer's Group? There will be a meeting Friday, November 13, at 10:00 a.m. for those who would like to form a new group. Beginning writers, experienced writers, published or unpublished, all are welcome. There is no criteria for joining this group other than having an interest in any kind of writing. Want to write your memoirs for your family? Are you interested in writing fiction, non-fiction, articles in your area of expertise, blogging? Come and join the like-minded. You can bring samples of your work or not, just as you choose. There will be various discussions with a view to beginning or improving your writing skills and meeting your own personal writing goals. If you enjoy writing and spending time with writers, this is the group for you!

Book Signing "Images of America - Colfax County"

The library is excited to announce a book signing on Saturday, November 14, from 2 - 5:00 p.m. for a new book on Colfax County. Authors Stephen Zimmer and Gene Lamm will be signing copies of their book "Images of America : Colfax County" published by Arcadia Publishers. It is full of excellent photographs, each one with historical information included, and covers periods including first inhabitants, frontier times, ranching, railroading, mining and lumber. This book is excellent for anyone interested in the history of Colfax County, it's occupations and individuals. Sources for the photographs include this library, the Old Mill Museum, the Library of Congress, the Philmont Museum, the Santa Fe Trail Museum, Southern Methodist University and a variety of individuals and families. Photographs and facts have been pulled together from these and other sources to give a wonderful overview of the history of Colfax County and those who lived and worked here.
Local history books on our specific area are so rarely published that this book will add immeasurably to those who always want more about Raton, Springer, Maxwell, mining camps, ranching, settlers, railroads and all the various fascinating aspects of our local history of the west. A compendium of photographs and facts pulled from multiple locations, it makes it easy to actually see and learn about what historical times in Colfax County were like.
This book will make a great gift this holiday season for anyone who has a passion for local history. Relatives who have moved away, descendants of those who lived here during these historical periods, history buffs, genealogists, families of coal miners, ranchers and railroaders - it's a perfect gift tailored to please them.

COMING IN OCTOBER: Writer's Workshop by Steven Havill, author of the Posadas County Series

  When Steven Havill first moved to Raton back in the 90's, he had already published several books in his Posadas County series.  Set in southern New Mexico on the border with Mexico, they followed Sheriff Bill Gastner and Under-Sheriff Estelle Reyes in what were often referred to as 'police procedurals.' 
  But they were much more than that.  As residents of the area started reading his series, they fell in love with Posadas County.  With the sheriff's department, with the citizens and their families, with the school and businesses, with green chile burritos and, of course, with the solving of all sorts of problems and crimes, from an elderly woman who parked her RV on the local judge's lawn in protest (armed with a shotgun), to cattle rustling, accidental death, border crossings, murder and more.
  As readers discovered Posadas County, the list of people reserving his latest book grew longer.  People asked, "When is the next Havill coming out?"  The books just couldn't be written and published fast enough to satisfy readers.  One older man told me, "Tell Mr. Havill to write faster."  When I passed the message on, Mr. Havill dead panned, 'Tell him to read slower."  That, of course, was impossible.  So some of us re-read the old ones while waiting for the latest one.
  In the beginning, Mr. Havill told me that his books were more popular in the east than they were in the southwest.  But as time went on, I began to find his latest book in pre-publication lists printed for libraries.  That meant that the popularity of Posadas County, New Mexico,  had spread across the nation and people everywhere were enjoying Mr. Havill's books, and rightly so.
  On Saturday, October 24, 2015, Mr. Havill is returning to Raton to give another writer's workshop.  His workshops held while he lived in Raton helped more than one person develop, write and publish fiction that is on the library shelves along with his work.  We invite writers to attend another one of these excellent workshops and take advantage of Mr. Havill's experience, success and teaching skills.

Date: Saturday, October 24
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., one hour lunch break at 12:00 p.m.
Subject: - Writing and Publishing Fiction

  Please feel free to bring a sample chapter of your work.  Refreshments will be served.

FAMILY PASS - Your Ticket to 15 Exceptioal Museums and Historic Sites

  The library now has three Family Passes that provide free entry to fifteen museums and historic sites in New Mexico.  These passes are provided by the New Mexico State Library through the Department of Cultural Affairs.  The passes provide free entry for up to six people and check out for one week, with applicable fines or replacement costs for overdue or lost passes.  They are available for checkout at the library through August 31st, 2016. 
  The museums and historic sites are:
1. New Mexico Museum of Space History (Alamogordo)
2. National Hispanic Cultural Center (Albuquerque)
3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (Albuquerque)
4. New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum (Las Cruces)
5. Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (Santa Fe)
6. Museum of International Folk Art (Santa Fe)
7. New Mexico History Museum/ Palace of the Governors (Santa Fe)
8. New Mexico Museum of Art (Santa Fe)
9. Coronado Historic Site
10. El Camino Real Historic Trail Site
11. Fort Selden Historic Site
12. Fort Stanton Historic Site
13. Fort Sumner Historic Site/Bosque Redondo Memorial
14. Jemez Historic Site
15. Lincoln Historic Site
  A map on the back of each pass shows the general location in the state of each museum and site.  A Borrower's Agreement must be signed at the time of checkout (signature in blood not required - ink will do.)
  This is the year to travel our wonderful state and get in free to each of these great locations!

Updating the plumbing

The Arthur Johnson Memorial Library will be undergoing plumbing upgrades starting at the end of August through October.  The library will remain open.  If it becomes necessary to shut down, it will be posted on our blog, Facebook page, and also in the library to let you know ahead of time.  Thank you for your patronage.

Cyber Legal Fair

The library will host a free Cyber Legal Fair on Saturday, September 12, 2015, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  This program is being provided throughout New Mexico.  It will be held in the meeting room on the second floor.  A dozen lawyers from Albuquerque will be available online to give face to face legal consultations to individuals with questions concerning civil and criminal issues.  The library will provide the wireless computer access through multiple computers.  Fair representatives will be available to help those on the computers.  The Cyber Legal Fair will be here to help with any legal questions that might be on your mind, including domestic issues, wills, power of attorney, where to find representation, and any other issue you many need answers about.