Lordsburg Library promotes June 1 dinosaur-themed summer reading program

Lordsburg parents looking for one of the few no-cost summer options in town can mark June 1: the Lordsburg Hidalgo Library is set to launch its Summer Reading Program with the theme “Dinosaurs! Digging! Story time! Are you ready?” The City of Lordsburg posted the notice April 21 and directed families to the library at 208 E. 2nd St., or to call 575-542-9646 for details.

The local kickoff ties into New Mexico’s 2026 Summer Reading Program, which is now taking site, instructor and student enrollments. The state says the free program is designed to serve 10,000 students, from incoming kindergarteners through outgoing eighth graders, and asks participating literacy sites to provide classroom space for four hours a day over a four-week period. For Hidalgo County families, that kind of schedule matters: it gives children a structured place to keep reading after school ends, while also offering a nearby activity that does not add to summer expenses.

The Lordsburg-Hidalgo Library has long been a civic fixture in the community. The New Mexico Rural Library Initiative says the building was erected by the WPA in 1937, giving the branch nearly nine decades of local history. That same source says a previous summer reading program at the library drew 70 participants, split evenly between children and adults, a reminder that the program can bring together more than just young readers when it is anchored in a familiar neighborhood space.

County listings identify Collista Jensen as library director and place the library’s hours at Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The city’s own announcements show the branch is already active this spring: on March 27, it promoted a Fiesta Tea Party there. With the June 1 kickoff now on the calendar, the library is once again stepping into a central role in Lordsburg, offering families a free, local place to read, gather and start summer with a program built around stories, dinosaurs and community access.