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Border Heritage Center
Main (Downtown) Library

Photo of Border Heritage Reference Desk

 
Address: 501 N. Oregon
Phone: 915-543-5440


 
Photo of Marta Estrada Border Heritage Librarian
Marta Estrada

Hours of Operation

Limited Service 15 minutes before closing.

  Sunday 1:00 pm -

5:00 pm

  Monday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  Tuesday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  Wednesday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  Thursday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  Friday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
  Saturday 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

  El Paso Public Library's Border Heritage Center was formed in 1995 by combining three major collections - - Southwest, Genealogy, and Raza -- into one area of the Main Library.

The purpose of the Center is to enhance the quality of life for El Pasoans and others by collecting, preserving, and making available information about the history and culture of the residents of El Paso, Cuidad Juarez, and the surrounding region.
Photo of the Border Heritage Section  
 
Activities which promote understanding and appreciation of the region's history and culture will be integral to the role of the center.
 
     
 
The Southwest Collection
     
Photo ofmap in the Border Heritage Room As early as 1902, El Paso Public Library began collecting and preserving materials on the history and culture of the Southwest (western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Chihuahua and Sonora).

The Southwest Collection, a growing research collection, is one of the most comprehensive of its kind. It contains all important reference works and a wide selection of specialized monographs, as well as photographs, architectural drawings, manuscripts, clippings files, maps, periodicals, and other materials.
 
 
 
     
 
Raza: The Mexican American Collection
     
  The library's RAZA Collection had its beginnings during the Chicano movement of the 1970s. Much used both for research and for recreational reading, this collection continues to grow as the publication of new works by and about Mexican Americans continues to flourish.

The RAZA Collection covers all subject areas but is particularly strong in poetry and fiction.
 

Photo of scuplture in the Border Heritage Room

 
 
     
 
Genealogy
     
  The library intends that its genealogical collection reflects the history of all families who live along the U.S. - Mexico border. This collection provides sources for ancestral history whether from El Paso, Mexico, Spain, Africa, China, Ireland, or elsewhere.
 
 
 
     
 
Otis A. Aultman Photo Collection - Online
     
Photo of Otis A. Aultman We are currently in the process of making available online, photographs from the Otis A. Aultman Collection at the El Paso Public Library - Main (Downtown) Library

This is an ongoing project.  Descriptions of the photographs will be made available in the near future.

Go to the Otis A. Aultman collection...
 
 
 
     
 
Yearbook Collection - Online
     
Yearbook Collection The El Paso Public Library Yearbook Collection.  This digitization project began June 2007 and will be an ongoing project for the library.  Our goal is to digitize the yearbooks for the El Paso area high schools.  We will be starting with the yearbooks in our collection that are most fragile and are currently in the public domain.  We hope these images will provide our visitors valuable genealogical, biographical, and historical information.

Go to the Yearbook Collection...
 
 
 
     
 
El Paso Public Library Headline & Obituary Search Page
   
 With information compiled by our Border Heritage Center staff, our database allows you to search for date and page information for headlines or obituaries that have appeared in the El Paso Times Newspaper.  Our database currently has information for the years 1998 - 2005.  Search the database now.....
 
 


Welcome to the Border Heritage Center!

¡Bienvenidos al Centro Cultural Fronterizo!
 

 
 


 


 

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Page last modified 01/04/08

 


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