The Hans Peter Kraus Collection of Spanish American Documents, 1433-1877, consists of 162 multipage items (5,950 images) dating mainly from 1500 to 1800, which were digitized from 4 reels of previously produced microfilm. The collection documents the history of the Spanish colonies in the Americas, chiefly Mexico, but also Peru, Guatemala, and New Granada (the present-day countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela), and territories that became part of the United States, including California, Florida, and New Mexico. Topics covered include Spanish exploration of the Americas, laws and governance of New Spain, economic conditions, the Catholic Church, the Inquisition in Mexico, and relations with Native American peoples, France, the American colonies, and the United States.

Puerto Rico at the Dawn of the Modern Age encompasses historically important writings by prominent Puerto Rican political activists and historians dating from approximately seventy years before the Spanish-American war (1831) until some thirty years after it (1929). Texts from the postwar period include the only English-language works in the collection. Among these are soldiers' reminiscences about the conflict and short histories designed to acquaint an American audience with Puerto Rico in the earliest years of its affiliation with the United States.

The majority of Spanish legal documents in the collection are briefs, i.e., forensic writings related to disputes on inheritance and titles of nobility, taxes, church privilege and the like. Items of special interest include documents pertaining to the Spanish Inquisition; papal bulls and ecclesiastical concordats; as well as laws, statutes, instructions and decrees of Spanish kings and government officials.

The Sanborn maps are arranged by state, then city and release data. The Sanborn Map Company, the best known of the U.S. fire-insurance map producers, has made maps since 1867. The fire insurance maps produced by Sanborn show building footprints, building material, height or number of stories, building use, lot lines, road widths and water facilities. The maps also show street names and property boundaries of the time. This collection of maps is historically significant as it is sometimes the best detailed map of a town or city dating from the mid 1800s.

Also see the Union List of Sanborn & Other Fire Insurance Maps External for the most comprehensive list of maps that are known to exist. The include maps at the Library of Congress as well as other repositories.

Chronicling America contains more than 16 million word-searchable newspaper pages from 1777-1963, covering 48 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The headlines, articles, and advertisements capture the life and times of the American people, shining new light on historic events as they unfolded. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.

Use the Directory of US Newspapers to find information about American newspapers published from 1690-present.

To search the Directory, click the "Collection Item" tab and then choose "Advanced Search." Once you generate the search results, click on each entry to learn more. Scroll down to the "Libraries That Have It" tab to discover which repositories house the archives or determine if digital issues are available through Chronicling America.

Hispano Music and Culture of the Northern Rio Grande: The Juan B. Rael Collection is an online presentation of an ethnographic field collection documenting religious and secular music of Spanish-speaking residents of rural Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. In 1940, Juan Bautista Rael of Stanford University, a native of Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico, used disc recording equipment supplied by the Archive of American Folk Song (American Folklife Center archive) to document alabados (hymns), folk drama, wedding songs, and dance tunes. The recordings included in the collection were made in Alamosa, Manassa, and Antonito, Colorado, and in Cerro and Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico. In addition to these recordings, the collection includes manuscript materials and publications authored by Rael which provide insight into the rich musical heritage and cultural traditions of this region.

Listen to audio recordings of prominent writers from Latin America, the Iberian Peninsula, the Caribbean, and other regions with Luso-Hispanic heritage populations reading from their works at the Library of Congress.

The PALABRA Archive at the Library of Congress dates back to 1943. Historically known as the Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape (AHLOT), this collection contains nearly eight-hundred recordings of poets and prose writers participating in sessions at the Library’s Recording Laboratory and at other locations around Spain and Latin America.