A family story written on Main Street

The largest independent bookstore in all of New Mexico was not a bookstore at all when it first started out. The store's name, COAS, is an acronym for Center of Archaeological Studies, and the business was a book publisher. Its first owner, Pat Beckett, was a professional archaeologist.  

Pat first founded the publishing company in the early 1970s. It was supposed to be a side business. 

Pat left university studies in 1984 and decided to transition his publishing company into a bookstore, maintaining the COAS name. His son then came into the picture. 

Matt Beckett, the current owner of COAS Books, first started working at the bookstore as a general employee. He has been taking care of the store ever since. He’d consider his duties at that time simpler than now. Matt’s days would consist of greeting customers and shelving books.  

Matt and Veronica Beckett bought COAS from his father in 2007. Now as co-owners, they make sure the store stays up and running. To run the bookstore with his wife means something to him. It is a family business that was built from passion for the community. 

“Greeting customers, shelving books, pricing books that’s the fun part, but you know as a business owner there’s just so many rules and regulations so…. (now) a lot of my time is spent making sure bills get paid and handling the little fires that come up during the course of the day,” he said.

COAS outgrew its old location and moved to the downtown area in 1991 and has remained there since. Matt said that the stores are the same, but just bigger now. 

The Beckett family has been in New Mexico since the 1600s.

“Our heart is here,” said Matt.

It is the reason why he’d like for COAS to remain where it is. 

“We are local, the people that live here support us, people that visit Las Cruces come here and that do outdoor things, passing through we’re usually a stop for them,” Matt said. 

The books vary from fantasy to historical novels. Their shelves are filled with old and used books and their aisles include vinyls, CDs, and all types of merchandise.

“We're in it to be part of something,” Matt said.  

The local independent bookstore remains there for its community and stays in the downtown location to help attract tourists and locals. The couple continuously rearranges the inside of the bookstore to keep up with trends and keep their customers happy. 

The publishing company, created by a professional archaeologist and led by his son has come a long way and plans to stay. COAS Books still stands the test of time, the family-owned bookstore at the heart of Main Street.