Latinx Studies

Overview

Prior to August 2016, Latinx Studies materials were selected by the Kaplanoff Librarian for American History or by the political science selector. Selection was generally done through the Yankee approval plan and faculty/student requests. Therefore, the Latinx collection at Yale University Library (YUL) does not have the depth and breadth of some of our other collections and contains many gaps. This also applies to YUL’s special collections. Aside from rich collections in the American Southwest and Mexican-American War at the Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscripts Library, there is little in YUL’s special collections that address the more modern struggles of Latinx peoples in the US or the Borderlands. 

With the appointment of a selector for Latinx Studies in 2016, additions to the Latinx collections have focused on collecting more primary sources on Latinos. While still collecting mainstream University presses and academic literature, the collection also benefits from the purchase of materials from smaller, alternative presses and grey literature. Literary production created by Latinos as well as bilingual editions of literary output are also an important part of the collection. 

Departments/disciplines/programs/subject areas supported

The collection supports undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of Latinx studies, Chicano studies, and Borderlands studies, and the study of other US born Latino populations and immigrant communities, and to provide resource material needed to support independent scholarly research. All materials dealing with any aspect of Latinos in the United States at any level are acquired. Works which treat historical, social, cultural, and political aspects of Chicanos and Latinos in the U.S. are especially of interest as are materials written or produced by Chicanos or Latinos, especially literary output. 

The collection supports the academic programs of Ethnicity, Race & Migration (ER&M), American Studies, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Overlap exists with the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies (CLAIS) as some courses on Latin America also include Latinos in the United States. Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of the collection, it supports doctoral programs in American Studies and Latinx/Borderlands course concentrations in art history, economics, English, history, political science, and sociology.

Subjects Collected: Art history; economics; education; reference; history; labor, immigration and migration; language and linguistics; folklore; literature; music; philosophy; political science; government and international relations; religion; sociology; theatre; television and film; folk medicine and public health (acquired selectively); law and legislation (acquired in collaboration with the Law Library).

Subjects Not Collected: natural sciences; physical sciences; engineering; mathematics; medicine; psychology; religious tracts; devotional, inspirational, missions, denominations; technology; how-to–books; agronomy and children’s literature (unless by a well-known author).

General

Latinx Collections & Outreach:

The Latinx Studies collection also supports the Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration and La Casa, the Latino Cultural Center at Yale. Students members of La Casa and other Latinx students have been very vocal regarding their library needs as they pertain to the collection and outreach support.

A special relationship exists between the Lillian Goldman Law Library (LGLL), the Yale Law Schools’ (YLS) Clinic on Immigration Legal Services and the YLS Human Rights track. Considerable overlap exists between the Latinx Studies collections at YUL and, as a result, LGLL and YUL collaborate closely on purchases as well as reference consultations.

Latinx Studies draws strong interest from faculty and students. The majority of ER&M students focus on Latinx Studies. The program increased from 5 majors in 2013 to over 60 in 2018. 45 students graduated from the program in 2018. This has caused an increase in users and consultations rose by 201% in 2017.

Formats collected

Books, graphic novels and comics, conference proceedings, serials, newspapers, microforms, audio-visual, online databases, computer files, maps, pamphlets, and selective collections of primary source material.

Languages collected

 The bulk of the material acquired is in English, but also includes publications in Spanish and Haitian-Creole. Emphasis is also on bilingual publications.

Chronological and geographical focus

Inclusive of the United States boundaries; the United States-Mexico borderlands and some Puerto Rican (island) materials supporting the mainland Puerto Rican experience and the experiences of Chicanos and Latinos abroad. Includes the experiences of resident populations in their home countries with special focus on immigration. The emphasis is on purchasing current materials.  However, a limited amount of retrospective research materials is acquired on occasion usually destined for Manuscripts and Archives. Materials for the period of the early Spanish explorers (16th century) to the present are acquired.

Collaborations within Yale

  • Law Library
  • Art Library
  • Bass Library
  • Beinecke Library
  • Center for Sceince and Social Science Information
  • Divinity Library
  • Music Library
  • Manuscripts and Archives

A special relationship exists between the Lillian Goldman Law Library (LGLL), the Yale Law Schools’ (YLS) Clinic on Immigration Legal Services and the YLS Human Rights track. Considerable overlap exists between the Latinx Studies collections at YUL and, as a result, LGLL and YUL collaborate closely on purchases as well as reference consultations.

Subject Librarian

Jana Krentz
Librarian for Latin American, Iberian & Latinx Studies
Latin American & Iberian Collections
Department of Area Studies and Humanities Research Support (DASHRS)
(203) 432-1845