Resource Guides

Pathfinders

To find information on a specific topic or question, all the normal research strategies apply. In a broad, interdisciplinary subject, material will be spread throughout the library (Spanish music will be in the music section, Spanish history will be in the history section, etc. whether it is written in English or Spanish.) If routine searching does not produce the desired result, the student should make an appointment with a librarian for a “Research Tutorial.” The following sections of the collection are highlighted below to assist the student in browsing as a preliminary step to focusing on one topic.

The Language

Dictionaries: English/Spanish, Spanish/English dictionaries are in the Reference Section:

• University of Chicago Spanish Dictionary: Spanish/English, English/Spanish
  REF PC 4640.U5 2002
• William’s Diccionario Español Inglés, English/Spanish
  REF PC 4640.W722 1992
• Facts on File: English/Spanish, Spanish/English Visual Dictionary
  REF AG 250.C65 1991

List of 19 Spanish-Speaking countries, with a linguistic description of the language:

• The World’s Major Languages, by B. Comrie
  REF P 371.W6 1987 (Pages 236-259)

Books in the Circulating PC 4000’s are either about Spanish language, grammar, usage, etc., or else are written in Spanish.

• A Thesaurus of Spanish Idioms
  PC 4445.B76 1945
• Panoramas Literarios España
  PC 4117 .K54 1998

Note: Books are shelved by their subject, not by the language in which they are written.  For instance, Comida Mexicana, a bilingual cookbook, is under TX 716 .M4 S651 1992, in home-ec. Use a subject heading like: “Spanish language materials” to help you find miscellaneous books in Spanish.

Literature in the Circulating PQ 6000’s and PQ 7000’s: some books are in the original Spanish.

• Garcia Lorca, Selected Poems: A bilingual edition
  PQ 6613 .A763 A17 1955
• Casona, La Dama del Alba
   PQ 6633 .O37 D3 1975 
• Benedetti, La Muerte y Otras Sorpresas
  PQ 8519 .B292 M8 1993

Periodical subscriptions in Spanish in this library are: 

• Tú and Selecciones (Reader’s Digest)
  The library also has past editions of Vanidades, Contenido, and Perspectiva Monthly.
• Videos in Spanish in this library include, but are not limited to: 

El Alfabeto Español	PC 4721 .A3 1990 VHS
Físico (Martina)	GV 482 .F57 1985 VHS
Bullfight: la fiesta brava  (2-tape set)	GV 1107 .Y58 1990 VHS
Niebla	PQ 6639 .N3 N5 1996 VHS
La Celestina	PQ 6426 .A3 1993 VHS
La Vida Es Sueño	PQ 6285 .F55 1994 VHS
Fuenteovejuna (2-tape set)	PQ 6439 .F75 1993 VHS
Caudillo	DP 269 .C3 1980 VHS
La Muerte Viva (Day of the Dead)	F 1210 .M84 1989 VHS
Monte Albán	F 1219.1 .O11 M66 1991 VHS
Fiesta de comiquitas 4 (Bugs Bunny)	PC 4112 .F547 1987 VHS

Spanish-Speaking Peoples and Cultures

Use Reference Books to help you browse:

Ref AE5 - General Encyclopedias – each has major articles about countries, divided into subtopics, as well as articles on other topics. Look up names of countries, people, artistic or political movements, cultural groups, etc.  Use the index in the final volume if you do not find a whole article alphabetized under a particular term.

• Encyclopedia Americana 
• Encyclopedia Britannica 
• Collier’s Encyclopedia 
• World Book   

Ref GN 307 .E53 1991  Encyclopedia of World Cultures: vol. 1: North America; vol. 7: South America.

Ref GT 150 .C85 1997  Culturgrams

Ref JF 501 .P36 1986   Parliaments of the World: a comparative reference compendium  (2-vol. set) 2nd ed., 1986.

Ref PQ 7081 .A1 L37 1989  Latin American Writers (3-vol. set with informative overviews, including bibliographies, for about 175 authors from 1500 to the present.) Bartolome de las Casas, José Martí, Rubén Darío, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Jorge Borges, Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel García Márquez, etc.

Ref JN 1 .E85  Europa World Year Book (2-vol. set) Historical and statistical overviews about countries.

Ref G 122 .U56a 1997  World Factbook (1 vol., pub. by the CIA) Current statistical information.

Use Call Number Areas in the Circulating Collections to Help You Browse:

• PC 4000’s - Spanish Language   
• PQ 6000’s - Spanish Literature     
• DP - Spain and the Iberian Peninsula   
• F 1200’s-1300’s - Mexico 
• F 1400’s-F 3999 - South America and Central America

Use Subject Headings in the Online Catalog to help you browse in books, videos, and multimedia:   the name of a country (such as Mexico or Peru), the last name of a person (Columbus, Franco, Peron, etc.), the name of a cultural group (Inca), or another term. Several subject headings begin with the word Spanish. If the word has no results in a Subject search, try the same word in a Title or Keyword search, or use a synonym. A Treasury of Mexican Folkways has been a frequently requested book.

Some magazines on display which have an international focus: (see Holdings List for details)         

Americas (OAS) and National Geographic (with special index)