Next to the Palacio Municipal, Dante Olimpo (Calle 61 near Calle 62, tel. 999/928-2611, 8 a.m.–10:30 p.m. daily) has an excellent selection of reading material and CDs in English. It has one sister store downtown: Dante 59 (Calle 59 between Calles 60 and 62, tel. 999/928-3674, 8 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Sun.).

The small Librería Juan García Ponce (Calle 60 near Calle 61, tel. 999/930-9485, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. daily) is another option for English-language reading materials; there’s an especially good variety of regional travel guides, literature on the Maya, and children’s books.

Colloquial for “It’s Used,” Ta ’Usao (Calle 64 at Calle 55, tel. 999/928-1059, 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m. and 3:30–7 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Sat.) has a small collection of used English-language books amid a collection of bulky used furniture.

The Mérida English Library (Calle 53 between Calles 66 and 68, tel. 999/924-8401, www.meridaenglishlibrary.com, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 6:30–9 p.m. Mon., 4–7 p.m. Tues. and Thurs., 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Sat.) has a huge selection of English-language books. It is mostly set up for long-term visitors—only registered members can check out books—but tourists can read books in the library’s quiet reading area, buy books from the for-sale rack, and join weekly programs and get-togethers. Those include monthly socials, English-Spanish conversation exchanges, AA meetings (in English), children’s story hour, and House and Garden tours—call or email for the current schedules. There is also an excellent bulletin board with postings of tours, short- and long-term housing, and items for sale.