Arizona State University’s Archival Collections Highlight Histories of Latine and Chicano History

From The State Press:

When Seonaid Valiant, curator for Latin American Studies at the ASU Library, started at ASU, the collection only had one manuscript.

Now, there are books on magic, biology, art, politics, enslavement and dictatorships with languages spanning Spanish, Portuguese and Indigenous languages, such as Guarani.

ASU Library has curated collections on the history of Latin America and oral histories of Latine immigrants living in the U.S. The result is a dynamic, moving portrait of the Hispanic community.

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While Valiant said the collection provides resources for ASU Faculty and students to conduct research, the collection is also meant to serve the larger Phoenix community in learning more about the many lived experiences from communities in Latin America.

The culmination of works often require travel. Valiant often retrieves the materials in person, attending book fairs in Latin America to meet the authors.

“If we don’t make that effort to acquire those materials, then we’re not allowing people to tell us their stories firsthand. And then we don’t have any real information,” Valiant said.

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See Also: Information About ASU Library Distinctive Collections and Archives Including:

• Chicano/a Research Collection

• Latin Americana Collection

More From ASU Library: Where Are The Books? A Look Inside High Density Collections

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Libraries, News