Check out what's new with the El Paso Public Library's Border Heritage Center below!

The Border Heritage Center is once again participating in the annual Border Archives Bazaar! Organized by the Border Regional Archives Group (BRAG), Bazaar participants will showcase a variety of unique and historic archival materials from the border region. Come on by and take a look at rare documents, maps, photographs, publications and much more. The Bazaar will be held Saturday, October 19th, 10am-4pm at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

This year's theme, Celebrating Borderland Communities, highlights the role archives play in preserving the stories and legacies of the many communities found throughout the region. Archival materials from libraries, archives, and museums of southern New Mexico, west Texas, and the borderlands wil be on display. Archivists, librarians, and museum curators will be available to discuss and answer questions about archives, regional history, and preservation of original documents. Participating institutions include:

• NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections
• El Paso Public Library, Border Heritage Center
• Doña Ana County Clerk's Office
• UTEP Library's C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections
• San Elizario Los Portales Museum
• Ysleta del Sur Pueblo
• U.S. Border Patrol Museum
• Sul Ross State University Archives of the Big Bend
• Eastern New Mexico University Special Collections

Two 90-minute panel presentations are programed this year. Researchers and scholars will speak on their experiences of using archives to document and preserve borderland community histories. The panel presentations are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. 

Panel 1: 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

• Sean Schifano, "The Crypto-Jewish Historical Archives: Preserving a Community and Identity"
• Lauretta King, "Preserving NMSU Black Programs: Black History, On Purpose"
• Daniel Webb, "Crossing the Border, Creating a Community: The Settlement of Mesilla under the Leadership of Father Ramón Ortiz, 1848-1853"

Panel 2: 1:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

• Joel Gonzalez Parra, "Shaping Border Identities: Nineteenth-Century Repatriate Colonies in the New Mexico-Chihuahua Border"
• Joseph Ramon Michael Longo, "Anita Lee Blair: The Girl from Texas and Her Dog"
• Micheal E. P. Davis, "El Paso's 'Black Wall Street'" 

We hope you stop by, say hello, and enjoy this free, fun, and educational event!

For further information, please feel free to contact Border Heritage at 915.212.3218.