Searching for Archives
While many significant archival materials have been digitized and made available for online access, the vast majority of these rich resources can only be accessed on site. In addition, many of the archival collections relevant to study of the Latina/o experience are located outside of the Chicagoland area (for example in Florida, Texas, California and New York). This can make it challenging to locate primary source materials in a timely manner to complete your assignment.
So, to make your lives a bit easier, I recommend that you limit your searches for archival collections to local repositories. Be sure to use the location features in the databases listed in this box to limit to Chicago.
- ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new windowArchiveGrid is a collection of over three million archival material descriptions, including collections held by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies. Access is provided to detailed archival collection descriptions and contact information for the institutions where the collections are kept. ArchiveGrid data is primarily focused on archival material descriptions for institutions in the United States but now also includes information about collections in Australia.
Another good tool for locating archives located in Chicago is:
- Explore Chicago CollectionsExplore Chicago Collections allows you to search for information in the physical and digital archives of a growing number of libraries and museums.
Databases
- World Scholar: Latin America & the Caribbean This link opens in a new windowWorld Scholar: Latin America & the Caribbean brings together a rich collection of primary source documents about Latin America and the Caribbean, including academic journals, news-feeds, reference articles and commentary, maps, statistics, audio and video, and much more. The database covers topics such as politics, economics, religion, culture, international affairs, the environment, science, and technology of the region, presented on a country and continent level.
- Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new windowThe Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) is the nation's premier collection of documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management. The HSDL is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security.
- HistoryMakers Digital Archive This link opens in a new windowHistory Makers is the largest African American oral video history archive in the world. Provides access to over 61,221 stories from oral history interviews with 1,195 historically significant African Americans are currently available.
- Race Relations in America This link opens in a new windowThis resource provides access to a wealth of documents highlighting different responses to the challenges of overcoming prejudice, segregation and racial tensions, including survey material, interviews and statistics, educational pamphlets, administrative correspondence, photographs and speeches from the Annual Race Relations Institutes during the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
Latina/o Archival Collection Sites
- Chicana Por Mi RazaChicana por mi Raza Digital Memory Collective is a group of historians, educators, researchers, archivists and technologists dedicated to preserving imperiled Chicanx and Latinx histories of the long Civil Rights Era.
- Colecciones MexicanasHistorical documents, archives, photos, video from a collaboration of Mexican institutions.
- Cuban Immigration After the Revolution, 1959-1973This primary source set explores the experiences of Cuban immigrants motivated by the Revolution—why they fled, how they arrived, and who supported and resisted their resettlement.
- Digital Collections at the Benson Latin American Collection (University of Texas)The Benson Latin American Collection and LLILAS host or have been partners in a broad array of digital projects and initiatives, including the Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America, Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive, and the VOCES Oral History project.
- Digital Library of the CaribbeanThe Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean.
- Documents of 20th-Century Latin American and Latino ArtA project of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the ICAA Documents of 20th-century Latin American and Latino Art digital archive provides access to primary sources and critical documents tracing the development of twentieth-century art in Latin America and among Latino populations in the United States.
- Farmworker Movement Documentation ProjectThe Farmworker Movement Documentation Project seeks to compile and publish primary source accounts from the volunteers who worked with Cesar Chavez to build his farmworker movement during the period, 1962-1993.
- Google Arts & Culture - Latino Cultures in the U.S.During Latino Heritage Month in 2017, Google launched one of the largest digital archives of Latino culture, art and history. The search engine giant collaborated with about 50 partner institutions to archive a massive digital collection of stories, narratives and exhibits.
- Library of Congress Hispanic Reading Room: Online CollectionsThe Library of Congress collections encompasses Latin America, the Caribbean, Hispanics and Portuguese in the United States, the Iberian Peninsula, and other places where Iberian culture dominated and has survived. The Hispanic Division participates in the Library of Congress' ongoing exhibition program and contributes to its digitized collections.
- Mexican Labor and World War II: The Bracero ProgramBeginning in World War II, the Bracero Program brought Mexican laborers to the United States to remedy wartime production shortages. Get new insight into the Bracero Program and its workers through this collection of era photographs, documents, and oral history interviews.
- National Archives - Hispanic/Latino Heritage ResourcesThe U.S. National Archives has compiled this site to provide convenient access to a wealth of archival resources focused on Latino heritage in areas such as arts and entertainment, foreign affairs, education and civil rights, immigration, the military and more.
- National Archives - Hispanic Heritage MonthA special site of the U.S. National Archives to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15).
- National Museum of American History - Latino HistoryThe Program in Latino History and Culture has compiled a list of collections and archives that focus on Latino history and culture to encourage scholars to utilize the Museum's Latino-related resources available to the public.
- National Museum of Mexican ArtAt the National Museum of Mexican Art you can immerse yourself in the richness of Mexican art and culture right here in Chicago.
- National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and CultureLocated in Humboldt Park, in the heart of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community, the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture (NMPRAC) is the only self-standing museum in the nation devoted to showcasing Puerto Rican arts and cultural exhibitions year-round.
- Puerto Rican Migration to the U.S.Created By Samantha Gibson and hosted by the Digital Public Library of America, this project documents the Puerto Rican migration to the United States that exploded in the decades following World War II.
Image Collections
- Artstor This link opens in a new windowWith more than 2 million images* (and growing), scholars can easily examine wide-ranging material such as Native American art from the Smithsonian, treasures from the Louvre, and modern architectural plans from Columbia University.
Composed of approximately 300 curated sub-collections, Artstor supports and enriches study across disciplines, including world events from Magnum Photos, anthropology from Harvard’s Peabody Museum, and archaeology from Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Art Archives and, making it a resource for your whole institution.
- New York Public Library - Photography CollectionThe NYPL Photography Collection encompasses the broadest range of the medium, including images made for commercial, industrial, and scientific application as well as images for the press and other print media, the vernacular of amateur snapshot photography and original works intended for exhibition and/or the art market.
- Getty ImagesHeadquartered in Seattle, Getty is a supplier of stock images for business and consumers with an archive of 80 million still images and illustrations and more than 50,000 hours of stock film footage.