Selected Basic Resources for Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Library Catalogs Bibliographies Dictionaries & Encyclopedias Handbooks Indexes News & Current Affairs Statistics

LIBRARY CATALOGS

MSU Libraries' Online Catalog

Use the catalog to find materials owned by the library, including books, journals, videos, music CDs, and resources in electronic formats.

WorldCat
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

WorldCat is a catalog of books and other materials held in libraries worldwide. Contains more than 52,000,000 bibliographic records representing 400 languages.

Center for Research Libraries

"CRL is a consortium of North American research libraries that acquires and preserves traditional and digital resources for research and teaching and makes them available to member institutions through interlibrary loan and electronic delivery." Its collections contain over four million newspapers, journals, dissertations, archives, and government publications, with special strengths in foreign materials. In addition to its online catalog, utilize searchable special collections databases (foreign newspapers, foreign doctoral dissertations, etc.) as needed.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Handbook of Latin American Studies. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1935- . Annual.
[Z1601.H23 Main Reference, and on the Web: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/hlas/]

The oldest area studies bibliography, the Handbook is produced by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress. The print edition is issued annually, with volumes alternating between coverage in the social sciences and humanities, and provides annotated citations to monographs, journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings. In an effort to offer more timely access to current research activity, the Web version offers newer content at a "preliminary editorial stage," meaning citations may be incomplete, and frequently lack annotation. The print format, though not as current, offers the advantages of browsing by discipline, and includes bibliographic and "state of the research" essays preceding each discipline chapter.

DICTIONARIES AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America : An Encyclopedia. Edited by Susan Toby Evans and David L. Webster. New York : Garland Pub., 2001.
[F1218.6 .A73 2001 Main Reference]

Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean. Edited by Simon Collier, et. al. 2nd ed. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
[F1406 .C36 1992 Main Reference]

A useful single volume encyclopedia, profusely illustrated.

The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature. Edited by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria and Enrique Pupo-Walker. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
[PQ7081 .A1 C35 1996 Main Reference and Main Stacks]

An excellent resource in 3 volumes: v. 1. Discovery to modernism -- v. 2. The twentieth century -- v. 3. Brazilian literature.

Latin American Historical Dictionaries. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 197-

A country series, with titles in the form: Historical Dictionary of [Country]. Latest editions are in Main Reference; check MAGIC for call numbers.

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Edited by Barbara A. Tenenbaum. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, c1996. 5 vols.
[F1406 .E53 1996 Main Reference]

Includes an appendix of biographies by category, and a general index.

Encyclopedia of Latin American Politics. Edited by Diana Kapiszewski. Westport, Conn.: Oryx Press, 2001.
[F1410 .E56 2001 Main Reference]

Includes political figures, organizations, and events from the 18th-20th centuries, but with an emphasis on the 20th century. Organized by country, each chapter includes a country profile, brief historical overview, 20-40 entries, a list of heads of state, and a bibliography. There are two appendices of entries that don't fit well in the country-by- country format: one of multi-lateral agreements, organizations, and wars, and one of U.S. Foreign Policy in the Region.

The Indians of Central and South America. James S. Olson. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
[F1434 .O45 1991 Main Reference]

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America.. Edited by David Carrasco. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 3 vols.
[F1218.6 O95 2001 Main Reference]
Brings together the latest scholarship, with more than 500 original articles on every facet of Mesoamerican culture written by leading experts in the field. Includes cross-reference, extensive bibliographies and an index.

Political and Economic Encyclopedia of South America and the Caribbean. Edited by Peter Calvert. Longman Current Affairs, 1991.
[F1406 .P45 1991 Main Reference]

HANDBOOKS

Area Handbook Series. Washington, DC: American University, 19-
[D101.22:550- Government Documents Collection, U.S. Documents]
Country Studies On-line

Commonly known as the "Country Study Series," because titles are now published in the form [Country]: A Country Study, and can be searched that way in MAGIC. Provide economic, political and social information for most of the world's countries. Country Studies On-line offers convenient searchable access, but researchers should note the "research completed" dates at the beginning of each study. Older editions were published as: Area Handbook for [Country].

Handbook of Latin American Popular Culture. Westport Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1985.
[F1408.3 .H316 1985 Main Reference]

South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. London: Europa, 1986- . Biennial.
[F1401 .S68 Latest edition in Main Reference, earlier editions in Main Stacks]

Provides “a survey of the political and economic life both of the region and of the 48 countries and territories within it.” Part One presents articles of regional interest, Part Two consists of chapters on the major countries of the region. Each country’s directory section has key contact information for government, political, business, and religious institutions.

World Factbook. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1981-
[Freely available on the Web]
[PREx 3.15 Latest available print edition in Closed Main Reference, ask at desk. Earlier editions in Government Documents Collection, U.S. Documents]

INDEXES

NOTE: Many of the discipline-based indexes, and the large inter-disciplinary indexes such as AGRICOLA and Social Sciences Abstracts, are international in scope. Please check the listings by subject on the Libraries' Electronic Resources page. Listed below are a few key indexes only. HAPI is the only general index devoted to Latin American studies.

HAPI, Hispanic American Periodical Index Online. Edited by Barbara G. Valk. Los Angeles: UCLA, Latin American Center Publications, 1974-
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

Important source for articles in journals published in Latin America, but also indexes content of many major North American and European journals related to Latin America and the Caribbean. Print volumes (to 1998) are available in Main Reference.

Historical Abstracts. Santa Barbara, Cal.: ABC-Clio, 1955-
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

Good coverage of Latin America. Index coverage from 1954 forward, providing access to historical articles for the Modern period (1492-present).

MLA International Bibliography. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1956-
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

The most important index for the world's languages and literatures, folklore and linguistics scholarship. Indexes journals, books, working papers, proceedings, and dissertations. Online version has coverage from 1963; earlier print volumes are in Main Stacks.

PAIS: Public Affairs Information Service Bulletin. New York: PAIS, 1915-
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

A key resource for the literature of public policy and international studies. Provides citations and abstracts of journal articles, books and book chapters, and government documents. The online version, PAIS International, provides coverage from 1972; earlier print volumes are in Main Stacks.

NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

Latin America Data Base. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1986-
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

LADB is an online news service in English, about Latin America. The service offers a searchable archive of articles dating from 1986, and current news bulletins focusing on Mexico (SourceMex), Central America and the Caribbean (NotiCen) and South American (NotiSur). Strengths are in economic and political news and analysis, including political parties and elections, economic integration, environment, human rights, and governmental and judicial reform.

Latin American Regional Reports. London: Latin American Newsletter, Ltd., 1986-

The five regional reports listed below are published ten times per year, with the exception of the Mexico & NAFTA Report, which is monthly. The reports summarize leading news stories, especially of political, business and finance content.
[Current issues are in Periodical Reading Room, 2 West. Bound issues in Main Stacks]

Andean Group [HC161 .L255]
Brazil [HC186 .L37]
Caribbean & Central America Report [HC151 .L37]
Mexico & NAFTA Report [HC131 .L374]
Southern Cone [HC161 .L256]

Latin American Weekly Report. London: Latin American Newsletter, Ltd., 1986- .
[F1401 .L25 Current issues in the Main Library Periodical Reading Room, 2 West]

News briefs arranged by country. Like the regional reports good for current political events, broader in scope, but have the currency advantage of a weekly publication schedule.

LexisNexis Academic.
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

An important news and business information resource, this electronic database collection offers the full-text of articles from major international and U.S. newspapers. Select the "News" database collection and proceed to various options, but note that most sources in the "Foreign Language News" in Spanish section are no longer currently updated.

NACLA Report on the Americas. New York, N.Y.: North American Congress on Latin America, 1977-
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

Offers commentary and analysis of political trends and events in Latin America, especially as related to relations with the United States. Issues for1992 forward, with full-text articles from Sept/Oct 1997. Earlier print issues are available in Main Library Special Collections.

World News Connection.
[Note: This resource is restricted to MSU IP ranges. See access information.]

An online news service compiled by the U.S. Government from many non-U.S. media sources. Covers current socioeconomic, political, scientific, technical and environmental issues and events.

STATISTICS

Anuario estadistico de America Latina y el Caribe = Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean. Santiago, Chile: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 1986-
[HA931 .U5 Latest edition at Main Reference Desk, 1 Center]

International Historical Statistics: the Americas, 1750-2000. B.R. Mitchell. 5th ed. London: MacMillan Reference, 2003.
[HA175 .M55 2003 Main Reference Desk, 1 Center]

Statistical Abstract of Latin America. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center, 1955-
[HA931 .S75 Latest edition at Main Reference Desk, 1 Center]

NOTE: Click here for an expanded list of statistical resources.