Reference works like encyclopedias, dictionaries, and bibliographies can provide useful background information--names, dates, key concepts and themes, recommendations for further reading, etc.--on a topic. The print reference collection is on the main floor of McCabe, but we also have an increasing number of electronic reference books that you can access through Tripod.
The Library of Congress call number range that corresponds to Latin American history is F1201-F3799. You can consult the reference works listed below, or even browse the reference collection in the F range to find additional sources. (And you can browse the general collection, too--once you've found a book that sounds promising, jot down the call number, and head to the stacks to see what else is nearby on the shelf.)
Subject Portal » Latin American Studies » Course Guides »
HIST IE : The Self-Image of Latin America (SC)
background information: reference resources:
A reference guide to Latin American history
Publisher: Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c2000.
McCabe Ref F1410 .H463 2000
Encyclopedia of Latin American history and culture
Provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary view of Latin American history and culture from prehistoric times to the present. Covers cultural issues and includes numerous biographical profiles of important figures in politics, letters and the arts. (Also in print: McCabe Ref F1406 .E53 1996.)
Biographical dictionary of Latin American and Caribbean political leaders
Publisher: New York : Greenwood Press, 1988.
McCabe Ref F1414.2 .B48 1988
Handbook of Latin American popular culture
Publisher: Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1985.
This source was published in 1985, but it may be useful as you think about locating primary sources. With chapters on such topics as film, newspapers, popular music, comics, and fotonovelas, you can get an overview of a particular segment of popular culture, as well as a bibliography of primary sources and resources for further reading. McCabe Ref F1408.3 .H316 1985
There's also a set of Latin American historical dictionaries. Each volume pertains to a single country, and can be located in Tripod either by searching for "Latin American Historical Dictionaries," or by a title search for "Historical Dictionary of" (followed by a country: Cuba, Peru, etc.). These books aren't in the reference collection, but in the general stacks.
finding books:
Tripod is the shared library catalog of Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford Colleges, and it contains information about books, government documents, films, special collections, and much more.
Start with a keyword search to find books on your topic. (If you need help deciphering item records, take a look at "Anatomy of a Tripod Record" (pdf).)
When you've located a relevant book, there are several strategies you can use to find additional related works. The first is to consult the book's bibliography; the second is to search by the subject headings you find in the Tripod record. These are near the bottom of the record, and if you click on the links, you'll find other books classified with the same subject heading. Subject headings can be broad (such as "Latin America -- History") or more narrow in focus (such as "Women -- Latin America -- History" or "Guevara, Ernesto, 1928-1967 -- Travel -- Latin America").
Books are shelved by the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. When you've found books in Tripod, write down the entire call number--you'll need it to locate the book on the shelf. A-G call numbers are on the lower level of McCabe (below the main floor). H-K call numbers are on Level 2 (one floor up from the main floor) and L-Z call numbers are on Level 3 (two floors up).
If a book is in Tripod but isn't available at Swarthmore (either because our copy is checked out or because it's held just by Bryn Mawr or Haverford), you can request it by clicking on the orange "request" button in the item record. See the section below about requesting from other libraries for more details.
Start with a keyword search to find books on your topic. (If you need help deciphering item records, take a look at "Anatomy of a Tripod Record" (pdf).)
When you've located a relevant book, there are several strategies you can use to find additional related works. The first is to consult the book's bibliography; the second is to search by the subject headings you find in the Tripod record. These are near the bottom of the record, and if you click on the links, you'll find other books classified with the same subject heading. Subject headings can be broad (such as "Latin America -- History") or more narrow in focus (such as "Women -- Latin America -- History" or "Guevara, Ernesto, 1928-1967 -- Travel -- Latin America").
Books are shelved by the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. When you've found books in Tripod, write down the entire call number--you'll need it to locate the book on the shelf. A-G call numbers are on the lower level of McCabe (below the main floor). H-K call numbers are on Level 2 (one floor up from the main floor) and L-Z call numbers are on Level 3 (two floors up).
If a book is in Tripod but isn't available at Swarthmore (either because our copy is checked out or because it's held just by Bryn Mawr or Haverford), you can request it by clicking on the orange "request" button in the item record. See the section below about requesting from other libraries for more details.
WorldCat
Provider: OCLC
A catalog of the holdings of books, journals, and other materials held by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) member libraries across the country and around the world. Use WorldCat to identify materials to request via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
finding articles:
Although you can search Tripod to find out if we have particular scholarly journals, the catalog doesn't contain information about individual articles within those journals. To locate articles, use one of our indexes or full-text databases, and click on the Find It! button 
to determine if we have access to the article you need either online or in print, or if you'll have to request it from another library. The resources below are recommended starting points for your research:
to determine if we have access to the article you need either online or in print, or if you'll have to request it from another library. The resources below are recommended starting points for your research:
Historical abstracts
Provider: EBSCO
Provides abstracts of journal articles, books, book reviews and dissertations that cover world history from 1450 to the present (excluding the U.S. and Canada which are covered in "America: History and Life"). Includes publications from 1953-present.
HLAS online
HLAS (Handbook of Latin American Studies) contains records describing books, book chapters, articles, and conference papers published in the field of Latin American studies. Coverage includes social science and humanities journals and conference proceedings. Most records include abstracts with evaluations. Also offers links to some full-text articles. Covers 1936-present.
HAPI
Provider: UCLA
Contains citations to scholarly journal articles published in Latin America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and to materials that address this region and U.S. Hispanic topics. Covers political, economic, and social issues. Some citations link to full-text articles. Covers 1970-present.
JSTOR
Provides full-text and page images from many of the top journals in most academic disciplines. Coverage is from the inception of the journal through three to five years ago.
requesting from other libraries:
Trico
Request items from Bryn Mawr and Haverford by clicking on the "request" button in Tripod. Use your name and the barcode from the back of your student ID. Your requested materials will generally arrive at Swarthmore in 1-2 days.
EZ-Borrow
You can also request items from our regional partner libraries using EZ-Borrow. Again, you'll need your 14-digit barcode number to make a request. These items usually arrive on campus in 3-5 days.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
If you can't get what you need from the Trico or EZ-Borrow libraries, our interlibrary loan specialists can help you--fill out an ILL request form, but keep in mind that these materials could take several weeks to arrive on campus.
If you're unsure of which service to use, check out this guide to Tri-College Borrowing and Interlibrary Loan.
Request items from Bryn Mawr and Haverford by clicking on the "request" button in Tripod. Use your name and the barcode from the back of your student ID. Your requested materials will generally arrive at Swarthmore in 1-2 days.
EZ-Borrow
You can also request items from our regional partner libraries using EZ-Borrow. Again, you'll need your 14-digit barcode number to make a request. These items usually arrive on campus in 3-5 days.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
If you can't get what you need from the Trico or EZ-Borrow libraries, our interlibrary loan specialists can help you--fill out an ILL request form, but keep in mind that these materials could take several weeks to arrive on campus.
If you're unsure of which service to use, check out this guide to Tri-College Borrowing and Interlibrary Loan.
primary sources:
Primary sources are first-hand accounts of events or conditions during a particular time period, often recorded contemporaneously by participants or observers.
Some types of primary sources include:
- Diaries, journals, letters, speeches, manuscripts, notes and other written material describing experienced or observed events.
- Autobiographies and memoirs describing experienced or observed events in hindsight. Although such hindsight can bias the record of events, at times such reminiscences may provide the only available data on certain occurrences. Alternatively, autobiographies and memoirs can provide clues as to how the author and his contemporaries viewed a past event.
- Published items, such as articles in magazines, journals or newspapers, or books, which report on contemporary events.
- Photographs, films, videos, news broadcasts and transcripts, audio recordings, etc. documenting contemporary events.
- Any physical artifact, such as art objects, costumes, buildings, maps, monuments, etc.
- Governmental and organizational information, such as statistics, reports, press releases, propaganda, records, surveys, correspondence, publications, etc.
- Materials which provide a sociological or psychological snapshot of a certain time period, such as public opinion polls or other expressions of popular culture such as television shows, movies, music, best-sellers, advertisements, etc.
The KEYWORD searching option can turn up additional published primary sources. Try entering terms like "correspondence," "diary" or "diaries," "records" and "documents." Some other promising terms ("sources," "papers" and "letters") occur in too many records to be of much practical value.
These subject headings, issued by the Library of Congress, describe materials listed in most library catalogues. You should know that Subject Headings assigned to books are not necessarily intuitive or logical. For instance, the Subject Heading for Native Americans is NOT Native Americans but Indians of North America.
Standard cataloging procedures attach a few formulaic subheadings to many records that qualify as primary sources. Watch for these words or phrases when you scan retrieved sets of titles, or enter them under the SUBJECT HEADING search option:
- "--Sources"
- "--Personal Narratives"
- "--Description and Travel"
- "--Facsimiles"
- "--Charters, Grants, Privileges"
- "--early works to 1800"
- "--periodicals"
- "--Interviews"
- "--Correspondence"
- "--Pamphlets"
You can append any of the subheadings listed above with a Library of Congress Subject Heading to specifically search for primary source material.
Guide to Primary Sources
This guide provides an excellent overview of online collections of primary sources available in the Tri-Colleges. Sources include historical newspapers, government publications, images, personal narratives, and more.
Latin American History Sources (University of Washington)
Latin American Pamphlet Digital Collection (Harvard)
research help:
Melanie Maksin, mmaksin1, 690-5786
If you need research assistance, I'm at the reference desk on Tuesdays, 12:30-3 p.m., and on Wednesdays, 7-10 p.m. You can also make an appointment or stop by to meet with me in my office, which is on Level 1 of McCabe.
Looking for more ways to ask a librarian? Call, email, IM, or come to the McCabe reference desk!
If you need research assistance, I'm at the reference desk on Tuesdays, 12:30-3 p.m., and on Wednesdays, 7-10 p.m. You can also make an appointment or stop by to meet with me in my office, which is on Level 1 of McCabe.
Looking for more ways to ask a librarian? Call, email, IM, or come to the McCabe reference desk!