LibGuides: Latina/o Library Resources: Getting Started

About This Guide

The tabs in this guide contain selected sources to help in researching issues, articles, books and other information related to Latinos/as.

When searching in the Library Catalog or Library databases be flexible with your terms and include alternate phrases. For example, in the Library catalog the subject term "Hispanic Americans" is used as a subject term. Also try narrower terms such as Cuban Americans and art; Puerto Ricans and Health.
It is also possible to use keywords to search for Latinos and....
This page provides a few background sources to get started, such as encyclopedias, data sources, biographies and other centers.

Related Resources at UIUC

Department of Latina/Latino Studies
The Department of Latina/Latino Studies is in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois.
Latin American & Caribbean Studies Collection
The Latin American and Caribbean Studies collection at Illinois is considered to be one of the strongest in the nation. With more than 993,000 volumes and close to 300 serials from Latin America in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Quechua and several other indigenous and European languages, our collection ranks in the top five collections nationwide and is the largest in the Midwest.
La Casa Cultural Latina
The mission of La Casa Cultural Latina is to promote a welcoming and dynamic atmosphere through the development of educational, cultural, socio-political, and social programs that lead to greater recruitment, retention, advancement, and empowerment of Latina/o students. La Casa engages current and future leaders through mentorship, civic engagement, and the promotion of social advocacy.

U.S. Latino Research Centers

Data Sources

Search in the Library Catalog in the subject field for Hispanic Americans Statistics.

Examples:

Hispanic Americans: a statistical sourcebook. Boulder CO, 1991 to 2008. 305.8680021 H629 (Main Stacks)

Hispanic Databook: detailed profiles of states and 782 places with Hispanic population, including 23 ethnic backgrounds from Argentinean to Venezuelan, with rankings and comparisons of states, counties and places. Editor, David Garoogian. Millerton, NY : Grey House Pub., 2012. 3rd edition. E184.S75 H56 2013 (Undergraduate Library) or online: The Hispanic Databook

Racial and ethnic diversity: Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and whites. The New strategist editors. Ithaca, N.Y.: New Strategist Publications, 2013. Previous 2006 version available in Main Stacks
305.800973 R912o2013 (Communications Library Reference)

Other Sources:

Birth and fertility rates for states by Hispanic origin subgroups: United States, 1990 and 2000 : data on natality, marriage, and divorce

Gov Docs Statistics

Biographies

Search in the Library Catalog under subject for Hispanic Americans biographies. Examples:

Biographical dictionary of Hispanic Americans. Nicholas E. Meyer. New York : Checkmark Books, 2001. 920.009268 M575b2001 (Communications Library Reference) or E184.S75 M49 2001 (Undergraduate Library)

Great lives from history. Latinos. Tafolla, Carmen & Cotera, Martha. Ipswich, MA: Salem Press, 2012.
E184.S75 G75 2012 (Undergraduate Library)

Latinos in science, math, and professions. David E. Newton. New York: Facts on File, c2007.
509.2273 N482l (Main Stacks)

Tips:

For other biographies, search using hispanic or latino with a specific terms (i.e. Latino art, latino athletics, sports, science, math etc.)

Encyclopedias

In general, search the Library Catalog subject field for Hispanic Americans- Encyclopedias

Examples:

Atlas of Hispanic-American history. George Ochoa and Carter Smith. New York: Facts On File, 2009.
E184.S75 O287 2009 (Undergraduate Library)

Encyclopedia of Latino culture: from calaveras to quinceañeras. Charles Tatum. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2014. 3 volumes.E184.S75 E588 2014 (Social Science, Health & Education Reference ).

Celebrating Latino folklore: an encyclopedia of cultural traditions. Maria Herrera-Sobek. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2012. E184.S75 C455 2012 (Undergraduate Library)

Great lives from history. Latinos. Carmen Tafolla and Martha Coltera. Ipswich, MA: Salem Press, 2012. 3 volumes. E184.S75 G75 2012 (Undergraduate Library)

Latino America : a state-by-state encyclopedia. Edited by Mark Overmyer-Velázquez; foreword by Stephen Pitti. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2008. 2 volumes.
E184.S75 L35555 2008 (Undergraduate Library)

The Oxford encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in contemporary politics, law, and social movements. Edited by Suzanne Oboler and Deena J. González. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Q. E184.S75 O968 2015 (Main Stacks) or online at: Oxford encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in contemporary politics, law, and social movements

The Oxford encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. Edited by Suzanne Oboler and Deena J. González. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 4 volumes. E184.S75 O97 2005 (Undergraduate Library) or online at: Oxford encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States