About the Latin American Library

Mission

The Latin American Library is a welcoming place of learning. Its primary mission is to be central in the processes of discovery and dissemination of knowledge at Tulane University by responsibly collecting, preserving, and providing access to resources on Latin America and the Caribbean. As a global resource, the library facilitates the advancement of knowledge about the region by providing information and services to scholars and the general public beyond the Tulane campus.

Service Area

The Latin American Library serves the faculty, students and outreach efforts of Tulane University’s Title VI National Resource Center, the Roger Thayer Stone Center for Latin American Studies, as well as Latin Americanist faculty and graduate students in academic departments across the university. In 2010-2011, there are 80 full-time, 25 affiliated, and 13 visiting Latinamericanist faculty. In 2008-2009, the last academic year for which statistics were compiled, there were 107 Latin Americanist graduate students (64%) compared to 59 non-Latin Americanists in the Departments of Spanish and Portuguese, Anthropology, Political Science, History, Art History, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and the Stone Center for Latin American Studies, graduate programs that are critical for developing new research about Latin America.

The Collection

 

From the Wayne Stoffle Photograph Album Collection (Album 32, Latin American Library Image Archive, Tulane University)

The Latin American Library, a unit of Tulane University's Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, is among the world's foremost collections of Latin American archaeology, anthropology, history, literature, literary criticism, cultural studies, linguistics, art, architecture, film, women's studies, economics and many other subject areas. The collection consists of more than 420,000 volumes, including over 500 current periodical subscriptions, and is one of the most comprehensive of its kind, including materials from the contact period to the present. It is one of only three stand-alone Latin American research collections in United States universities.

The Latin American Library houses an impressive collection of rare printed materials, manuscripts, Latin American government publications, an image archive, and over 2,000 rubbings of Maya relief sculpture. Among many other unique holdings, the collection includes over 4,500 maps and broadsides, a large number of historic newspapers, original drawings by William Spratling and other silver designers from Taxco, Mexico, and substantial collections of printed ephemera. Most holdings are in English, Spanish or Portuguese although many other languages are also represented.

History

Established in 1834 in a city with economic and cultural ties with the Caribbean, Tulane University has an historic orientation toward Latin America and the Caribbean. The Latin American Library reflects the university's long-term commitment to Latin American studies. The library was established in 1924 to support the Middle American Research Institute. A generous donation from Samuel Zemurray made possible the acquisition of a substantial portion of the William Gates Collection which formed the cornerstone of Tulane University's library. The initial focus was the archaeology, anthropology and history of Mesoamerica but after the collection was relocated to Howard-Tilton in the early 1960s, the scope was broadened to cover most subject disciplines and all of Latin America and the Caribbean. Today, the collection is one of the most comprehensive of its kind, including materials from the contact period to the present day.

The Latin American Library provides a variety of services for Tulane University's Latinamericanist faculty and students, researchers from the New Orleans community, as well as from around the country and the world.

• Research Help
• Visits and Library Instruction Sessions
• Duplication Services for Special Collection Materials
• Faculty and Graduate Study Carrels
• Dedicated Special Collections Reading Room

Programs

Richard E. Greenleaf Library Fellowships

Since 2007, the Latin American Library is proud to host the Richard E. Greenleaf Library Fellowship Program. As the only library fellowship program in the country that exclusively benefits Latin American and Caribbean scholars, each year one to three fellows from Latin America and the Caribbean conduct research in New Orleans. 

Events and Exhibits

Throughout the academic year the library has a lively schedule of exhibits, invited speakers and other special events that highlight the library's collections.