Skip to Main Content

Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS): A Resource Guide

Since 1936, HLAS has made scholarly research on Latin America more easily accessible by working with researchers to identify and describe books, journal articles, conference proceedings and papers, book chapters, maps and atlases, and electronic resources

Introduction

Collage with Library of Congress images representing HLAS topics. 2021. Library of Congress Hispanic Section, Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division.

The Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) is a selective bibliography with annotations and bibliographic essays provided by 130 professors of anthropology (archeology and ethnology), art, geography, government and politics, history, international relations, literature, music, philosophy, political economy, and sociology; and edited by librarians in the Hispanic Reading Room at the Library of Congress.

Since 1936, HLAS has made scholarly research on Latin America more easily accessible by identifying and describing books, journal articles, conference proceedings and papers, book chapters, maps and atlases, and—more recently—electronic resources (blogs, websites, online videos, etc.). Annually, the Contributing Editors (those 130 professors) receive and review 2,000-3,000 published works from the Library of Congress collections. Their descriptions are added to the HLAS database and their essays are published annually by the University of Texas Press.

For a visual representation of the work of the Handbook, browse our Story Map presentation highlighting the resources described in HLAS, the notable connections between HLAS and the Library of Congress collections, and the essential role of the Contributing Editors: https://go.usa.gov/x6nh9.

The Handbook of Latin American Studies: online access

Image of HLAS Online Catalog

Topics in HLAS

The disciplines currently covered in the Handbook of Latin American Studies are:

Humanities

  • Art
  • History: includes Ethnohistory
  • Literature: includes Translations into English from the Spanish and Portuguese
  • Music
  • Philosophy/Latin American Identity

Social Sciences

  • Anthropology: Archeology; Ethnology
  • Geography
  • Government and Politics
  • International Relations
  • Political Economy
  • Sociology

The Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) has been published since the mid-1930s. Within HLAS you will find citations for a variety of topics and disciplines that are not covered in current volumes. These entries provide useful historical information about Latin America and about the field of Latin American Studies in earlier decades. Topics previously covered include:

  • Archives
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Folklore
  • Law
  • Libraries
  • Linguistics
  • Travel

Some volumes also included occasional essays on specific topics such as "Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols, and Agreements" (volumes 4 through 9), "Latin American Studies in Scandinavia" (volume 22), and "Materials in the United States National Archives Relating to Latin America" (volume 22).