The Latinx literacy in libraries and archives project

The Latinx Literacy in Libraries and Archives project is an exploratory study that seeks to understand how the information practices of Latinx1 communities can inform the advocacy work conducted by archivists and librarians in Boston, Massachusetts. In particular, we are interested in understanding how Latinx migrant populations navigate the built environment to access information about their host city and how this insight can be used to create more inclusive library and archives spaces, affect local policy, and build stronger communities. This poster reports on the design of the study and discusses some of our initial findings. The project uses interviews, mental maps, and secondary sources, which are analyzed through qualitative coding. Scholarly discussions in the fields of archival studies and library and information science are increasingly focusing on social justice praxis, this project contributes by addressing the relationship between equity of access to information and geographic literacy

The Silent Films of Lupe Velez

Maria Guadalupe Vélez de Villalobos, named after Our Lady of Guadalupe, an important icon of Mexican religiosity, ironically, became one of the most exoticized Latin temptresses of Classical Hollywood cinema during the 1940s. Today, Vélez is remembered as a Mexicana that broke into Hollywood during the silent era, only to later become one of the most hyper-sexualized Latinas in United States film history. The author began to research Vélez because she wanted to learn more about what writers seemed to be avoiding and it is for this reason that she discusses the silent film history from the perspective of a film archivist. The author hopes that the research can perhaps begin to unravel why the silent period of Vélez's career has so often been left in the dark

The Latinx Literacy in Libraries and Archives Project

The Latinx Literacy in Libraries and Archives project is an exploratory study that seeks to understand how the information practices of Latinx1 communities can inform the advocacy work conducted by archivists and librarians in Boston, Massachusetts. In particular, we are interested in understanding how Latinx migrant populations navigate the built environment to access information about their host city and how this insight can be used to create more inclusive library and archives spaces, affect local policy, and build stronger communities. This poster reports on the design of the study and discusses some of our initial findings. The project uses interviews, mental maps, and secondary sources, which are analyzed through qualitative coding. Scholarly discussions in the fields of archival studies and library and information science are increasingly focusing on social justice praxis, this project contributes by addressing the relationship between equity of access to information and geographic literacy