N.M. Stat. § 4-40-8
To keep file of newspapers.
It shall be the duty of each county clerk to receive and preserve every copy of the
paper or papers so subscribed for and from time to time cause the same to be properly
arranged and bound in volumes of convenient size and in a substantial manner, and
said volumes, when bound, shall be kept in his office for the use of the courts, when
needed, of strangers and the inhabitants of the county all of whom shall have access to
the same at all times during office hours, free of charge. Provided, that in order to more
permanently preserve and to make easily accessible valuable historical source material
of state and local history, county clerks may upon the approval of the county
commissioners make indefinite loans of the files of newspapers not in current demand,
to libraries of state educational institutions, or to public libraries situated within the
county. For his services in this behalf the county clerk shall receive the sum of ten
dollars [($10.00)] for each volume, and for the neglect of the duties hereby imposed
shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars [($50.00)], to be recovered with costs in a civil action
before any court.