Libraries Ask Us

Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies

This is a guide to resources in Latin American Studies in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Library Research Guide for Spanish 424: Latinx Popular Culture

Research databases

Academic Search Premier
Scholarly journals from all academic disciplines - an excellent starting point for multidisciplinary research projects. 3,200 full-text journals. Coverage from 1975 to present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
American Music
68,000 tracks of historical recordings of jazz, blues, gospel and other genres, 1890's-1970's.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Communication and Mass Media Complete
Communication scholarly journals and trade journals, plus articles on communication topics from related disciplines, 1915-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Ethnic NewsWatch
Full-text articles from newspapers, magazines and journals of ethnic communities in the United States. In several languages, 1965-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Google Scholar
Use to access many UMass online journal subscriptions.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

You can access Google Scholar with UMLinks buttons from outside the UMass Amherst IP range ("off campus") by two methods:

1. Access Google Scholar through the Library web site by using this link.
2. Go to generic Google Scholar.
a. Click on "Settings."
b. Click on Library links.
c. Type in "University of Massachusetts" or "UMass Amherst" (or a few other variations).
d. Check "University of Massachusetts Amherst - UMass Check for Full Text" and Save.
e. You will be asked to authenticate somewhere along the way to full text.
Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI)
Articles from scholarly journals on Latin America & the Caribbean, the US-Mexico border area, and U.S. Latinos, 1970-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Informe
Articles from 140 Spanish-language magazines and journals, 1987-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
MLA International Bibliography
An index to journal articles and other scholarly literature on literature, literary theory and criticism, linguistics, folklore, and (since 1996) film, 1920s -
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Performing Arts Periodicals Database
Articles in journals covering theater, dance, film, and puppetry, 1864-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Readers' Guide Abstracts
Citations and abstracts for articles from popular periodicals from the U.S. and Canada, 1890-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Finding books

Where can I find books and e-books?

Discovery Search
Find articles across a large number of library resources with just one search! Begin your generalized research here.
Free to use for anyone to find records. Some results, and detailed information such as PDFs and full text links, are available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Overdrive Collection
A collection of ebooks and audiobooks about social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion with multiple titles from underrepresented authors.

You will be directed to the Libby app to use titles in this collection. On the Libby page, please click on "Sign in with your card," and follow the instructions on the screen to access the collection.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

By default, results will include many different resource formats. To limit your results, find the 'Format' header on the results page and click 'Show More'. This will allow you to select 'Books' and 'eBooks'.

How do I access print books?

If the location is UM Bois Library, you can use the call number to find the book on the shelves. For more information on how to use call numbers to find books or browse, select the 'Call Numbers' tab at the top of this box.

You can also click 'Request Item' to have the book placed on the hold shelf on the lower level of the Du Bois Library.

If the location is one of the other Five College libraries (AC = Amherst College, MH = Mount Holyoke, etc.), click 'Request Item' to have the book sent to the Du Bois Library for you to pick up.

How do I access e-books?

To access an e-book, click on the full text option that appears with the result.

*Note: E-books from the other Five College libraries (AC, MH, HC, SC) are not available to UMass affiliates remotely. You can go to that college's campus and access most e-books using a library computer

What if I can't find a print book in the Five College Catalog?

WorldCat
The combined catalogs of most U.S. libraries.
Content is freely available for use by all.

How do I access a book that isn't in the Five College libraries?

UMass Interlibrary Loan
UMass Interlibrary Loan FAQ
For more information about this service, check out the FAQ

How do I use a call number to find a book?

W. E. B. Du Bois Library Call Number Directory
Once you have a call number for a book (ex. P35 .O94 2013), you can use this directory to figure out which floor of the library it is located on. Think of call numbers as the street address of a book that will tell you where it "lives".

What are subject headings?

Subject headings work similarly to hashtags on social media. They are used to group resources on a particular topic together so that they can be found more easily.

Subject headings are standardized so that even when authors use different terms, you can easily find all books on that topic.

For example, "interment," "inhumation," and "burial" all describe approximately the same social practice. The subject heading "burial" would appear on the record of books where the author uses any of these terms in order to help you find them. Instead of having to do searches for "interment," "inhumation," and "burial," you can do one subject search for "burial".

How do I find subject headings to use in a search?

To browse subject headings, check out the Library of Congress Authorities page.

It's useful to keep in mind the context surrounding the creation subject headings, especially those that represent groups of people. Power and position impacts which terms library workers choose to be subject headings. For example, the Turkish ethnic group that refers to themselves as the Sakha are referred to with the subject heading "Yakut (Turkic people)".

How do I search using subject headings?

In Discovery Search, begin your search with 'DE' and place subject headings in quotation marks. This will tell the search engine that you are only interested in resources which have been given the same subject headings that you're searching for.

If you link multiple subject headings together, separate them with two dashes (--).

A screenshot of a subject search performed in Discovery Search using 'DE' to begin the search string.

How can I use the subjects headings from relevant books to find more?

When you find a book that's relevant to your research, take a look at the subject headings on its record.

Take this book found in Discovery Search for example:

Screenshot of catalog record for Unwrapping Ancient Egypt

Clicking on one of the subject headings will show you all other books in the Five College libraries that are also on that same topic.

You can also edit subject headings and search for them in Discovery Search. You could search for "Burial, China" instead to learn more about the practice in that part of the world.

What if I can't find many books using a subject heading?

There are many books that the Five College libraries don't have. You can use WorldCat to find books by subject heading. For best results, separate subject terms with two dashes and use parentheses.

A screenshot of a subject search using 'DE' on the WorldCat homepage.

Web searches and archiving web citations

Use the Internet Archive WayBack Machine to make sure your web page citations are archived.