4 Branches Across
High Country & Mesa Communities
Mesa Alta Branch
Mon–Fri 9am–6pm · Sat 10am–4pm
Marlena Runningwater
Your Librarian
Every Branch,
Every Community,
Open to You.
Stacks is a tribally sovereign library authority serving high-altitude valleys and mesa communities — free library cards, Wi-Fi hotspot loans, story hours, and research desks, no residency test required.
Where Every Dollar
Goes to Work
Our annual operating budget of $477,000 comes from tribal general funds, federal LSTA grants, and state library aid. Here's exactly how it's allocated.
Download Full Budget Report (PDF)2025 by the Numbers
These aren't projections — they're the actual results from our last fiscal year, verified against our public financial statements.
Funding Sources
Open Board Meetings,
Open to Everyone
The Stacks Board of Trustees meets the second Tuesday of each month. All meetings are public. All agendas are posted 72 hours in advance. All minutes are published within 14 days.
FY2027 Budget Proposal & Hotspot Expansion Review
Mesa Alta Branch — Community Room
Board of Trustees
You Shape What
Stacks Becomes
At our December input session, 34 community members sat around the table at Piñon Creek Branch and told us exactly what they needed. Here's what they said, and what we did about it.
What We Heard → What We Did
"We need later hours on Fridays for kids who stay after school."
Extended Friday hours to 7pm at Mesa Alta and Piñon Creek, starting January 2026.
"The hotspot checkout period is too short — 2 weeks isn't enough."
Extended hotspot loan periods from 14 days to 30 days, with one renewal allowed.
"We need a quiet space for grant writing — open plan doesn't work."
Dedicated quiet study rooms reserved at Canyon Rim and High Meadow branches.
"Can we get more books in Diné Bizaad and other tribal languages?"
Allocated $12,000 in the FY2026 collections budget for Indigenous language materials.
Any Book, Any Library,
Delivered to Your Branch
If we don't have it on our shelves, we'll get it from one of 16,000 libraries in the OCLC network. Free. Here's exactly how it works.
You Submit a Request
Day 1Tell your branch librarian the title, author, or subject. No catalog knowledge required — that's what the librarian is for.
We Search the Network
Day 1–2Your request enters the OCLC WorldCat system, which checks 16,000 libraries. We identify the closest holding library with the shortest wait.
Lending Library Ships
Day 3–7The lending library pulls the item and ships it to us via USPS library mail — a federally subsidized rate that keeps costs to you at zero.
We Notify You
Day 7–10You get a phone call or text when your item arrives. Pick up at any Stacks branch — not just the one that processed your request.
You Read. We Return.
Day 10–31Standard loan period is 3 weeks. Drop it at any branch. We handle the return shipping. You owe nothing.
From Submission
to Pickup in 5 Frames
This is an actual interlibrary loan request placed on January 10, 2026, tracked in real time. Click any frame to explore that stage.
Ready for Pickup
"Your book is here! Pick up at Mesa Alta Branch. Available until Jan 21."
Want to place an ILL request? Walk into any Stacks branch and ask the librarian. No account required — just a valid library card.
Get a library card first →Your Card Opens
Every Door We Have
A Stacks library card is free, permanent, and works at all four branches. You don't need a tribal enrollment number. You don't need a utility bill. You need a name and a community.
Borrow up to 10 items at once
Books, DVDs, seed packets, and tools from the Library of Things
Free Wi-Fi hotspot loans
30-day loan periods, renewable once — 47 devices available across branches
Full database access
ProQuest, HeritageQuest, Ancestry Library Edition, JSTOR — free with your card
Interlibrary loan privileges
Request any item from 16,000 libraries. Delivered to your branch in under 10 days.
Computer lab and printing
15 cents per page. Scanning and faxing free for job and benefit applications.
"I walked in to print one page and walked out with a hotspot that let my grandkids do their homework for a month."
— Elder, Canyon Rim Community, Nov 2025