Local Resources:
Chicano Resource Center By Beverly Mateer Taylor |
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| Chicano Resource Center Four ethnic resource centers were established between 1976 and 1979 with grant funds from the federal government and continue to be supported by the Los Angeles County public library system. The Chicano Resource Center, established in 1976, is the oldest of the four resource centers and serves the information needs of the large Mexican American population of Los Angeles as well as providing information about the group to the community as a whole. Rik Gutierrez, the center's librarian, provided a complete tour of the facility, which includes open stacks, lists and special books that are kept at the reference desk, and notebooks, periodicals, and drawers of microfilm that are kept in the workroom where he has his desk. Although the resource center is a separate collection within the library, it is not physically separated, so any time the library is open, the materials are accessible to the public. Genealogists will find Mr. Gutierrez very helpful and knowledgeable. The collection consists of books (fiction by Chicano and Mexican authors, nonfiction on all topics related to Mexican American history and culture, which circulate, and a large number of reference books), magazines and newspapers (paper and microfilm), posters, pictures, slides, films/videos, audio recordings (records and tapes), cultural artifacts, and extensive clippings files. With the exception of pamphlets, periodicals, and reference books, all
the materials circulate to the public. Periodicals, microfilm, and a
very few other items are kept in the workroom and must be requested at
the reference desk. Everything else, including clippings files, are easily
accessible in the reading room. A large number of Spanish-language materials are available. Due to user demand, the majority of the materials are in English. The geographical coverage is primarily, but not exclusively, the southwestern states of the U. S., with special emphasis on Los Angeles and East Los Angeles, and Mexico. The subject coverage is as broad as the interests and concerns of Mexican Americans, both historical and current. One of the most interesting books I found while browsing through the reference section is "Guia Familiar de Baja California 1700-1900," by Pablo Martinez. It provides transcriptions of ecclesiastical records and state records of births, baptisms, marriages and deaths, arranged by city/village of origin. The introduction is in Spanish and English and provides both historical background and help for English speakers in understanding the records, which, of course, are in Spanish. An unexpected discovery was that the best history of East Los Angeles is the "Cultural Needs Assessment, Environmental Impact Report for the Metro Red Line Eastside Extension," produced by the Los Angeles County Metro Transportation Authority in 1995. It includes many photographs of people, businesses, shops, groups, buildings, etc., in the East LA. area. The only other published history of the area is "East Los Angeles, History of a Barrio," by Ricardo Romo, which covers the years from 1910 to 1930. Scrapbooks documenting people, places, and events significant to the history of East Los Angeles from 1934-'94 contain photocopies of articles and chapters of books, newspaper clippings, reports, and flyers. Community newspapers kept by the library include the Civic Center Sun (1937-42), Eastside Sun (1945-76), the Belvedere Citizen (1934-72) and several others, some dating back into the 1800s. A list of headlines is available for some, but there are no indexes. The Chicano Periodical Index (1979-1990, continued on CD ROM), from UC Berkeley, and HAPI, Hispanic American Periodical Index (19970-1975), by the UCLA Latin American Center, cover scholarly periodicals but no newspapers and may be of limited use to genealogists. The East Los Angeles Library also has extensive microfilm periodical holdings that include titles from cities all over California and from other states, including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington, D. C. Mexico is also represented. A large percentage of the titles were published in the 1970s, but some date back into the middle of the 1800s. A complete list with dates is available at the library's reference desk. Since the East Los Angeles Library is part of the Los Angeles County Public Library system, it is open to the public. In addition to the materials contained in the Chicano Resource Center, the East Los Angeles Library also contains the following newspapers that would be of interest to those researching Los Angeles and/or East Los Angeles history.
© Barbara Mateer Taylor. Used with permission. |
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