FACT SHEET

The New York Public Library
Bronx Library Center: The Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center

The Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center is a unique library-based facility that focuses on and celebrates the rich diversity of the Latino and Puerto Rican experience in all of the Americas - and within the Bronx.

The Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center contains a wide array of reference, fiction, and non-fiction materials in Spanish and English. Many of the items are housed on the Library's expansive fourth floor. Materials in other media, such as CDs, DVDs, talking books and young adult collections are located on the first floor, while children's items are housed on the second floor.

Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center Highlights

• A broad range of materials in English and Spanish that reflect both individual cultural experiences and the broader Latino experience. The collection also includes scholarly titles on literature, history, culture and the arts, and fiction by world-renowned and local writers.
• Reference collections include Spanish-language dictionaries and encyclopedias and books on prominent Latin-American figures.
• Popular titles in Spanish on a wide variety of topics including mathematics, health, self-help, how-to, and fiction intended to appeal to the myriad backgrounds and interests of users.
• A growing collection of periodicals, which includes such newspapers as Noticias del Mundo, Diario La Prensa, and magazines such as Vanidades.
• Adjacent glass-enclosed study-room houses a collection of unique materials and a pair of authentic "Vejigante" masks by mask-maker Miguel Caraballo of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
• Cultural programs, including music, dance, and theater for all ages highlighting the rich diversity of Latinos and Puerto Ricans in the United States and throughout the world, as well as an ongoing multi-media exhibition program.
• All databases and computers throughout the building are accessible in English and Spanish.

This building was generously funded by The State of New York: George E. Pataki, Governor; Charles A. Gargano, Chairman, Empire State Development Corporation; the New York State Assembly and Assemblyman José Rivera; and The City of New York: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor; Christine C. Quinn, City Council Speaker; Adolfo Carrión, Jr., Bronx Borough President; the Bronx City Council Delegation and City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera.

A major grant from Roger and Susan Hertog provided lead private support for the Bronx Library Center. Support for cultural programming was provided by a generous grant from Bank of America, with additional funding from the New York Community Trust.

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Contact:    Gayle Snible    212.704.8600
gs:01.09.06:nypl002.7