The Library of Congress (U.S.A)

The Hispanic Collection

Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas
(1559-1625). Descriptio Indiae Occidentalis. 1622. Geography and Map Division.

"The Library's Spanish and Portuguese collections, among the finest in the world, have been developing for almost two centuries and are rooted in America's interest in the cultures and societies of the Luso-Hispanic nations. The first books in Spanish or dealing with Iberia were acquired in 1815 with the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's collection. The Spanish-American War in 1898 focused the Library's attention on the Latin American area. Knowledge of the Library's growing specialization in the Hispanic field began attracting important gifts, such as the collection of pioneer American anthropologist Ephraim George Squier. In 1927 Archer M. Huntington, philanthropist, Hispanist, poet, and president of the Hispanic Society of America, established the Huntington Endowment Fund as the first of several important donations for the purchase of books related to the Spanish and Portuguese areas. It was with Huntington's support and encouragement that the Library established the Hispanic Division in 1939 to service this growing body of material.

"The Hispanic Division is a center for the study of the cultures and societies of the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, the Caribbean, and other areas where Spanish and Portuguese influence has been significant, such as the Philippines and areas in the United States, covering some 55 countries or regions. Primary and secondary source materials are available for the study of all periods from the earliest Iberian, Celtic, and Roman periods and the pre-Columbian era to the present. Of the nearly 20 million volumes in the general book collections of the Library, more than 2 million are concerned with the Spanish, Portuguese, and Caribbean world and of the 110 million items in the collections approximately 10 million relate the Luso-Hispanic areas. Holdings are particularly strong in history, politics, government publications, religion, literature, the social sciences, and law. The collections contain over 250,000 titles dealing with Spain, its regions, and related autonomous territories. More than 4,000 serial titles and over 200 current and retrospective newspapers are maintained. Typical of the holdings for particular countries, the Library's Brazilian items number approximately 150,000 titles. The well balanced and rich Mexican collections surpass 100,000 titles, with special strength in official publications and historical and legal materials. The Hispanic newspaper collection is arguably the most extensive in the world.

"In addition to books, serials, and newspapers, the collections include rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, fine prints, posters, feature and documentary films, newsreels, videotaped television programs, recordings, and sheet music. There are noteworthy collections of political and historical pamphlets relating to the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America for the 1900-1940 period, and other collections for more recent political pamphlets dealing with Latin America and the Caribbean, all of which have been microfilmed. The Hispanic Division houses vertical files which contain finding aids for Hispanic materials housed in special collections of the Library. Also available in the Hispanic Reading Room are current local Hispanic newspapers, selected scholarly journals, newsletters, a clipping file of English-language newspapers, and access to a large variety of online information. Other materials relating to Spanish, Portuguese, and multi-lingual Caribbean societies include debates of parliamentary bodies, ministry reports, official gazettes, and national, state, and provincial government imprints.

"As examples of Hispanic materials held in other units of the Library, the Manuscript Division houses the 16th-century Columbus Codex, a 1547 Mexican treatise on native languages, and a 1542 letter written by Hernán Cortés to Charles V, recommending that the Indians of Mexico be placed under the protection of the Spanish crown, as well as valuable manuscript holdings in the Harkness collections for Mexico and Peru, the Hans P. Kraus Collection, and the Drake corpus. The Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division houses treasures such as the first book printed in the Americas, namely, Juan de Zumárraga's Dotrina Breve published in Mexico City in 1543, and many valuable items in the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, as well as an outstanding collection of rare books by Cervantes. The Law Library has assembled the most comprehensive Iberian and Latin American legal collection in the world, ranging from items such as a 13th-century edition of Fuero Juzgo of Spanish Visigothic law, to contemporary laws, statutes, and legislation. Much new material is offered online through the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN). Another area where the Library is rich in Hispanic holdings involves geographical materials. Accounts by foreign travelers supplement the holdings of the Geography and Map Division, which offers single sheet, series, and serial maps and atlases.

"Of special interest are the Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape and the Handbook of Latin American Studies. First begun in 1942, the Archive contains original voice recordings of selections of the writings of contemporary poets and prose writers. In recent years, interviews with authors have been videotaped. Recorded to date are some 640 authors, among whom are eight Nobel laureates. The complete list of writers appears on the Hispanic Division's home page on the Internet.

"The Hispanic Reading Room's web page offers a succinct online view for the reader who wishes to learn about the division's resources. From automated indexes of genealogical sources to biographies of Hispanic American Members of Congress, the web page also allows access to the Library's book collections using either English or Spanish, and can direct users to finding aids for specific subjects such as the Spanish-American War of 1898.

"The Handbook of Latin American Studies, published by the University of Texas Press, was brought to the Hispanic Division in 1939 by its first chief, Lewis Hanke. It is the Library's--and the world's--oldest and most authoritative reference source on Latin America. Its editorial staff helps shape the Library's collections, ensuring that they develop in a systematic manner in response to demands in the field. The staff is also available for specialized reference consultation. The more than 130 scholars who help edit the volume are among the most expert researchers in those collections as well as annotators of the books and articles listed in the annual volumes. Beginning with volume 50 of the Handbook, the first to be fully automated, the entries are accessible through the LC Online Catalog. The Fundación MAPFRE América of Spain, with the assistance of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, financed the retrospective conversion of the first 53 volumes of the Handbook to CD-ROM format and the heirs of Lewis Hanke underwrote the mounting of the CD-ROM on to the Internet. The Fundación Histórica Tavera, which is continuing the MAPFRE project, is preparing a revised edition of the CD-ROM that includes volumes 1-55. HLAS Online, the Handbook's web site, is the most authoritative database on Latin American studies, comprising all annotated items from the printed volumes beginning with volume 1, unnanotated citations to items that were not selected for print, and citations to appear in forthcoming printed volumes."