Curator of the Collection

The Curator is responsible for planning and carrying out the effective development of Yale's Latin American Collection, one of the major collections of its kind in the United States. The collection's goal is to support the research needs of faculty, students and scholars, and to assure access to the widest possible range of library materials from Latin America in all languages. The Curator selects and acquires materials in various formats chiefly in the social sciences and the humanities, published in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. In consultation with the Associate Librarian for Collection Development, subject selectors, and department libraries, the Curator develops collection objectives for Latin American materials throughout the Yale Library system, including the timely and comprehensive acquisition of Latin American materials published outside of Latin America. In addition to assisting in the management and preservation of the collection, the curator also provides advance reference services to students and faculty, assists in the use of information sources including printed and online materials, and provides orientation and bibliographic instruction. The materials acquired by the collection are integrated in the Sterling Memorial Library stacks. 

Substantial collections of Latin Americana can also be found in the Seeley Mudd Library, Manuscripts and Archives Department, Economic Growth Center Collection, and the Divinity, Law, Social Science and Beinecke Libraries. Smaller collections are found in the Music, Art, Medical and Kline Science Libraries and the Peabody Museum. To suggest additional library materials that are appropriate for the collection, contact the Curator of the Latin American Collection, César Rodríguez. Other library selectors also collect materials in support of Latin American studies at Yale. Generally, these materials are published in countries outside of Latin America. To suggest these materials, please check the list of library selectors for the appropriate subject specialist and fill out the online book request form. 

Curator: César Rodríguez { cesar.rodriguez@yale.edu  }
Office: Sterling Memorial Library, Rm. 316 
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30am -5:00pm EST 
Tel: (203) 432-1835 
Fax: (203) 432-7231 
Mail: Yale University Library

Latin American Collection

Box 208240 / 130 Wall Street

New Haven, CT 06520-8240

 

Collection Description

The Latin American Collection at Yale University is one of the foremost collections in the United States, containing a wealth of research material and offering a variety of research opportunities for Latin American studies. The collecting policy is to acquire the important editorial production in the fields of the humanities and social sciences published in South America, México, Central America and the Caribbean. Within this policy of developing a general, area wide collection, special strengths have resulted from the acquisition of important collections during the past 100 years. 

The basis of the Latin American collections at Yale was established early in the 20th Century with a succession of acquisitions and gifts from Henry Raup Wagner, William S. Beebe, and Hiram Bingham. Wagner and Bingham were Yale alumni whose substantial gifts to Yale included collections rich in nineteenth-century Latin American material. These collections were notable for their historical, political, and economic materials relating to México and Perú. Hiram Bingham, Yale professor of history and curator of Yale's collection of Latin American History from 1908-1930, sold and donated to Yale a collection of Peruvian materials strong in literature, archaeology, anthropology and folklore. His gifts also included the Francisco Pérez de Velasco library of 19th century Peruvian history, and many books from the Peruvian historian, Manuel de Odriozola. Together with the acquisition of part of the select library of Mexican historian Genaro García, all of these acquisitions made Yale's Mexican and Peruvian collections internationally known. 

The library also has an impressive collection of Brazilian materials. The strength of the collection lies in the sizeable numbers of works on Brazilian history, literature, travel accounts, and regional histories. The collection is particularly rich in materials relating to colonial Brazilian history. The James Watson Webb Collection, detailing his service as American Minister to Pedro II's Court in Brazil, and the Percival Farquhar Collection, relating to railroad building and business ventures in Brazil during the first half of the twentieth century, are also part of Yale's Brazilian collection. 

Other collections of major importance at Yale are those representing Argentina, Chile, Cuba and Central America. Argentina is comprehensively represented, especially in early twentieth-century publications. The collections of Carlos A Tornquist and Davis Curtis DeForest form the basis of Yale's Argentine holdings. The material donated by Tornquist had a strong emphasis on literature, history, oratory, law and sociology. The Chilean collection contains a respectable number of works on Chilean history and literature, covering the period from 1875 to the present. In the late 1960s and 1970s a successful systematic effort was made to build up the Chilean collection.

The history of Cuba and Cuban literature are also well represented at Yale. The library has been very successful in acquiring large numbers of Cuban publications during the difficult Castro period. After the Cuban revolution, excellent exchange agreements were established with Cuban libraries, publishers, university presses, and government agencies. These agreements provided the collection with literary publications, serials, government publications, and other research materials. In 1981 the acquisition of the Franco Cerutti Central American Library added more than 10,000 titles to the library. When added to Yale's already considerable Central American holdings, it made Yale a key repository of Central American materials. 

Currently, the collection comprises over 522,000 printed volumes, including monographs, serials, newspapers, and government documents, and is growing at a rate of 11,000 volumes a year. It has subscriptions to more than 3,500 Latin American periodicals and monographic series. In addition to printed matter the collection is rich in manuscript material, and it contains a newspaper microfilm collection of 15,000 reels, as well as such non-book materials as photographs, documentary films, and maps.

Although Yale's concentration of Latin American research material is housed in Sterling Memorial Library, there are important collections classified under an old Yale classification scheme and housed in the Seeley Mudd Library. These materials are sometimes referred to as the "Latin American Country Collections." Apart from the Latin American Collection, sizeable Latin American holdings are also found in the Economic Growth Center Collection, and the Divinity, Law, Social Science and Beinecke Libraries. Smaller collections are found in the Music, Art, Medical and Kline Science Libraries and the Peabody Museum. The Economic Growth Center Collection is unique among collections of its kind in the United States. The collection contains extensive holdings of statistical publications issued by government agencies, private institutions and central banks from every country in Latin America. Social scientists have found this collection to be invaluable in their research on the economic development of Latin America. 

The Curator of the Latin American Collection is available for consultation and provides advanced reference services to students and faculty by appointment. The office of the collection is located on the 3rd floor of Sterling Memorial Library, Rm316. 

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