Lordsburg library launches dinosaur-themed summer reading program

Lordsburg families had a free indoor option for the hottest stretch of summer: “Dinosaurs! Digging! Story time!” at the Lordsburg-Hidalgo Library on 208 E. 3rd St. The City of Lordsburg posted the notice April 21 and said the program began June 1, with parents able to call 575-542-9646 for details.

The library’s setting matters in a county where simple, low-cost places for children are especially valuable. Collista Jensen, listed as director of the Lordsburg-Hidalgo Library on Hidalgo County’s site, oversees a building that is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. That makes the library one of the most practical places in town for parents trying to keep children busy, indoors and reading during the long summer break.

The program also fits a broader state effort to keep young readers connected to books when school is out. New Mexico State Library says summer reading programs help build relationships and community, foster civic partnerships, encourage reading and use of library resources, and provide out-of-school programming across the state. State literacy materials describe New Mexico’s 2026 Summer Reading Program as free and open to incoming kindergarteners through outgoing eighth graders, with the goal of preventing summer learning loss and building reading confidence.

That statewide push has already drawn significant participation. New Mexico State Library said more than 107,000 people attended 2,718 summer reading events across the state in summer 2024, showing that these programs are more than a small library add-on. In Lordsburg, the appeal is more direct: a child can walk into the library, pick up books, spend time in a cool public space and come home with a little more reading momentum before school starts again.

For a rural county like Hidalgo, that combination of literacy support and everyday practicality is the point. The dinosaur theme gives the program a child-friendly hook, but the real value is the access it offers at a familiar address, on a regular schedule, with a phone number families can use right away.