The UNM College of Nursing recently transferred over ninety digitized class composites to HSLIC Special Collections. These images date from 1959 (when the first class graduated) to Summer 2024 and help document the history of the College of Nursing, which started in 1955. The images are currently being added to New Mexico Digital Collections and will be available to view online in the near future. Here are some examples of class photos over the years.
One of the richest resources in Special Collections about the history of health and health care is the oral history collection. The program began in 1982 as part of an effort to document New Mexico health history due to the New Mexico Medical Society’s 100th anniversary in 1986.
The collection contains almost 170 interviews with New Mexican providers and health administrators. Unrestricted oral history transcripts are available to view here. Topics covered in the interviews include nursing, rural health care, midwifery, tuberculosis treatment, rural health care, and the history of the UNM School of Medicine.
The complete list of oral histories is available here.
Valmora Industrial Sanatorium, a tuberculosis sanatorium located in Watrous, New Mexico, regularly hosted special Thanksgiving dinners for patients well enough to socialize and eat in the main dining hall. Along with rest and fresh air, a rich and nutritious diet was part of a patient’s treatment at the facility. Dr. Carl Gellenthien, Valmora’s second director, wrote about treating tuberculosis with diet, including, “A Resume of Diet Therapy” (1931) and “Wartime Food Rationing and Tuberculosis” (1943).
Valmora often printed special menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other social gatherings. Here are two examples of Thanksgiving menus found in their records in Special Collections and an article about the 1938 dinner in the December issue of the Valmora Sun (one of the sanatorium’s newsletters).
October is American Archives Month and to celebrate HSLIC Special Collections is getting into the Halloween spirit and sharing some of its spookier items.
Happy Halloween!
Mahogany-handled fleam, made by Miller Bros. USA. Fleams were used to cut into a vein during bloodletting. Bloodletting did not produce positive results, and often caused harm or even death, but it was still practiced into the late 19th century.
Bleeding bowl, early 1800s, France
Brass-spring loaded, hand-engraved fleam in original case
Scarificators were developed in the 18th century as a more "humane" and efficient bloodletting tool. By pressing a spring-loaded lever, multiple blades shot out and made parallel cuts into a patient's skin.
Amputation saw used during surgery.
Railroad spike from the Santa Fe Railroad. The spike was used by Dr. P.G. Cornish Sr. in orthopedic surgery during his time as chief surgeon of the Santa Fe Railroad (circa late nineteenth century).
Today’s health professionals undoubtedly need sophisticated information-related skills. Competency statements from national accrediting and professional associations reflect this need.
HSLIC faculty provide the skills and knowledge that HSC students need to meet these competencies. Many competencies relate to Evidence Based Practice (EBP) skills in question formulation, searching for the best evidence, critical appraisal, and making informed decisions. Other skills relate to library or informatics skill sets.
For these reasons, HSLIC faculty integrate their teaching into many HSC program curricula and they are gearing-up to expand their coverage. HSLIC faculty currently are integrated into the medical school, medical residency, physician assistant, biomedical sciences, population health, nursing, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy curricula. HSLIC faculty currently are the instructors-of-record in eight credit courses, which reflects the degree to which they have become aligned with the curricula at the HSC.
If you sense that your curriculum could use the involvement of HSLIC faculty in meeting the instructional needs of your own HSC program, please contact us!
Jon Eldredge, PhD, AHIP-D, FMLA, Professor and Evidence Based Practice Librarian
In honor of American Archives Month, HSLIC Special Collections is pleased to share its 2025 desk calendar.
This calendar features historic images from our holdings that help document the history of health and healthcare in New Mexico. Some of the collections represented include the Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records, the Regina School of Nursing photograph collection, and the UNM Health Sciences Center Institutional photo collection.
The calendar comes in a CD case that converts into a stand – just open the CD case and flip the front cover around.
There are a limited number of physical calendars left in Special Collections or print your own using the online version.
October is American Archives Month!
To celebrate, archivists in northern and central New Mexico are holding the first ever Archives “Bizarre” on Monday, October 28, 4pm-7pm in the Rainbow Rainbow Room at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe.
This free event is an opportunity to view archival materials from multiple institutions in one place, specifically those items that are unique, kooky, artistic, weird, or—yes—just plain bizarre.
Visit with archivists displaying items held in the State Archives of New Mexico, the University of New Mexico (including their Health Sciences Library), the New Mexico History Museum (Palace of the Governors Photo Archives and the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library), Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument, the New Mexico Museum of Art, the New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library, the Philmont Museum, and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Learn more about what archivists do and how you can best manage your own personal archives.
Please RSVP at the following link: https://tickets.meowwolf.com/events/santa-fe/nmarchives/
If the RSVP is sold out, please come on site. Meow Wolf will be able to accommodate you seeing this awesome event!
Please note that free admittance is for the Archives Bizarre event only. Access to Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return requires separate tickets.
October is American Archives Month and we are celebrating with a special collections-related blog post each week!
A common archival format most people have is photographs (print and digital).
Here are some basic tips for preserving your print images:
For more specific preservation advice, feel free to book a preservation consultation with Special Collections staff.
During October the United States celebrates American Archives Month. This annual celebration highlights the critical role archives and archivists play in collecting, preserving, and making available records of enduring value. Archives support collective memory, are vital for organizational administration, help document history, promote governmental transparency, and protect people’s rights, identities, and property.
New Mexican archivists are celebrating Archives Month with these special events that are free and open to the public:
HSLIC Special Collections is thrilled to announce that Abbie Olivas (PI) recently received a grant from the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board (NMHRAB). The award will fully fund our project, Improving Collections Care in HSLIC Special Collections. This project consists of purchasing a much-needed new flat file case and acid-free folders to house oversized materials. These preservation supplies will allow us to correctly store current and future archival materials. Appropriate storage serves as a critical archival preservation strategy. The flat file case will protect our holdings from light, dirt, dust, damage due to improper housing and handling, pests, and other dangers.
According to NMHRAB, the purpose of their grant program "is to strengthen and support archival and records management programs in New Mexico. Grants are awarded to applicants who demonstrate need–financial and programmatic–and show commitment to solving problems associated with the preservation of and access to historical records.”
For more information about Special Collections, please visit our website and research guide.
Special Collections contains dozens of postcards related to the history of health and health care in New Mexico. These postcards are a mix of real-photo and mechanically-reproduced images – primarily from the early twentieth century. Many of the postcards in Special Collections feature hospitals and sanatoriums and were printed as promotional items. Most of these postcards do not have written messages though a few do.
Here are some examples from our holdings:
The Special Collections webpage was recently updated to highlight new online content and make locating resources easier.
Split into three main sections (Learn About Our Collections, Digital Collections, and Using Special Collections), the webpage offers quick links to our A-Z subject guide, Special Collections research guide, access policies and procedures, FAQs, and online resources. These changes make for a more streamlined page that is easier to navigate.
The webpage also has a direct link to contribute to the New Mexico Health Historical Fund. This fund supports Special Collections by providing money for preservation supplies, such as acid-free folders and boxes, as well as additional department needs.
Postcard, early 20th century, Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records, HHC 239
This week the new UNM Physician Assistant (PA) Program students will begin their orientation.
Education
PA students spend most of their first 18 months learning alongside the medical students. PA students immediately use the skills and resources they learn from Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC) faculty in their Health of New Mexico Block. Within a few weeks, they will apply different skills and use resources for their series of Clinical Reasoning courses that they take during the first 18 months of their program. They will learn these skills and resources at a training session on Tuesday July 16th.
Resources
Many of the resources that students will use for their Clinical Reasoning courses can be found in the HSLIC Clinical Reasoning Guide: https://libguides.health.unm.edu/clinical_reasoning
Popular resources include:
Throughout their time at UNM PA students will access reserve resources for their blocks and courses such as textbooks, manuals, models, and videos. PA students can freely access the thousands of other texts, journals, and other information sources to supplement the reserve resources placed by block or course faculty members.
Services
HSLIC faculty and staff can provide PA students assistance through the HSLIC Ask a Librarian link on the HSLIC homepage or in-person. Contractors are renovating the main entrance Second-Floor area so simply climb the stairs or take the elevator to the Third Floor to find the HSLIC in-person service desk.
We look forward to working with you over the next 27 months!
Jon Eldredge and Robyn Gleasner
Please join us for our exhibit closing reception and talk on Tuesday, July 9, 5pm-7pm in HSLIC Room 428.
Dr. Laura Nellums, UNM Professor of Global Health, will present A World on the Move: Global Health Equity in the Context of Migration.
According to Dr. Nellums, "This presentation will focus on migration and health. It will encompass drivers and patterns of migration, social determinants of health in the context of migration, the interrelationship between immigration policy, health policy, migrant and public health outcomes, and recommendations for how to advance health equity in migrant communities."
Dr. Nellums obtained her BA in Spanish and International Relations from Wellesley College, followed by her MSc in Medical Anthropology (University of Oxford), and PhD in Public Health (King’s College London). Her research is broadly focused on improving inequities in access to care and health outcomes in excluded populations. Dr. Nellums' particular expertise is in migrant, refugee, and ethnic minority health, and she has carried out mixed-methods research in infectious diseases, mental health, stressful life events, maternal and child health, and health policy and services.
This event is in conjunction with the National Library of Medicine's traveling exhibit Making a World of Difference: Stories about Global Health. The exhibit will be on display on the Library's 4th floor from June 3 - July 13, 2024.
The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Refreshments will be served.
As part of a HSLIC seed funding grant awarded last fall, Special Collections was able to hire Gnanitha Garikipati as a temporary Digital Resources Assistant. Gnanitha worked with Abbie Olivas, Archivist, to create metadata and upload content into our two main online access platforms: New Mexico Digital Collections and the UNM Digital Repository. The goal of the project was to make materials that were already digitized, or born-digital, discoverable and more accessible to researchers.
During the spring semester, Gnanitha and Abbie added 40 new collections (over 380 images) to New Mexico Digital Collections and 90 items to the Digital Repository.
Examples of materials added include:
Please check out these great historical resources - now online!
Image from the Regina School of Nursing, St. Joseph's Hospital photograph collection, PH 003.
HSLIC is thrilled to be hosting the traveling exhibit, Making a World of Difference: Stories about Global Health, from June 3, 2024 – July 13, 2024 on the Library’s 4th Floor.
Created by the National Library of Medicine, this exhibit “examines stories of the people who are working on a wide range of issues—from community health to conflict, disease to discrimination—to improve health in their areas and beyond.”
Along with the exhibit, HSLIC is offering three educational programs:
Global Health Problems in New Mexico: Resources in HSLIC Special Collections. This online talk by Abbie Olivas, HSLIC Archivist, and Deborah Rhue, HSLIC Clinical Services Librarian, will explore archival resources in Special Collections that further our understanding of global health problems, such as diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and the plague. Thursday, June 6, 12pm via Zoom (register here).
From Cowpox to COVID-19: The Histories, Landscapes, and People Who Have Shaped Public Health in New Mexico. Juliana Anastasoff, UNM Taos Peer Health Advocate, is a public health practitioner with a career book-ended by two global pandemics. In this online talk, she reflects on the connections and contributions from the Land of Enchantment to planetary health - in ways both known and unexpected. Wednesday, June 12, 11am via Zoom (register here).
Closing reception and talk, A World on the Move: Global Health Equity in the Context of Migration, by Dr. Laura Nellums, UNM Health Sciences Center Professor of Global Health. Dr. Nellums' particular expertise is in migrant, refugee, and ethnic minority health, and she has carried out mixed-methods research in infectious diseases, mental health, stressful life events, maternal and child health, and health policy and services. Refreshments will be served - no registration is required. Tuesday, July 9, 5pm-7pm in HSLIC Room 428.
The exhibit and corresponding programing are free and open to community members.
The purpose of National Minority Health Month is to "raise awareness about the importance of improving the health of racial and ethnic minority communities and reducing health disparities."
This year's theme is Be the Source for Better Health, which fits right in with HSLIC's mission to advance health and health equity as New Mexico’s only publicly accessible health sciences library. HSLIC is a source for better health information, which we believe can lead to better health.
Health disparities are a significant problem, and the library provides resources about them. The OMHRC Knowledge Center Online Catalog (Office of Minority Health Resource Center) gives access to 75,000 documents, books journal articles, and media related to the health status of racial and ethnic minority populations. PubMed searchers will find the MeSH terms Minority Health and Health Status Disparities, which were introduced in 2008. Note that there are other terms available to search the concepts prior to 2008.
Datasets are increasingly important and available to researchers. The National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA) contains physical, economic, demographic, and social information at the census tract, ZIP code, and county level. This dataset was used in a recent publication about the devaluation of assets in Black neighborhoods. As a minority majority state (with less than half the people being non-Hispanic whites), and home to 23 American Indian tribes, as well as Black and Asian people, minority health issues are important to New Mexico researchers, health care providers, and community leaders. The New Mexico Community Data Collaborative maps local health conditions and behaviors, as well as provides data about special populations, such as health care providers and rural vs urban designations.
Image from World Bank CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED
National Library Week was first observed in 1958 to promote and support libraries and celebrate their contributions to American society. This year’s National Library Week theme, Ready, Set, Library!, explores the many ways libraries quickly connect researchers to enriching and useful resources.
One important online source for researchers interested in New Mexico history is New Mexico Digital Collections (NMDC). This platform provides access to born-digital and digitized content, such as oral histories, images, maps, and other documents, from archives, museums, and libraries across the state.
As part of a HSLIC seed funding grant, Special Collections staff recently added 40 new collections (over 375 images) to NMDC. New collections include:
Researchers can view content in NMDC by doing a basic keyword search, doing an advanced search, or browsing by collections or repositories.
To view HSLIC Special Collections materials in NMDC, please visit our landing page.
National Public Health Week 2024 celebrates collaboration, cooperation, and partnerships in public health. The theme is “Protecting, Connecting and Thriving: We Are All Public Health.”
At HSLIC, we make resources available that support research in the broad field of public health, and collaborate with faculty and educate students in the College of Population Health. Ours is a strong partnership. These past two years, as part of a grant from the college to develop an Academic Health Department, HSLIC librarians extended services to New Mexico Department of Health (NM DOH) practitioners. Academic Health Departments are partnerships between an academic institution and a health department. A goal is to strengthen the links between practice and academia, with opportunities for joint education, research and practice.
Librarians developed training modules in the process of evidence-based public health practice. We regularly teach these skills throughout the health sciences professional programs' curricula. A team of librarians, some with public health degrees, customized training to the context of public health and created four modules, following the steps of the process. These included:
Modules 1 and 2 were offered synchronously online to NM DOH personnel last spring, and all modules are now available to anyone through the UNM Digital Repository at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/er/
In addition, HSLIC became the partner library for NM DOH's Public Health Digital Library, a project of the Network of the National Library of Medicine. This means that New Mexico public health personnel have access not only to the hundreds of books, journals, and databases in that library but, if an item is not available, HSLIC will provide it from our collection or from another library. This greatly extends the scope of information sources available to practitioners.
At HSLIC we recognize and support the valuable work of public health practitioners. We are all public health!
March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day. According to the CDC, “This annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes tuberculosis (TB).”
Before antibiotics were created, tuberculosis was a deadly disease and many people “chased the cure” by moving to locations, such as New Mexico, with high altitude, clean and dry air, and frequent sunshine.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, New Mexico health and healthcare were shaped by the influx of tuberculosis patients and healthcare providers to the state and the advent of tuberculosis sanatoriums.
Some notable people who came to New Mexico seeking treatment for tuberculosis (and stayed) include:
Because of the importance of tuberculosis to the history of New Mexico, HSLIC Special Collections contains many sources about the disease. Some examples are:
Booklet, Southwestern Presbyterian Sanatorium: In the Heart of Health Country, circa 1935.
Dining Hall at Valmora, Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records. TB patients were prescribed calorie-rich diets as a treatment.
Patient draining lungs, Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records. Other pre-antibiotic TB treatments included heliotherapy (sunbathing and directing sunlight into the back of the throat), rest, lots of food, and moving to a sunny, high altitude climate with clean air and low humidity.
In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, here are some historical sources by and about women in HSLIC Special Collections.
Archival collections and books
Photograph collections
Anne Fox, R.N., Anne Fox photograph collection, PH 039. Born in England, Ms. Fox was a nurse-midwife who worked in Santa Fe for the Catholic Maternity Service (1945-1946) and then the New Mexico State Department of Health (1946-1965).
Dr. Evelyn Fisher Frisbie, New Mexico Medical Society Presidents photograph collection, PH 054. Dr. Frisbie was the first woman to serve as president of the New Mexico Medical Society. She served from 1915-1916. The second woman president of the Society, Dr. JoAnn Levitt, was elected in 1989.
Nursing students, circa 1900s, Regina School of Nursing, St. Joseph's Hospital photograph collection, PH 003. St. Joseph’s Hospital was founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1902. It was Albuquerque’s first hospital. The Sisters also established a nurses training school that was affiliated with the hospital. The St. Joseph Nursing School and St. Vincent School of Nursing in Santa Fe merged to become the Regina School of Nursing, located at St. Joseph’s, in 1944.
Happy 135th birthday, UNM!
To celebrate Lobo Day and UNM HSC history, here are some images from the Institutional photograph collection, HHC 321, in HSLIC Special Collections.
Special Collections helps document the history of the UNM Health Sciences Center via collecting and preserving institutional records and publications.
Med II Building (former 7Up bottling plant).
School of Medicine Basic Medical Sciences building.
Lifeguard helicopter.
Aerial view of campus, circa 1967.
Students with electron microscope, December 1969.
This month marks the 40th anniversary of HSLIC Special Collections.
Special Collections, originally known as the New Mexico Medical History Program and Medical Center Archives, originated from Dr. Jake Spidle’s 1982 oral history project about New Mexico physicians and UNM HSLIC director Erika Love's idea to start documenting the history of health and health care in New Mexico.
HSLIC’s first archivist, Janet Johnson, started part time in February 1984 and then became a full-time staff member in April 1984.
As the archives manager, Janet was tasked with processing collections, physically organizing the archives’ holdings, acquiring new materials (particularly items that documented the early history of UNM’s Medical Center), outreach activities, and preservation.
According to the library's 1984/1985 annual report, early archives projects included:
Outreach activities from 1984-1985 included an exhibit about the history program’s progress and goals at the New Mexico Medical Society’s annual meeting, and a presentation to UNM Medical Center administrative coordinators about the archive and the need to transfer important Medical Center records and publications to it. Janet also created a brochure about the archives.
Happy anniversary Special Collections!
UNM School of Medicine's first class, 1964. Institutional photograph collection, HHC 321
The Joseph V. Scaletti papers are now processed, and the guide is available to view online. The papers help document the career of Dr. Scaletti and the history of the UNM School of Medicine.
Joseph V. Scaletti (1926 July 22 – 2010 March 8) was a microbiologist, professor, and one of the founding faculty members of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. At UNM, Dr. Scaletti served as professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology in the School of Medicine. He created the Allied Health Sciences program in 1972 and became UNM’s first Vice President for Research in 1978. As Vice President for Research (1978-1986), Dr. Scaletti greatly increased funding, oversaw the construction of multiple campus buildings, and planned and established University Research Park and the Rio Grande Research Corridor.
During his long career, he advocated for and worked toward expanding healthcare to New Mexico’s rural communities. Along with Dr. Clark Hansbarger, Dr. Scaletti established the Rural Health Interdisciplinary Program. This program, which lasted from 1990 – 2003, trained UNM students in different healthcare-related fields to study and work in rural clinics in New Mexico. He also co-wrote a grant with Dr. Sanjeev Arora in 2004 to fund Project ECHO, which provided “a model for treating complex chronic diseases in rural areas.”
The annual Joseph V. Scaletti Memorial Catalyst Lecture, hosted by the UNM HSC Clinical and Translational Science Center, is named in his honor. Established in 2011, the lecture series “features an individual, institution, or idea responsible for accelerating the rate of positive change and forward progress in the areas of biomedical research, healthcare education, innovative healthcare delivery, and state-of-the-art patient care.”
Dr. Scaletti with a DNA model, circa 1960s, Joseph V. Scaletti papers, HHC 323
In honor of November being National Diabetes Month, I wanted to share some historical sources about diabetes in HSLIC Special Collections.
New Mexico insulin pump, New Mexico Insulin Pump photograph collection, PH 226
Monte Patterson, the first patient to receive the New Mexico insulin pump, New Mexico Insulin Pump photograph collection, PH 226
Dr. R. Philip Eaton in the laboratory, New Mexico Insulin Pump photograph collection, PH 226
The Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center is proud of the scholarship of our faculty and staff, and we would like to share what we have done with the rest of the Health Sciences Center. To that end, please join us on Friday, November 17, 2023, when the Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center will be hosting our first HSLIC Scholarship Day.
HSLIC will be celebrating our faculty and staff scholarship with posters, slides, journal articles, and book chapters—along with refreshments, of course! Drop by any time between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on the Main Floor of the library to celebrate with us.
Check out the QR code to access the
UNM Digital Repository to view HSLIC
research and scholarship!
It has been great getting to share so much archives-related content during Archives Month! For my last October blog post, I wanted to recap some highlights from the past few months in HSLIC Special Collections.
On June 7, HSLIC hosted a free Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Salvage of Collections workshop for archivists, librarians, administrators, curators, and other cultural heritage workers that was sponsored by the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (SRCA) in partnership with the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board. Over twenty-five attendees from northern, central, and southern New Mexico participated in the workshop.
Several collections have been processed, and the finding aids are now available via New Mexico Archives Online. These include the Prevention Research Center records, the Carrie Tingley Hospital records, the Pediatric History Project collection, the UNM Health Sciences Center collection, and the Latin American Social Medicine Publications collection. I am currently working on processing the papers of former UNM School of Medicine professor Dr. Joseph Scaletti.
On September 8, we welcomed participants in the New Mexico State Library’s Tribal Libraries Program to the New Mexico Health Historical Reading Room to view Special Collections holdings as part of their tour of HSLIC.
Lastly, the New Mexico Digital Collections online access platform was revamped and now features a more modern and easier-to-use interface. This platform features our oral history collection, materials from the Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records, and digital items from other New Mexico archival repositories.
Tribal librarians visit HSLIC Special Collections, September 8
HSLIC’s Special Collections traces its beginnings to 1982 when Library Director Erika Love and New Mexico Medical Society Executive Director Ralph Marshall began discussing the Society’s upcoming 100th anniversary. After realizing that New Mexico was not routinely documenting its health and healthcare history, Love and Marshall decided to start an oral history project that would interview New Mexico physicians and produce a book commemorating the Society’s centennial. This project was overseen by the History of Medicine Committee, which consisted of New Mexican doctors interested in documenting their history. Dr. Jake Spidle of the UNM history department was selected as the oral history interviewer. The project resulted in over one hundred oral histories with New Mexico physicians and the book Doctors of Medicine in New Mexico: A History of Health and Medical Practice, 1886-1986.
In addition to the oral history project, Love sought to establish a New Mexico medical history archive at HSLIC. Janet H. Johnson (1936-2022) was hired as HSLIC’s first archivist in February 1984. During Johnson’s tenure, the New Mexico Health Historical Room (Special Collections' reading room) opened in 1984 and was renovated in 1986, and she, along with the History of Medicine Committee, coordinated the ongoing oral history project. Johnson also started collecting, processing, and preserving archival collections. Early collections include the C. Pardue Bunch papers, the William L. Minear papers, the New Mexico Health Systems Agency records, the Mid-Rio Grande County Medical Society records, the Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records, and the New Mexico Nurses Association records.
Upon her retirement in 2002, Janet Johnson wrote about her experiences at HSLIC Special Collections:
Building a program from scratch is something few people have the chance to do, and I was lucky to have had that chance to learn so much about an interesting and important aspect of the state’s recent past. Among the experiences I look back on with the greatest pleasure are the many retired physicians I’ve met personally or through their oral histories, some who donated personal papers and memorabilia to the archives and some who served on the History of Medicine Committee and told “war stories” about their careers and how things were in earlier times in medicine.
AND the experience of repeated trips to Valmora Sanatorium in Mora County, where I stayed in an old cottage for TB patients, had meals and conversation with the doctor who’d been there since 1926 as a patient, then physician and medical director, and I went through every drawer and closet and room and shelf in many buildings to find bits and pieces of the decades when New Mexico was the destination of thousands of hopeful tuberculars. We think those ‘finds’ make Valmora the only sanatorium in the state with an existing documentary history, and some ephemeral items may be the only physical mementos of a particular facility, event, procedure or practitioner in New Mexico, not just at Valmora.
And, it’s enormously satisfying to have bits of information from very different sources, obtained years apart, fit together to round out a story or add value to a meager file. There are a great many illuminating and amazing facts tucked away in these files, and my hope is they’ll be discovered and made known by avid researchers willing to dig for the odd nuggets that didn’t end up in a bonfire or the dump.
HSLIC's first archivist Janet H. Johnson at her retirement party, 2002
Preservation strategies help keep books, archives, and artifacts from deteriorating any further. This is different from conservation where specially-trained conservators do item-level treatments and repairs. The following guidelines will assist with preserving your own family history.
Archival materials should be stored in a cool, stable environment with a relative humidity (RH) of no more than 50% (to help prevent mold growth and reduce insect activity). Archival materials should also be kept away from light whenever possible. Acid-free folders and boxes help absorb acid from paper via an alkaline buffer (calcium carbonate) and extend the life of materials. Boxes also protect archives from light damage, dust, insects, and other pests.
Some easy ways to protect your own family papers and artifacts include storing items in a steady, cooler environment (generally 68-72 degrees) with a lower RH (i.e. no bathrooms), keeping papers and artifacts in boxes, and turning the lights off when rooms aren’t being used. Do not store important materials in attics, basements, or garages as these areas are often prone to leaks, floods, and/or temperature fluctuations. If you use a storage unit, be sure to check that it is climate-controlled. Do not sure store photographs in magnetic (adhesive photo albums) or glue items into albums as they can damage materials. Be sure to monitor for insects and other pests regularly.
Proper handling is also very important. Do not have food and/or drinks near your books and papers. Wash your hands before handling materials and use nitrile gloves when handling photographic prints and negatives to help prevent fingerprints. You might also consider rotating framed family photographs on display to limit light exposure and/or use a preservation copy and safely store the original.
Digital preservation is more complicated. Generally, archivists recommend that you store digital files in three different locations, make sure your file names/identifiers are unique and well-organized, and reformat materials as old technology becomes obsolete.
Have additional preservation questions? Feel free to email me or schedule an archivist consultation during my office hours.
During October the United States celebrates American Archives Month. This annual celebration highlights the critical role archives and archivists play in collecting, preserving, and making available records of enduring value. Archives support collective memory, are vital for organizational administration, help document history, promote governmental transparency, and protect people’s rights, identities, and property.
Archivists often do a variety of tasks including selection and appraisal of records, arrangement and description of collections, reference work, promotion and outreach, and preservation administration. Because archives generally contain unique materials, they often have different use procedures from other departments in libraries.
HSLIC Special Collections contains over 300 archival collections as well as photograph collections and artifacts. These materials help document the history of health and healthcare in New Mexico. Please check out our How to Use Special Collections guide for more information and learn about our archival holdings at HSLIC.
And stay tuned for an archives-themed blog post each week in October!
Book banning has been getting a lot of media coverage lately. I’ve chaired the New Mexico Library Associations’ Intellectual Freedom Committee for several years now and in the past 18 months have received multiple fresh queries from parties throughout the state. People want to know what contemporary book banning in New Mexico actually looks like, if they should be concerned, and what they can do to help libraries and librarians.
First off, book banning is not a contemporary issue (and when referring to book bans I am including challenges, which are attempts to have books removed from libraries thereby restricting access). As Dr. Mary Bartlett, self-described geek and literature scholar, points out in her blog, This Book is Banned, the works of the Roman poet Ovid were first banned in 8 AD, burned in Florence in the 15th century, and banned by US Customs in 1928. A New Mexico favorite, Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, has been challenged and banned in multiple states (including our own) over its many decades of existence. And of course, the Bible has been famously banned and re-banned multiple times throughout its history.
Book bans are frequently different today though. Recent Banned Book Lists from the American Library Association reveal that the bulk of challenged titles are about LGBTQIA+ folks and/or people of color and written by LGBTQIA+ folks and/or people of color. Most are challenged for sexual content, gender issues, and race issues. The two library systems in New Mexico that recently had books challenged, Los Alamos Public Library and Rio Rancho Public Libraries, only had titles about LGBTQIA+ topics written by LGBTQIA+ identified authors challenged (This Book is So Gay, The Art of Drag, Once a Girl, Always a Boy, and If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It). There seems to be much less interest locally and nationally in banning books with heterosexual sexual and cultural content. The almost laser focus on specific types of books by specific types of people is why we should be concerned about book bans now.
Libraries in New Mexico are frequently underfunded, understaffed, and more likely to be semi-rural or rural. As such, they are heavily dependent on local goodwill and any potential challenges to their collections are especially difficult. Libraries frequently hear from dissatisfied patrons and so it is essential that they also hear from satisfied patrons who love the diverse selection of titles so often discovered in even the smallest of libraries. Not only are library staff proud of the work they put into their collections but they need to be prepared when questions are raised. I encourage everyone who loves their library to email or write an old-fashioned note to its Library Director whenever they have a kind word. These recorded gestures of support make it much easier for libraries to face challenges to some of their carefully selected titles.
HSLIC can feel a little removed from book bans as it is not a public or school library. However, it is a part of the broader library ecosystem and we are all library users too. Like the guest list of a good dinner party, a library should be eclectic, fun, informative, unpretentious, exhilarating, and yes, there should be room for all at that table.
For more on New Mexico and book bans: https://www.kunm.org/show/university-showcase/2023-06-16/how-the-spike-in-book-challenges-hurts-libraries-and-intellectual-freedom
On Friday, September 8, HSLIC was thrilled to welcome participants of New Mexico State Library’s Tribal Libraries Program to the library for an all-day event. The Tribal Libraries Program provides library development services to tribal communities throughout the state, including support for library management, collection development, funding navigation, staff continuing education, and advocacy. The purpose of the field trip to HSLIC was to connect tribal librarians with health information resources and UNM programs as well as develop fresh relationships with libraries serving Indigenous people.
Executive Director Melissa Rethlefsen kicked off the day with a warm greeting and UNM’s Indigenous Peoples’ Land and Territory Acknowledgement. Participants then had a special tour of HSLIC led by Specialist III Amy Weig-Pickering, including a peek at items from the library’s Special Collections with Archivist Abbie Weiser and a walkthrough with Specialist III Rachel Howarth of some of the technology available to students and the public. HSLIC Clinical Services Librarian Deborah Rhue and Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine Library Director Norice Lee introduced PubMed and MedlinePlus, respectively. Participants had the opportunity to view the Native Health Database with Jonathan Pringle, Scholarly Communications and Digital Librarian. Emily Roberts, the Library Services Coordinator at the Center for Development and Disability, provided an in-depth review of CDD’s resources. Carla Sakiestewa introduced the Office of Community Health’s Health Extension Regional Office, which she is a part of as an Affiliate Agent, and Norman Cooeyate, the Tribal Relations Liaison for the Center for Native American Health, rounded out the presentations on UNM programs. Ingrid Hendrix, Division Head, Research, Education, and Clinical Information Services, ended the day by leading a conversation and Q and A session.
HSLIC is New Mexico’s only publicly accessible health sciences library. As such, it strives to provide health information access and training to all New Mexicans. Engaging with libraries throughout the state provides HSLIC with the opportunity to reach diverse local communities in the places they call home. We look forward to continuing to expand and improve health information learning opportunities throughout the state.
The New Mexico Health Historical Collection (Special Collections) documents the history of health in the state and the Southwest by collecting and preserving materials that include oral histories, organizational records, rare books, photographs, artifacts and a monograph collection. As the archivist for Special Collections, I am responsible for the selection and appraisal of records, arrangement and description of collections, reference work, and preservation administration.
Although researchers are free to contact me at any time during regular business hours (hsc-archivist@salud.unm.edu), starting today, I will be having regular archivist office hours every Tuesday afternoon from 1pm-3pm. During these hours, researchers can have in-person or online consultations as well as set up future research appointments (we ask for at least five business days’ notice for research appointments). 
Possible office hours discussion topics include:
For more information about Special Collections, please check out our guide “How to Use Special Collections.”
Special Collections consist of noncirculating research materials organized by provenance or a theme. These materials are often rare or unique and can be primary or secondary sources.
At HSLIC, our Special Collections, the New Mexico Health Historical Collection, “documents the history of health in the state and the Southwest by collecting and preserving materials that include oral histories, organizational records, rare books, photographs, artifacts, and a monograph collection.” Our repository also contains institutional archives, vertical files, serials, audiovisual materials, and digital records.
Collecting strengths include the history of tuberculosis treatment in the state, the UNM Health Sciences Center, public health, New Mexico’s medical providers, and the oral history collection. Guides to processed collections are available via New Mexico Archives Online. Digitized materials are available through New Mexico Digital Collections and our institutional repository.
Special Collections is open to all researchers. To make a research appointment or to learn more about our holdings, please contact us at hsc-archivist@salud.unm.edu. Please allow at least five business days for us to retrieve materials during regular operations.
Who knew there was a holiday every July 3 that encourages you to attend a movie or spend the day at the gym? A holiday to save your skin! These past few days have been HOT, and summer has just begun. It may not be practical to spend a day indoors, but give yourself and your skin a break and seek shade either indoors, under an umbrella or floppy hat, or in front of HSLIC in the early morning – and don’t forget those UV protection sunglasses.
The Solar UV index is the strength of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Last week, the local UV index reached its most extreme level, which means to avoid the sun between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when skin damage can happen in minutes. Check out the hourly UV index at your location at the EPA website UV Index.
We conducted a survey recently to get your feedback about how to make the front area of the HSLIC building more functional and inviting. The top three responses were: tables, improved aesthetics, and additional SHADE. We are listening and planning. Meanwhile, be smart in the sun.
Today is National Library Outreach Day. We congratulate all the faculty and staff at the Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center (HSLIC), past and present, for helping us achieve HSLIC's mission to advance health and health equity as New Mexico's only publicly accessible health sciences library. This is a commitment we take very seriously, and we continue to invest in our outreach efforts. Today, we are delighted to announce the new Patricia V. Bradley Native American Health Research Award.
Patricia Vickie Bradley was born October 9, 1950, at Travis Airforce Base in Fairfield, CA, into the Bit’ahnii (Folded Arms People Clan), born for Kinyaa’áanii (Towering House Clan). Pat was a proud member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation. She received a Master of Library Science (MLS) from the University of Arizona. Pat's career in medical librarianship spanned more than 40 years in places that included the Navajo Health Authority in Shiprock and the Gallup Indian Medical Center (Indian Health Service) as a Medical Librarian. She then served as the Native and Distance Services Librarian at the Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC) for 15 years. Her positive impact was honored in 2014 when she received the Michael E. DeBakey Library Services Outreach Award, which was established by Friends of the National Library of Medicine to honor outstanding service and contributions to rural and underserved communities. Pat passed away in 2019 after a brief illness.
To honor her legacy in outreach to the Indigenous communities of the Southwest, HSLIC has begun the Patricia V. Bradley Native American Health Research Award. This Award will be given annually to a member of the UNM community who is conducting research in the area of Native American health using resources at HSLIC, which may include the Native Health Database, the largest collection of information related to the health of Indigenous North Americans.
An anonymous donor has generously offered to match donations received with the goal of endowing this fund in perpetuity.
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April 22, 2023, is recognized annually as earth day. It began as a national day for action in the 1970s and has now grown not only to reach a global audience but to be a large day of awareness, celebration, and observance.
Environmental health and our climate are linked to our individual and community health outcomes. In celebration of Earth Day 2023, I would like to highlight an exciting partnership. Since the spring of 2022, I have been able to have a role in the Interprofessional Education course, Climate change and public health preparedness. It will be offered again this summer, and I am also currently a part of a multi-disciplinary teaching team that is piloting a planetary health and systems thinking course. I’m thankful for the work and collaboration opportunities with Heidi Honegger Rogers, DNP, FNP-C, APHN-C, Caroline Scruggs, PhD, PE, Megan Tucker, MS, PhD Student, Claudia Pratesi, PhD, MCRP, MWR, & Amanda Dunn, DNP,RN,FNP-C. Most importantly, the work of our UNM students engaged in these classes continues to be inspiring and hopeful.
Selected resources regarding our environment available at our library:
Planetary health : human health in an era of global environmental change
Community organizing and community building for health and social equity
Learn more about earth day:
One Albuquerque: Earth Day Guide
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
I am excited to announce that the Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) will host its annual meeting, "Respect for Hybridity: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Archives," on April 26-29 in Albuquerque. As the name suggests, this will be the FIRST meeting SSA is hosting, where nearly every presentation and workshop will be provided synchronously for both in-person and virtual attendees. We are using the OWL technology to create collaborative spaces where both virtual and in-person presenters/attendees can engage with each other in a truly inclusive and accessible manner. The program/sessions for 4/27 and 4/28 are now online; some of the offerings include:
...and many more! Consider attending in person in beautiful Old Town Albuquerque ($100 for students/retirees; $200 for members; $250 for non-members) OR participating virtually for a flat rate of $50 (members/non-members, right up to the last minute).
Hope to see you in person OR via Zoom!
In honor of Transgender Day of Visibility, HSLIC welcomes guest blog contributors Dr. Cameron Crandall, Dr. Molly McClain, and Fabián Armijo. This day is dedicated to celebrating the transgender community and helps bring awareness to the continuing fight for trans equality. Our guest authors will discuss inclusive actions at HSC and the importance of visibility for the trans community.
On Friday, March 31, we celebrate this year’s International Transgender Day of Visibility. On this day, we recognize the important work that gender-expansive people have done to raise awareness and fight for basic human rights that should (and must) be afforded to all persons, regardless of gender identity. We celebrate these achievements and will continue to work against misinformation, discrimination, and hate impacting our communities.
Gender-expansive people, including those who are transgender and gender non-binary, continue to face significant barriers in accessing and obtaining appropriate and knowledgeable health care. To address these concerns, UNM Health and the Health Sciences Center have made numerous enhancements and changes to our system so that we can provide the best possible care for our patients. Some of the changes we have made include:
Access to basic health care is a significant barrier for many transgender patients. Since 2017, at UNM we have invited patients to share their gender identity and affirmed name and have placed this information in the electronic health record. This process lets patients know we see them and reinforces our commitment to providing the best care possible. As a result of these changes and the steady march of increasing visibility of gender-expansive people in recent years helped us recognize the size of the community and the importance of addressing their specific needs to improve health for all.
The changes we have made to date are only the beginning. Similar to the concept of visibility, there is power in what we have started and the recognition that there is much more to do. New Mexico has a growing number of healthcare professionals who provide high-quality services to gender-expansive communities. However, we also recognize that New Mexico does not have enough providers, particularly surgical providers, as many transgender patients need to seek care outside of New Mexico.
Over the years, we have seen tremendous advances in equity and inclusion for LGBTQ persons. The rapid acceptance is due, in part, to the visibility of LGBTQ people in our communities, families, and work lives. The changes we have made are small steps that lead to increased visibility of transgender and non-binary people.
How can you contribute to increasing the visibility and celebration of this important community?
While we are proud of our efforts to improve the recognition, safety, and dignity of transgender and gender-diverse staff and patients, we know there is much left to do to honor those who are gender expansive. We are committed to continuing this work alongside our trans and non-binary friends, colleagues, loved ones, and patients.
Fabián Armijo, MHA, Executive Director DEI, UNM Hospital (he)
Cameron Crandall, MD, Associate Vice President for LGBTQ DEI, UNM HSC (he)
Molly McClain, MD MPH MS, Medical Director, Deseo Clinic, UNM HSC (she)
You are invited to join us on Thursday, April 6th, from 10 A.M - 11 A.M. for a virtual seminar by Lewis Worley, BE, and Robyn Gleasner, MLIS.
Topic: HSC Citation Analysis Project
Description: The HSC Citation Analysis Project set out to answer the following questions: where are faculty at the HSC publishing, does HSLIC/UNM provide access to these journals, what journals are the authors citing, and does HSLIC/UNM provide access to those journals. The answers to the questions would assist in the evaluation of HSLIC’s journal collection and determine potential gaps. This session will show how we went about attempting to answer these questions from pulling data from Web of Science, analyzing it, and wrangling and parsing it using a number of programs and scripts including excel, open refine, SQL, and python.
Learning Objectives:
We will discuss:
Please email BLCarroll@salud.unm.edu to request Zoom info.
You are invited to join us on Thursday, March 2nd, from 10 A.M - 11 A.M. for a virtual seminar by Glyneva Bradley-Ridout, BA, MI, and Elena Springall, BSc, MLIS.
Topic: Cross-Sectional Study of UpToDate versus DynaMed
Description: Health Sciences Libraries are often faced with difficult budget decisions regarding which clinical tools to purchase while keeping in mind user preferences and needs. Our research study was designed to inform evidence-based decision-making around this issue. We designed and executed a cross-sectional research project which compared the speed and accuracy of two popular point-of-care information tools: UpToDate and DynaMed plus. We will share the results of our research, including a behind-the-scenes glimpse into our research process.
Learning Objectives:
We will discuss:
Please email BLCarroll@salud.unm.edu to request Zoom info.
You are invited to join us on Thursday, February 16th, from 10 A.M. - 11 A.M. for a virtual seminar by Jonathan Pringle, MAS.
Topic: The Native Health Database in 2023: Embedding Outreach with Culturally-Respectful Technology
Description: The years 1993-2019 marked significant changes and modifications to the Native Health Database, a (then) abstracting database that provided unique health information and resources for myriad audiences. Between 2019 and 2022 the resource underwent significant changes, this time focused on the underlying platform delivering the information; the new NHD now has the capacity to elevate source Native American & Indigenous communities to equal partners in the exchange of information. In 2023, the NHD is poised to leverage this new platform and engage in focused outreach efforts to show content creators, communities, users, and healthcare providers how they can interact within the new platform.
Learning Objectives:
We will discuss:
Please email BLCarroll@salud.unm.edu to request Zoom info.
HSLIC's Resources, Archives & Discovery (RAD) division is excited to welcome Maxx Harrison (they/them, he/him) to the team! They will be processing the Carrie Tingley Hospital Records (1937-1989), which is currently an unprocessed grouping of 12 boxes of textual documents highlighting the operations of the hospital over the course of several decades. In addition to highlighting the role that Carrie and Clyde Tingley played in the founding of the hospital, it will also emphasize the positive impact of Dr. William L. Minear, the hospital's medical director from 1947-1956. Maxx will be processing these records using the More Product, Less Process (MPLP) approach to making archival resources more expeditiously available. By the end of the project a detailed finding guide will be published through New Mexico Archives Online. Our thanks to HSLIC and its seed funding that will enable us to engage in this project, scheduled to be completed by the end of June.
Now, let's get to know Maxx a little more...!
Current area of study: Double-majoring in American Sign Language and Psychology - in their sophomore year at UNM
Where is home?: Growing up, they split their time between Houston and Albuquerque, but since the pandemic Albuquerque has become a permanent home.
Cats or dogs?: Yes to both! But also add rats, mice, snails, and roli-polies.
Connection to New Mexico History: Their grandfather's family has been in New Mexico since the Spanish inquisition; he was born and raised in the North Valley and has a lot of first-hand experience with its history.
Interests: Thrifting, art (they do acrylic and watercolor painting!), and reading (currently re-reading the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series)
Where to next?: No idea, but they have had a really great experience working in the field of optometry, so who knows..?!
Image courtesy of Maxx Harrison
Maxx will be working with us upwards of 20 hours a week in the RAD suite, so if you get a chance please swing by and say hello!
You are invited to join us on Thursday, October 20th, from 10 to 11 AM for a virtual seminar by Emily McRae, BA, and Cynthia Jacobs, BS
Topic: The New Mexico Community Data Collaborative
Description: Join the New Mexico Community Data Collaborative (NMCDC) to explore social determinants and health indicators across your neighborhood. The NMCDC team will provide a brief tutorial of how to find data on the site, as well as describe recent and future projects, including the NM Food Supply Chain Data Hub and the Data Disaggregation Project.
Learning Objectives:
1. Navigate to a data product on the NMCDC website given only a broad topic area.
2. Use the NM Food Supply Chain Data Hub to find data related to the food supply chain components and understand how you can support the upkeep and relevance of the Data Hub.
3. Describe the Data Disaggregation project and understand how to follow, support, and inform the work.
Please email BLCarroll@salud.unm.edu to request Zoom info.
You are invited to join us on Thursday, October 6th from 10 to 11:30 AM, for a virtual seminar by Gabe Peters, BA.
Topic: Inclusive Dermatology: Creating a Diverse Visual Atlas of Skin Conditions
Description: Existing literature on Dermatological conditions highlight little to no visual diversity amongst skin conditions of varying individuals of color. Inclusive dermatology focuses on the importance of gathering and sharing images of dermatological conditions in all skin types with an emphasis on individuals who have been excluded in medical education. By expanding the availability of images in varying skin types, we hope to not only advance medical education but also strive to improve patient care, especially with our diverse population here in New Mexico.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe what Inclusive Dermatology is
2. Explain the importance of inclusivity and how it benefits patient care
Please email BLCarroll@salud.unm.edu to request Zoom info.
You are invited to join us on Thursday, September 15th from 10 to 11 AM, for a virtual seminar by Deborah L. Lauseng, AMLS
Topic: Roles, Collaborations, and Activities in Health Informatics Education - a discussion of scoping review findings and your own involvement
Description: Librarians and libraries have been engaged in informatics training for decades, however, sharing of the types and extent of engagement has been limited in the literature. The scoping review, “Library involvement in health informatics education for health professions students and practitioners,” published in JMLA, seeks to explore the extent library involvement in health informatics education, specifically focused on activities and outcomes described in the published literature.
In this BioMISS session, the lead author will share findings on the roles, collaborations, and activities librarians have had in health informatics beyond instruction. The author will lead a discussion about current and potential collaborations. Additionally, attendees will explore how best to report their involvement with health informatics to inform the profession.
Learning objectives:
Participants will gain insights into the extent and nature of librarian/information professional involvement with health informatics as discovered through this scoping review.
Participants will explore potentials of collaboration with health informatics activities in their own work.
Participants will discuss generating a standardized template for reporting librarian/information professional involvement in informatics educational activities.
Please email BLCarroll@salud.unm.edu to request Zoom info.
The special election to replace Deb Haaland for the 1st Congressional District is being held on June 1 and the League of Women Voters of Central NM has posted information about the election on their website.
You can learn about voter registration dates, absentee ballots and early voting for the five counties that are represented in Congressional District 1. Individuals who have not yet registered can do so online or by mail until May 4. Also, in Bernalillo County Same Day Registration will be available at early voting locations prior to election day.
Candidate information and responses to questions on current issues can be found here. Please make a plan to go and vote in this special election.
In 2011, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) declared a shift from Autism Awareness Month to Autism Acceptance Month. This change in language was accompanied by a call to make acceptance of people with autism a year-round priority. In 2021, other organizations nationwide are following suit with this language shift. In order to become more aware of the experiences of individuals with autism it is vital to listen to the perspectives of self-advocates. “Self-advocacy” is a term rooted in the disability rights movement and refers to people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) expressing their own views and perspectives rather than others speaking for them. The ASAN has many resources on the topic of self-advocacy including materials on language, accessibility, and policy issues.
At the University of New Mexico and statewide there are many resources to better educate oneself on the experiences of people with autism. The UNM Center for Development and Disability (CDD) has an Autism Portal which includes a library of online trainings. The UNM CDD also offers trainings to community organizations to support them in becoming more accessible spaces for people with autism. The Accessibility Resource Center offers many resources and support services for UNM students with disabilities. For those who are interested in policy issues related to the rights of individuals with autism in our state, Disability Rights New Mexico has detailed reports on topics covered in the most recent legislative session. Finally, the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Council has several programs for people with IDD including the Center for Self Advocacy Program.
