A Guide to Latin American Studies Resources

Washington University in St. Louis

Collection Development Policy

Library: Olin

Subject: Latin American Studies

Collection: General

Date Revised: Unavailable 

Subject Librarian: Daria Carson-Dussán

 

1. General purpose:

In its present configuration, the LAS collection has a strong cultural studies orientation, which is not surprising as most of the faculty is made up of members of the Spanish side of the Romance Languages and Literatures Department. The second largest faculty component is from the Anthropology Department with the Political Science Department being third and History, the fourth.

 

2. Subjects excluded:

• Included:
  • ​Materials collected for LAS are primarily from and/or about Caribbean, Central American, and Latin American countries
  • Print books
  • E-books
  • Digitized collections
  • Newspaper and journal subscriptions
  • Music and Films - on all aspects of Latin American experience.
  • Biographies
• United States Hispanic topic such as:
  • Immigration
    • This area is more covered by American Cultural Studies.

 

3. Overlap with other collections or subject:

• The LAS program itself is part of International Area Studies (IAS) and many faculty share joint appointments with IAS as well as Romance Languages and Literatures, Anthropology, Political Science, and History.

 

4. Languages included and excluded:

• Primarily Spanish and English with some French language materials and some Portuguese material.
• Excluded: Indigenous languages of the Americas. 

 

5. Geographical limitations:

Caribbean, Central and South America

 

6. Chronological limits:

Focus on 19th, 20th and 21st Century.

 

7. Retrospective Acquisition:

In the last two years, retrospective acquisition of several American University Latin American Press series were completed.

 

8. Types of material collected and excluded:

• Collected:
  • Print monographs and ebooks
  • Print and electronic journals
  • Specialized Literature Databases
  • Reference Sources
  • Foreign Language Films.
• Microfiche and film are only considered when no other alternatives are possible.

 

9. Other factors to consider:

• When professors leave and new hires begin, the focus of the collection often changes as well. The Libraries’ membership to Center for Research Libraries in Chicago augments access to historical Latin American newspapers.
• There is a lack of foreign presses and international holdings and establishing an approval plan with Iberoamericana-Vervuert or another distributor has been expressed. 

 

10. Subjects and Collecting Levels:

 Basic, Instructional Support, Research, Comprehensive

I	F1201-3799	Latin America. Spanish America.
I	F1201-1392	Mexico
R	F1401-1419	Latin America (General)
B	F1601-2183	West Indies
B	F2201-2239	South America (General)
B	F2251-2299	Colombia
B	F2301-2349	Venezuela
B	F2351-2471	Guianas, Guyana. Surinam. French Guiana
B	F2501-2659	Brazil
B	F2661-2699	Paraguay
B	F2701-2799	Uruguay
B	F2801-3021	Argentina
B	F3051-3285	Chile
B	F3301-3359	Bolivia
B	F3401-3619	Peru
B	F3701-3799	Ecuador
Collected by Political Science Fund	JL 1-3899	Political Science: Americas Include West Indies, Caribbean, Central America, South America.