Introduction

The Library of Congress has a wide variety of primary and secondary sources useful in the study of the the Latinx history and experience. Through this guide, the curators and librarians in the Library's Hispanic Division have identified the most useful resources and have recommended strategies for expanding your research on this topic. You will find links to digitized primary sources through a curated list of collections based on format, databases to locate journals or scholarly articles, and a print bibliography and additional subject searches into the Library of Congress Online Catalog.

Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. [A]rtist and educator Betsy Casanas ... [created] this mural celebrating the contributions made by the region's Hispanic and Latinx communities. 2018. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Carol M. Highsmith, 1946-, photographer. In 2017 Buffalo, New York, artist and educator Betsy Casanas was invited by the city's Albright-Knox Public Art Initiative, the Hispanic Heritage Council, and the Rich Famly Foundation to create what became this mural celebrating the contributions made by the region's Hispanic and Latinx communities. 2018. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Camilo J. Vergara, photographer. 818 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, 2007. Ocampo, pintor. 2007. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Camilo J. Vergara, photographer. 818 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, 2007. Ocampo, pintor. 2007. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Camilo J. Vergara, photographer. Mural by Manny Vega, Bronx. [between 1980 and 2010]. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division

Camilo J. Vergara, photographer. Mural by Manny Vega, Bronx. [between 1980 and 2010] Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. Wall mosaic in the Italian-American (and, as of 2019, increasingly Hispanic) neighborhood of south Philadelphia... Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Carol M. Highsmith, 1946-, photographer. Wall mosaic in the Italian-American (and, as of 2019, increasingly Hispanic) neighborhood of south Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Have you heard of the term Latinx?

"Latinx intends to describe the in-between space in which Latinx live, which allows us to cross racial boundaries more easily and construct identities, or self-images, that include a wide variety of racial, national, and even gender-based identification."
—Ed Morales
Latinx: The New Force in American Politics and Culture

Latinx is a gender-neutral term that has gained popularity in recent years as an alternative to the gendered forms of Latina, Latino, or even [email protected]. The Library of Congress actively collects materials in various formats that document the history and culture of the US Latina(o)/Latinx community.

What do you think of this term? Is it an appropriate, more inclusive term to describe a complex and multi-cultural community? Or do you find it difficult to use and include it in context? Let us know what you think by submitting a message through Ask a Librarian.

About the Hispanic Reading Room

The Hispanic Reading Room is the primary access point for research related to the Caribbean, Latin America, Spain and Portugal; the indigenous cultures of those areas; and peoples throughout the world historically influenced by Luso-Hispanic heritage, including Latinos in the U.S. and peoples of Portuguese or Spanish heritage in Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

Hispanic Reading Room
Submit a question through our Ask a Librarian service, call the Research Center at (202) 707-5400, or visit us in person in Room LJ-240 of the Thomas Jefferson building in Washington, D.C. Learn more about conducting research in this reading room.

Latinx Studies: Library of Congress Resources

Caribbean, Iberian & Latin American Studies: Ask a Librarian