Head on up the staircase to find the second floor where you’ll find conference rooms and a smattering of books organized by subject and alphabetically. The third and final floor is the homebase of CAPS, where students can go for tutoring in all subjects from knowledgeable peers.
On a personal note, Zimmerman’s secluded basement is where I spent many a late night working on last-minute papers and going through coffee after coffee. There are also bookshelves down there that serve as a home for fascinating, old archives on any subject you could possibly think of, and exploring the winding shelves proved to be a greatly effective way to refresh and recharge your brain (some might call it a time-waster, but I like to stay positive!).
UNM’s main library can be found near the center of campus directly across from the Student Union Building by way of Smith Plaza. The initial structure was designed by notable New Mexico architect John Gaw Meem and built in 1936; in 1961, the library was officially named “Zimmerman” after former UNM president James Fulton Zimmerman. Zimmerman (the person) was a political science expert, and his work was celebrated nationwide as an impressive feat. As far as being appointed as UNM’s president, it certainly didn’t hurt that his credentials included degrees from Vanderbilt and Columbia. Even though he died at an early age—57 in 1944—his legacy lives on through the library.
As UNM’s attendance grew, Public Works recognized that Zimmerman—known as ‘Zimm’ colloquially by students—needed some upgrades, so additions were built from the mid ‘60s to early ‘70s. From the outside, Zimmerman seems to be a fairly basic adobe building adorned with large columns and grid windows, but the inside tells a different story. One of the most notable stylistic quirks of the building are its four large murals depicting Hispanic, Native American, and non-Indigenous peoples created by Kenneth Miller Adams; although the murals have been vandalized a couple of times, they are now restored to their original glory. If NM State is your alma mater, we say it’s still absolutely worth a trip down to the University to marvel at the massive building beloved by so many of us Lobos.
—ET
