The Michael Baptista CERLAC Special Collections
CERLAC Special Collections contains extensive resources on a variety of themes. Holdings consist mostly of Spanish and English language publications and communications, with some material also in Portuguese and French, dating from the 1970s and extending up to the 1990s on some themes and up to the present on others.
Self-contained Libraries
The collection includes two unique self-contained libraries:
- The library of the Latin American Working Group/LAWG, (Room 624G) a vast collection of materials on human rights, popular organizations, Canadian solidarity activities, and other issues from the 1970s to the 1990s, with particularly extensive documentation on Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. LAWG also has a project called "The LAWG History Project/The LAWG Hay Camino History Project". For information on that project click here.
- The library of the International Commission for Coordination of Solidarity Among Sugar Workers (ICCSASW), a large collection of documents and publications on the world sugar industry, including labor organizations in the industry and much material on the Caribbean and Latin America, up to the turn of the 21st century.
Other Collections
In addition, the Special Collections also contains:
- LAWG Corporation Files (Room 624G)
- Collections of Major Journals (Academic and Political)
- Thematic collections, with particularly extensive sets of documents and reports on:
- Human Rights (by institution and country) - Section D1-D5
- Church and Liberation Theology (by institution and country) - Section I1-I4
- Solidarity with Latin America - Book Case 1
- Solidarity of Civic Organizations - Book Case 2
- Latin Americans in Exile - LAWG Room 624G
- Gender and Development - Section J1-J3
- Refugees and Migration (mostly in Spanish) - Section D5-D6
- Indigenous and Ethnic Minorities - Section E1-E2 (by institution and country)
- Labour (by Institution and Country) - Section H1-H3
- Free Trade and Trade Alternatives - Section H4
- Mining and Environment - Section F1-F2 (by institution and country)
- LATAM Region - Section K1
- LATAM International Relations and Rural Issues - Section K2
- LATAM Popular Education - Section K3
- Work Area - J4
The country sections of the Caribbean region, Central America, and South America include publications from the regions' major research centers and universities.
- Central American Journals - Section B1-B2
- Caribbean Journals - Section B3
- Journals from Latin America - Section B3-B6
- Latin American Newsletters - G1-G4
Moving Shelves
- Argentina - Section K4
- Brazil - Section K5
- Chile, Paraguay, & Uruguay - Section L1-L3
- Andean Region, Bolivia - Section L4
- Colombia - Section L5
- Peru - Section M3-M4
- Central America - Section M5
- Costa Rica & El Salvador - Section N1
- Guatemala - Section N2
- Honduras & Nicaragua - Section N3
- Nicaragua - Section N4
- Panama - Section N5
- Mexico - Section O1-O4
- Caribbean Region - Section O5
- Caribbean Countries (various, Jamaica & Trinidad) - Section P1-P3
- Cuba and Dominican Republic - Section P3-P4
- Puerto Rico - Section P5
- Sugar Collection - Section Q1-Q5
Many of the publications of CERLAC Fellows and associated graduate students and post-graduate scholars are also available.
The collections are non-circulating but they are available to students, faculty, and other researchers.
About the Michael Baptista CERLAC Special Collections naming:
Michael immigrated to Canada from South America. His drive and love of learning at York University led to his outstanding achievement as an Executive Senior VP of a Canadian Bank. We hope others find their goals and wings here. Dedicated by his family in 2024.