A Reading Rainbow: Library of Congress’ Hispanic Reading Room

“In 1927, Archer M. Huntington, founder of the Hispanic Society of America established an endowment fund in his name, the first of several important donations for Hispanic studies at the Library of Congress. The second “area studies division” to be founded by the Library, in 1939 the Hispanic Division was established to acquire Luso-Hispanic materials in a systematic fashion. In that same year, the division’s reading room, The “Hispanic Society Reading Room,” named after the New York Hispanic Society of America, was inaugurated to service the Library’s growing Luso-Hispanic collections.

Although primary emphasis has always been the acquisition of current materials and government documents the Hispanic Division has also acquired a rich collection of rare items. The Division was instrumental in acquiring significant gifts of manuscripts, music scores, and posters, photographs and films. It made efforts to develop special groups of materials such as collecting folk music from San Antonio, Texas, and pioneering the recording of Hispanic poets.

Through the generosity of countless donors, the Library of Congress has amassed the world’s finest collection on the history and culture of Latin America, Iberia, and the Caribbean.”

http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/

Spread the love

More Articles for You

I, Medusa by Ayana Gray: A Myth Retold with Power and Humanity

Ayana Gray’s I, Medusa reimagines the mythic villain as sister, priestess, survivor. Read Valerie M. Evans’ review of this bold, haunting retelling.

Spread the love

Brooklyn’s Jane Doe: A Shocking True Story of Assault, Media Betrayal, and Delayed Justice

Book review and critique by Valerie M. Evans: Brooklyn’s Jane Doe reveals how one woman’s assault became a public smear, and why her fight for justice still matters today.

Spread the love

Other Inheritances: Scent Memories from a Childhood at Fat’s Pet Shop in East Harlem

Before I ever knew what a perfumer was or that someone could make a living decoding and remixing scent, I …

Spread the love

Ghosts of the Palisades: Threads between memories, places and time

Somewhere tucked away, high on the Palisades, on lovely, dead end street, in the ether of the internet and Google …

Spread the love

Eight Goodbyes: Love, Loss, and the Six Years That Changed Everything

The first to die that year, the year before COVID-19 changed everything, was my aunt, Ruth or “Chin” as we …

Spread the love

How DNA, Haplogroups, and Genetic Markers Reveal Taíno Heritage

The Genetic Echoes of the Taíno People The Taíno people, the first known inhabitants of the Caribbean, have long been …

Spread the love