Latin American and Iberian Studies  Tags: latin_american_iberian_collections  

  Conversion of Indians to Christianity" Postcard taken from watercolor copy of the Mapa de Cuauhtlantzinco. Part of the Paul Van de Velde Pictorial Collection, PICT 000-049 SC.

Two private libraries acquired by the University in the late 1930s, the Paul Van de Velde and the Thomas B. Catron collections, formed the core of the library's holdings of rare and specialized Ibero-Americana. The Van de Velde collection is particularly rich in Mexican history and anthropology, and the Catron collection in Iberian and Mexican political and religious history. Together, the two libraries added more than 9,000 volumes from Mexico, Spain, and Portugal to the Library's special collections. Continued acquisitions, grants from programs within the Federal Government and from the Rockefeller, Ford, and Burlington Northern Foundations as well as libraries donated by individuals have permitted the expansion of the collections and the development of new areas of strength.