By Maureen Dietrich

Nothing is more relaxing when on holiday than to sit on the beach under a palapa, apply that yummy smelling coconut suntan lotion, order a cold beer and settle down with a good book. If you planned ahead, you brought along the latest New York Times best seller paperbacks. If you didn´t, or you’re a speed reader and finished your entire reading inventory (which was to last a week) in two days, you´ll be happy to hear English books are now more readily available in Mazatlán. You may not be aware that Mazatlán is home to two libraries, both in the Centro Historico and within easy walking distance of each other which carry English books. They are both worth a visit. Library Hidalgo is the city´s public library. It is located in the pleasant, tree-shaded Plazuela Hidalgo, the second oldest plaza in the city, at Angel Flores between Niños Héroes and Campana. Two gold lion statues grace the entrance, prompting Maz-atlecos to refer to the plaza as Plazuela de los Leones. The bottom floor of the two storey building is devoted to Spanish language books, while upstairs (through a side entrance) is the Benjamin Franklin room, so called because originally this section was subsidized by the American government which supplied it with English language books. Though it is now in the hands ofMexican patrons, it still carries a fair English reference