To serve the diverse informational, educational, recreational, and cultural needs of Bisbee's residents, Copper Queen Library staff select, acquire, organize, retrieve, circulate and maintain a wide variety of materials in several different formats, both print and non-print. These collections include:
The Arizona & Southwest Collections
The Children's & Young Adult (YA) Collections
The CQL Electronic Collections
The Magazine & Newspaper Collections
The Media Collections
New Books & Media Materials
The Parenting Collection
The Reference & Research Collections
The Spanish-Language Collections
The Special Collections
Follow this link to the CQL Periodicals List
The Arizona & Southwest Collections
These circulating collections are shelved on the west wall of the third floor and feature Bisbee history and biography, area recreational guides, and information about surrounding states.
The Children’s Collection
Materials for children (ages 0-12), including books, kits, movies, magazines, and manipulables, are located on the west side of the second floor. “Easy” books for preschoolers and both “Juvenile” fiction and non-fiction chapter books are located here, as are fairy tales, holiday books, and easy readers.
CQL Electronic Collections
The library subscribes or provides access to a wide variety of online databases to assist patrons in locating reliable information on topics of interest. Many databases also provide complete articles.
The Magazine & Newspaper Collections
Newspapers and magazines for adults are located on the east side of the second floor. These materials do not circulate, but items of interest may be photocopied for twenty cents per page (b/w, letter-size), and many items are also available online in full text through one or more library databases.
The Media Collections
The Media Collections are located on the second floor and are comprised of books, music, and movies on audiocassette, videocassette, CD, and DVD. Music formats and audiobooks (also known as “books on tape” or “talking books”) circulate for three weeks, while movies on either VHS or DVD circulate for five days. There is no charge to borrow any media format.
New Books & Media Materials
Newly-cataloged adult fiction and non-fiction are displayed on the second floor. New print fiction circulates for one week, and new non-fiction circulates for three weeks. New music and new audiobooks (both fiction and non-fiction) circulate for three weeks.
The Parenting Collection
The Parenting Collection is conveniently located on the west side of the second floor near the Children’s Area so that parents or caregivers attending story hours or other children’s programs may also browse this handy collection of materials related to childhood development.
The Reference & Research Collections
Adult Reference materials – dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, Chilton’s manuals, etc. -- are located on the east side of the second floor. Reference materials for children are located on the third floor in the YA Room. These materials do not circulate, but items of interest may be photocopied for twenty cents per page (b/w, letter-size).
The Spanish-Language Collections
The library houses a growing collection of Spanish-language materials for all ages in all formats. Children’s materials are located on the second floor, and adult materials are located on the third floor.
The Special Collections
Several “special” collections are located in the library, including:
- The Original Pritchard Collection. In 1927, Mrs. Pritchard, wife of the Copper Queen’s first paid librarian, donated 126 books to the library from her husband’s private collection. Almost half of these volumes remain in the library. They will become part of the larger historic Pritchard Collection when it is installed in the Meeting Room.
- Genealogical Research Collections. To assist with family and historical research, the library maintains collections of high school yearbooks (The Cuprite) dating from 1916 and Bisbee phone directories dating from 1904. Collections are accessible with the assistance of library staff.
- Image Collections. Photographs of early Old Bisbee, as well as geologic maps of the area, adorn the library’s walls. Additionally, artists’ renderings and images present a sample of life in and around the Mule Mountains.
The Young Adults’ Collection
The “Young Adult” (YA) Collection is housed in a separate area designed especially for teens on the west side of the third floor. Print materials, audiobooks, and internet computers for teen use are located in the YA Room.