Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials
The Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials is the oldest professional Area Studies library organization for academic librarians, archivists, book vendors, scholars, and students who specialize in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Members are from at least 20 different countries. SALALM promotes better library services and purchasing power among individual members and member libraries. With the Secretariat based at Tulane University's Latin American Library, it is an international non-profit professional organization with three official languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. SALALM is an affiliate of the American Library Association. As of May 2015, the organization had 242 personal and 84 institutional members including librarians, archivists, book dealers, vendors, and university libraries.
History
SALALM had its first meeting in 1956 with approximately 30 librarians and professors and one international bookseller met in Florida at Chinsegut Hill in a meeting convened by the Pan-American Union. Their discussions were “concerned with the selection, acquisition, and processing of library materials from the Latin American nations and the dependent territories of the Caribbean.” Although participants thought this meeting would be a one-time occurrence, they agreed there was a need for more study of the challenges with acquisitions and to continue the discussion by meeting for annual seminars held at the invitation of an institution or organization. Each conference has a theme, like the 57th annual conference theme, "Popular Culture: Arts and Social Change in Latin America," and plenary sessions may discuss the theme, present new research or projects related to Latin American Librarianship, or share committee reports.Since the 1960s, SALALM has published a number of serials and monograph series including a newsletter, conference proceedings, progress reports, and bibliographies. Conference proceedings cover topics like "The Handbook of Latin American Studies: Its Automated History and a Comparison of Available Formats." The archival records of the organization are held at the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin.
Since 1956, SALALM has provided a unique national and international forum that focuses on library collection development and services related to Latin American resources. SALALM was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1968, and the members adopted a constitution and bylaws and elected A. Curtis Wilgus as the first president. An Executive Board, administers SALALM from the Secretariat, which is currently at the Latin American Library at Tulane University. The operational aspects are managed by several Executive Board committees. Program committees take care of intellectual and technical activities related to resources and services of libraries with Latin American collections. The SALALM Secretariat is housed for three to five year periods at institutions that have strong Latin American programs. Hortensia Calvo is the current Executive Secretary.
Locations of past conferences and presidents
SALALM has held conferences is North and South America, Europe, and the Caribbean. In the table below, Presidents are listed with institutional affiliations, if applicable, at the time of their service during the year their terms end.| Number | Year | Host Institution | Location | SALALM President, and Institution |
| I | 1956 | University of Florida | Chinsegut Hill, Florida, USA | * |
| II | 1957 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas, USA | * |
| III | 1958 | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, California, USA | * |
| IV | 1959 | Library of Congress | Washington, DC, USA | * |
| V | 1960 | New York Public Library | New York, New York, USA | * |
| VI | 1961 | Southern Illinois University | Carbondale, Illinois, USA | * |
| VII | 1962 | University of Miami | Coral Gables, Florida, USA | * |
| VIII | 1963 | University of Wisconsin | Madison, Wisconsin, USA | * |
| IX | 1964 | Washington University | St. Louis, Missouri, USA | * |
| X | 1965 | Wayne State University | Detroit, Michigan, USA | * |
| XI | 1966 | Columbia University | New York, New York, USA | * |
| XII | 1967 | University of California, Los Angeles | Pasadena, California, USA | * |
| XIII | 1968 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, Kansas, USA | |
| XIV | 1969 | Universidad de Puerto Rico | San Juan, Puerto Rico | A. Curtis Wilgus, unaffiliated |
| XV | 1970 | University of Toronto, | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Carl Deal, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| XVI | 1971 | Puebla, Mexico | Nettie Lee Benson, U. of Texas at Austin | |
| XVII | 1972 | University of Massachusetts | Amherst, Massachusetts, USA | Glenn Read, Cornell U. |
| XVIII | 1973 | University of West Indies | Port-of-Spain, Trinidad | Donald Wisdom, Library of Congress |
| XIX | 1974 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas, USA | Rosa Q. Mesa, U. of Florida |
| XX | 1975 | Bogotá, Colombia | Emma Simonsen, Indiana U. | |
| XXI | 1976 | Indiana University | Bloomington, Indiana, USA | Rosa Abella, U. of Miami |
| XXII | 1977 | University of Florida | Gainesville, Florida, USA | Mary Ruth Magruder Brady, U. of Saskatchewan |
| XXIII | 1978 | Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London | London, England | William V. Jackson, U. of Texas at Austin |
| XXIV | 1979 | University of California, Los Angeles | Pasadena, California, USA | Alma T. Jordan, U. of West Indies |
| XXV | 1980 | University of New Mexico | Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA | Ludwig "Larry" Lauerhass Jr., U. of California Los Angeles |
| XXVI | 1981 | Tulane University | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA | Laura Gutiérrez-Witt, U. of Texas at Austin |
| XXVII | 1982 | Library of Congress | Washington, DC, USA | Barbara Valk, U. of California Los Angeles |
| XXVIII | 1983 | University of Kansas & Universidad de Costa Rica | University of Kansas & Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica, USA | Jane Garner, U. of Texas at Austin |
| XXIX | 1984 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA | John Hébert, Library of Congress |
| XXX | 1985 | Princeton University | Princeton, New Jersey, USA | Dan C. Hazen, unaffiliated |
| XXXI | 1986 | Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut | Berlin, Germany | Iliana Sontag, San Diego State U. |
| XXXII | 1987 | University of Miami | Coral Gables, Florida, USA | Mina Jane Grothey, U. of New Mexico |
| XXXIII | 1988 | University of California, Berkeley & Stanford University | Berkeley, California, USA | Paula Covington, Vanderbilt U. |
| XXXIV | 1989 | University of Virginia | Charlottesville, Virginia, USA | Barbara Jon Robinson, U. of Southern California |
| XXXV | 1990 | Library of Congress Office, Rio & Fundação Getúlio Vargas | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Ann Hartness, U. of Texas at Austin |
| XXXVI | 1991 | San Diego State University & University of California, San Diego | San Diego, California, USA | Deborah Jakubs, Duke U. |
| XXXVII | 1992 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas, USA | David Block, Cornell U. |
| XXXVIII | 1993 | Feria Internacional del Libro & Instituto de Bibliotecas, Universided de Guadalajara | Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | Patricia Noble, U. of London |
| XXXIX | 1994 | Brigham Young University | Salt Lake City, Utah, USA | Nelly S. González, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| XL | 1995 | University of Georgia | Athens, Georgia, USA | Robert A. McNeil, Oxford U. |
| XLI | 1996 | New York University, New York Public Library, Columbia University | New York, New York, USA | Peter Stern, Rutgers U. |
| XLII | 1997 | Library of Congress, Oliveira Lima Library, and University of Maryland | Rockville, Maryland, USA | Mark Grover, Brigham Young U. |
| XLIII | 1998 | Universidad de Puerto Rico | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Gayle Ann Williams, U. of Georgia |
| XLIV | 1999 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Tennessee, USA | Richard Phillips, U. of Florida |
| XLV | 2000 | University of California, Los Angeles | Long Beach, California, USA | César Rodríguez, Yale U. |
| XLVI | 2001 | Arizona State University | Tempe, Arizona, USA | Victor Federico Torres, Universidad de Puergo Rico |
| XLVII | 2002 | Cornell University | Ithaca, New York, USA | Denise A. Hibay, New York Public Library |
| XLVIII | 2003 | Duke University | Cartagena, Colombia | Darlene Hull, U. of Connecticut |
| XLIX | 2004 | University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA | Angela Carreño, New York U. |
| L | 2005 | University of Florida | Gainesville, Florida, USA | Pamela Howard-Reguindin, Library of Congress |
| LI | 2006 | Stanford University | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Adán Griego, Stanford U. |
| LII | 2007 | University of New Mexico | Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA | Molly Molloy, New Mexico State U. |
| LIII | 2008 | Tulane University | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA | John Wright, Brigham Young U. |
| LIV | 2009 | Ibero-American Institute | Berlin, Germany | Pamela Graham, Columbia U. |
| LV | 2010 | Brown University | Providence, Rhode Island, USA | Fernando Acosta-Rodríguez, Princeton U. |
| LVI | 2011 | University of Pennsylvania and Temple University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA | Nerea Llamas, U. of Michigan |
| LVII | 2012 | The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, The National Library and Information System Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago and the Library Association of Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad and Tobago | Lynn Shirey, Harvard U. |
| LVIII | 2013 | University of Miami Libraries and Florida International University Libraries | Coral Gables, Florida, USA | Martha Mantilla, U. of Pittsburgh |
| LIX | 2014 | Brigham Young University | Salt Lake City, Utah, USA | Robert Delgadillo, U. of California Davis |
| LX | 2015 | Princeton University | Princeton, New Jersey, USA | Luis A. González, Indiana U. |
| LXI | 2016 | University of Virginia | Charlottesville, Virginia, USA | Paloma Celis Carbajal, U. of Wisconsin-Madison |
| LXII | 2017 | University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA | Daisy V. Domínguez, The City College of New York |
| LXIII | 2018 | Colegio de México | Mexico City, Mexico | Suzanne Schadl, U. of New Mexico |
| LXIV | 2019 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas, USA | Melissa Guy, U. of Texas at Austin |
| LXV | 2020 | University of California, Davis | Sacramento, California, USA | Sarah Buck-Kachaluba, U. of California San Diego |
| LXVI | 2021 | New York University and New York Public Library | New York, New York, USA | Sócrates Silva, Columbia U. |
Purpose
SALALM’s primary mission revolves around the control and dissemination of bibliographic information about all types of Latin American publications and the development of library collections of Latin Americana in support of educational research. SALALM also promotes cooperative efforts to achieve better library service. SALALM is a forum for the unique challenges of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Librarians and with related professional development. In collaboration with REFORMA, SALALM also provides library materials for the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking populations in the United States. SALALM shares and disseminates the work of its member through an annual conference proceeding.Awards and scholarships
SALALM currently sponsors a series of Awards and Scholarships including the SALALM Conference Attendance Scholarship, the Dan C. Hazen SALALM Fellowship, Enlace Travel Awards, the José Toribio Medina Award, and the SALALM Award for Institutional Cooperation. SALALM also awards honorary memberships to retired members who have a long record of service to the organization combined with professional achievements.Since 1986, SALALM has sponsored the Enlace Travel Awards, which provides funding for librarians and information professionals from Latin American and the Caribbean to attend SALALM’s annual meetings. To date, the awards have funded conference attendance opportunities from every Spanish-speaking country in the Americas in addition to Brazil, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Basque Country in Spain.
Since 2011, SALALM has provided scholarships to students enrolled in ALA-accredited library and information science programs. Originally a general scholarship, the scholarship now funds attendance at the group's annual conference.
Additional information
As of 2019, SALALM has held 64 annual conferences around the world. The 2020 in-person conference has been postponed because of the COVID-19 crisis but business meetings will be held remotely as scheduled.SALALM's outreach efforts include an extensive bibliography on Latin American, US Latinx, and Iberian Studies librarianship.
Affinity groups
SALALM has both regional and topical/working groups that function through member participation but are outside of the SALALM organizational structure.Regional groups
- LANE is the Latin American North East Libraries Consortium. LANE is the older and most robust of the Regional Groups and includes participants from many Ivy League institutions.
- LASER is the Latin American Studies Southeast Region.
- MOLLAS stands for the Midwest Organization of Libraries for Latin American Studies.
- CALAFIA is the California Cooperative Latin American Collection Development Group which also includes members from Oregon, Washington, and Utah.
Topical/working groups
- ALZAR: Academic Latina/o Zone of Activism & Research
- DíScoLA: Digital Scholarship in Latin America. DíScoLA was founded in 2015 during a no-host lunch at Princeton University during the SALALM annual conference for three purposes: to explore what digital scholarship means in Latin American Studies, to build skills and share knowledge about projects, tools and methods within the SALALM community, and to raise SALALM's profile in this emergent area.
- HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index. HAPI evolved out of The SALALM Committee on Bibliography.
- LAIPA: Latin American and Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Subject Authority Cooperative Program Funnel
- LAMP: Latin American Materials Project
- LARRP: Latin Americanist Research Resources Project
- Libreros
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