LOA Library Collections

Collections Overview

The LOA Library collections support advanced scholarship and research on the Native arts and cultures, the anthropology, archaeology and history of the greater Southwest. Since the LOA Library opened in 1930, the collection has grown to holding over 38,000 volumes.

The collections reflect the history of the Laboratory of Anthropology: Laboratory of Anthropology, Inc. (1929-1947), The Museum of New Mexico Laboratory of Anthropology (1951-1981), and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology (1987-present).

The LOA Library collects materials to support the mission and goals of the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture / Laboratory of Anthropology (MIAC/LOA), Historic Preservation Division (HPD), Office of Archaeological Studies (OAS), Historic Sites, Archaeological Records Management Services (ARMS).

Collections Holdings - Scope and Item Types

The LOA Library holdings include monographs, archaeological reports, ethnographic studies, dissertations and master theses, unpublished reports and manuscripts, artist files, auction catalogs, as well as an extensive collection of ephemera.

The LOA Library has subscriptions to a large number of scholarly, professional and subect- and geographically-focused journals and newspapers. Archaeology Reports, Manuscripts, Theses and Dissertations, Conference Proceedings

The LOA Library has extensive holdings of reports, manuscripts, theses, dissertations and papers and proceedings.

Archaeological site data is protected under both federal and state law. Depending on the nature of the content of this material, access may be restricted to qualified researchers.

Special Collections

The rare book collections or special collections of the LOA Library includes scarce and rare materials either uniquely held or held at fewer than ten libraries worldwide.

Growth of the LOA Library Special Collection as well as general collections is directly as a result of donations received from scholars, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians and people in the Santa Fe community interested in perpetuating the missions of the Museums of Indian Arts and Culture and the Laboratory of Anthropology.

From signatures and donation notes made in items held in the collection, it is possible to reconstruct the legacy of donation that has been part of the LOA Library since it opened in 1930.

Sylvanus Griswold Morley Collection

The most notable and substantive collection in the LOA Library is the vast personal library of the renowned American archaeologist / Mayanist and former director of the Laboratory of Anthropology Sylvanus Griswold Morley (June 7, 1883 - September 2, 1948). This collection includes over 800 books and other materials on Mesoamerican archaeology, Mayan history, calendars, linguistics and other topics. Many of the publications were by colleagues of Morley and are signed and inscribed.

Charles J. Lohrman Archives

The LOA Library received the Charles J. Lohrman Archives in 2011. Lohrman was the editor and publisher of Four Winds, an Indian arts and culture magazine published between 1980 and 1982. The Archives contains the Four Winds Archives. Additionally, the Archives is comprised of all the work Lohrman did subsequently related to Indian arts and culture. This collection is available for consultation by appointment in the LOA Library.

Andrea Fisher Fine Pottery Photography Collection

Andrea Fisher donated the Andrea Fisher Fine Pottery Photography Collection of several thousand color photographs of Pueblo pottery of the 20th and 21st centuries exhibited and sold at the Andrea Fisher Gallery. This research collection is organized by tribal entity and then alphabetically by the artist?s name. This collection is available for consultation by appointment in the LOA Library.

 

Donors - Special Significance to Collection Development

Donors have played an important contribution to the development of the LOA Library collections from the incorporation of Laboratory of Anthropology, Inc. through the present day.

As the LOA Librarian recodes cataloging records, she is entering the donors noted in materials in the Public Notes field of the LOA Library Koha ILS.

Just a few of the collections that have been received to make the LOA Library one of the richest library resources in the Southwest are those received from:

Laboratory of Anthropology, Inc. (1929-1947) Donors
  • John D. Rockefeller
  • Fred Harvey
  • Kenneth Milton Chapman
  • Alfred Vincent Kidder
  • H. P. Mera (Harry Percival)
  • Fred Eggan (Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago)
Museum of New Mexico Laboratory of Anthropology (1951-1986) Donors
  • Edward Dozier (Santa Clara anthropologist and linguist)
  • Stewart Peckham (Director Emeritus, Laboratory of Anthropology)
  • Arnold Withers (Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Denver)
Museum of New Mexico Laboratory of Anthropology (1987-present) Donors
  • Don Brown
  • Andrea Fisher
  • Peter T. Furst
  • Charles J. Lohrman
  • Robert Powers
  • Willow Powers
  • David E. Stuart