Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month at the Library

National Hispanic Heritage Month is a time designated both to honor the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic Heritage and Culture. It is observed from September 15 to October 15 each year. The starting date of Sept. 15 was chosen because it is the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The independence days of Mexico, Chile and Belize also occur within this 30-day period.

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we invite you to check out our display on the second floor of the library, featuring books on the achievements of several notable Hispanic Americans. Also, please browse one of our newer databases, Latino Literature from Alexander Street Press. This database encompasses more than 100,000 pages of poetry, fiction and drama written in English and Spanish by hundreds of Chicano, Puerto Rican, Dominican and other Hispanic authors working in the United States. You can read more about this database here.

(The novel pictured here, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez [PS3551.L845G37 1991] is available on the third floor of the library. It is a coming-of-age novel about four sisters, immigrants to New York from the Dominican Republic, and their struggle to determine their own identities while balancing their lives between two cultures. Good read)!