Research: Peoples, Groups, & Cultures: Guide to Historical Records Sources on Latinos
A Preliminary Guide to Historical Records Sources On Latinos In New York State
Appendix C: Summary and Analysis of Documentation Resources
Project Scope
The New York State Archives conducted a survey of accessible repository holdings that document the history of Latinos in New York State. The first step was to conduct a general subject search of online databases to identify records that specifically address the history of Latinos. These databases were initially searched using the terms Latino and Hispanic Americans along with New York. Then the search was expanded using the names of specific ethnic groups and nationalities (Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexicans, etc.) along with New York.
The next step was to try to locate records that would probably include Latinos, even if they were not specifically mentioned in subject entries. The following subject terms were used, along with New York, to locate some of these records: Affirmative Action, Minorities, Immigration, Education, and Inmates of Institutions. These records were then sifted to extract ones that might include Latinos. (These records are listed in Appendix B.) This phase of the research was probably imprecise; some of the records saved may not in fact include specific references to Latinos, and some records that do refer to Latinos may have been missed. As Latinos participate in all aspects of life in New York State, it was not possible to locate all records that might include references to them. Church records, hospital records, and public school enrollment records might also yield valuable information, but none of these records were included in this initial investigation due to time constraints.
Findings: Latino Record Sources, by category
Number of Records
- Latinos: 101
- Secondary: 39
- Correctional: 31
- Affirmative Action: 12
- Total: 182
The search identified about 180 collections that contain documentation about minorities in New York State. Of these collections, 101 (56%) contain records specifically about Latinos; the rest of the collections deal with topics that affect Latinos (such as affirmative action or education of minorities) or with organizations or institutions whose statistics and records would include Latinos (such as subject files at the Office of Immigrant Affairs or minority student recruitment records at colleges).
Location of Collections
Latino Record Sources, by type of repository
Latinos
- Local government: 11
- State government: 7
- Academic: 55
- Other: 28
- Total: 101
Secondary
- Local government: 3
- State government: 4
- Academic: 10
- Other: 22
- Total: 39
Correctional
- Local government: 0
- State government: 31
- Academic: 0
- Other: 0
- Total: 31
Affirmative Action
- Local government: 1
- State government: 0
- Academic: 10
- Other: 1
- Total: 12
Total
- Local government: 15
- State government: 42
- Academic: 74
- Other: 51
- Total: 183
Relatively few of the records identified were found in government repositories (31%), even fewer (11%) within the Latino-specific group of records. Local government records had more access points directly relating to Latinos than records at the state or national level. The majority (54%) of the collections dealing with Latinos were found in the archives at educational institutions. Colleges and Universities, in particular Cornell University, New York University, and the City University of New York (CUNY), contain more records than any other kind of institution. CUNY is especially strong in Latino-related collections; the Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños alone houses some of the best resources about Latino history in New York in the state.
Latino Record Sources, by State
Latinos
- New York: 86
- Outside NY: 15
Secondary
- New York: 23
- Outside NY: 16
Correctional
- New York: 31
- Outside NY: 0
Affirmative Action
- New York: 12
- Outside NY: 0
Total
- New York: 152
- Outside NY: 31
In terms of the geographic distribution of the collections, the collections within New York State are concentrated in New York City. Apart from Cornell University, the rest of the repositories represented, which are scattered around the state, contain only one or two relevant collections among their holdings. There were also some relevant collections housed at institutions outside of New York; about 17% of the collections (keeping in mind that the size of a "collection" varies greatly) are found outside the state.
Ethnic Representation
Puerto Ricans—almost exclusively Puerto Ricans in New York City—are the largest representation Latino group in the collections identified here. There are two collections of records reflecting the history of the Cuban community, but apart from that there are no collections that specifically represent any particular ethnic group; the rest of the collections refer to a general "Hispanic American" content (if they refer to Hispanics at all).
Content
The content of the collections varies widely, ranging from the papers of student groups to politicians’ papers to the records of labor unions. Using the New York Documentation Topics Framework, the following topics are represented:
- Arts and architecture
- Communications
- Education
- Health (very little)
- Labor
- Politics, government and law
- Populations
- Public safety (largely correctional institution records)
- Recreation and leisure
- Religion (very little so far; church records have not been consulted)
- Social organization and activity, social reform, and social welfare
The areas of "Social organization and activity, social reform, and social welfare" and "Politics, government and law" were the best documented aspects of Latino life in New York State.
Noticeable lacks were found in the following topic areas.
- Business, commerce, industry, and manufacturing
- Economic development and planning
- Military
- Recreation and leisure
- Science and Technology
- Transportation
Among the collections that specifically contain information about Latinos (other resources were not counted here), the topical breakdown is as follows:
TOPIC AREA (Code): NUMBER OF COLLECTIONS THAT CONTAIN INFORMATION ON THE TOPIC
- Agriculture (ag): 1
- Arts and Architecture (at): 16
- Business, commerce, industry, and manufacturing (b): 6
- Communications (cm): 9
- Economic development and planning (ec): 1
- Education (ed): 22
- *Environmental affairs and natural resources (en): 0
- Health (he): 5
- Labor (lb): 17
- *Military (mi): 0
- Politics, government, and law (pl): 35
- **Populations (po): n/a
- Public Safety (pu): 4
- Recreation and leisure (rc): 1
- Religion (rl): 5
- Science and technology (sc): 1
- Social organization and activity, social reform, and social welfare (so): 53
- *Transportation (tr): 0
*No materials were found addressing these topics with respect to Latinos.
**As this topic area is defined, all collections in this survey address this topic. This topic is therefore not included in the listings.
