Cuban Heritage Collection subjectId: 366233

The Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami Libraries collects, preserves, provides access to, and supports research in primary and secondary sources of enduring historical, cultural, and artifactual value that relate to Cuba and the Cuban diaspora from the colonial period to the present. CHC serves as a center for knowledge preservation, creation, and dissemination for the Cuban diaspora, the scholarly community, and the broader public. In that spirit, the Collection aims to strengthen its position as a leading site for the promotion and discussion of research in Cuban Studies.

This page provides information that will help you prepare for doing research in the Collection. Other sections of this Research Guide serve as pathways about the Collection's holdings as they pertain to selected subject areas.

Learn more about our collections, services, and programs on our website. You can also visit us in the Roberto C. Goizueta Pavilion on the second floor of the Otto G. Richter Library by booking an appointment here.

These resources will help you prepare for your visit to the Cuban Heritage Collection or any special collections repository.

Guía del investigador americanista en Miami 

• A guide (in Spanish) for researchers visiting the Cuban Heritage Collection, authored by Romy Sánchez for the online journal Nuevo Mundo. Includes tips for out-of-town visitors for travel, lodging, and dining options.

Summer Tips for Visiting Archives 

• Helpful tips for visiting archives any time of year. From the American Historical Association blog.

On The Road: Radical Research Tips For Historians And Other People 

• From the Tenured Radical blog on The Chronicle of Higher Education website.

Some Tips and Suggestions for your Research Trip 

• A guide by the Committee for Graduate Students of the American Historical Association.

Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research

• From the Society of American Archivists website and by Laura Schmidt

Taking a Byte Out of the Archives: Making Technology Work for You 

• A guide by Kirklin Bateman, Sheila Brennan, Douglas Mudd, and Paula Petrik published by the American Historical Association in the Archives and Research column of the January 2005 issue of Perspectives.

Using Finding Aids 

• A tutorial from the San Diego State University Library that teaches what a finding aid is; how it can help you with research in a special collection; the most important components of a finding aid; some tips to keep in mind when using archival and manuscript collections.

Learning Historical Research 

• This website led by Prof. William Cronin (University of Wisconsin-Madison) provides a basic introduction to historical research for anyone and everyone who is interested in exploring the past.

Travel Options: There are two major international airports that serve as options for air travel: Miami International Airport (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL), both of which are driving distance from the University of Miami's Coral Gables campus.

Miami's Metrorail system now offers transportation between MIA and the University. Board the Orange Line to University Station. From there, you can hop on the free Hurry 'Canes Shuttle, operated by the University during the fall and spring semesters with limited service during the summer.

Housing and Accommodations in Miami: On-campus housing is available during the summer from mid-May to early-August. For more information about on-campus housing, contact us at chc@miami.edu. Please visit the University of Miami's Off-Campus Housing website for other accommodation options. You can also contact the Off-Campus Housing Coordinator at 305-284-4505. 

Dining Options: There are a variety of on-campus dining options, including a coffee shop on the first floor of Richter Library and a Einstein Bros. Bagels at the Law School near the Library.

All researchers are required to register in Aeon, our patron and requests management system.  You can pre-register before your visit or sign up when you arrive.  Once registered in our system, you will be able to access your research account online to manage your personal information and make and track requests for CHC materials for your research. For more information, visit the Aeon FAQ page.

• Uniform Crime Reports: FBI
• Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA): Stats & Facts
• Cuba: International Team Project
  Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Pritzker Legal Research Center, 2017.
• LANIC Cuba Resources
• LANIC Fidel Castro Speech Database

• Legal Decisions, Opinions, & Resources
• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government
  Although this website is deisgned for kids (K-12), it is very useful for adults to gain a basic understanding about the U.S. government.
• Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962: A Reading List (2002)
  "13 Days in October" digital exhibition, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
• Cuban Revolution 1953-1989 and Revolutionary Biographies Introduction
  Library guide created by Naomi Lederer, Colorado State University Libraries. 

• Cuba: The Spanish American War
  Fernando Acosta-Rodriguez, Denise Hibay and Robert Kent, The Research Libraries, The New York Public Library, 1998.

• Feminism in Cuba
  Kristin Switala, Center for Digital Discourse and Culture, Virginia Tech University, 1999.
• Internet Resources about Cuba and Cuban Women
  Curated by Sara E. Cooper, Cubanabooks, 2016.

• Cuban America
  Cuban Research Institute, Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International University, 2010.

• Sea is History: Bibliography: Cuba
  Holly Ackerman, Duke University Libraries, 2009. A Brief Bibliography of Key Sources on Caribbean Sea Migration, 1960-2009, including a section on Cuba.
• Cuban Rafter Phenomenon: A Selected Bibliography
  Holly Ackerman, Duke University Libraries, 2006.

• Afro-Cuban Diasporan Religions: A Comparative Analysis of the Literature and Selected Annotated Bibliography
  Sara M. Sanchez, Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies Occasional Papers Series, University of Miami, 2000.

• Novels Written in English about Cuba/Cubans/Cuban Americans, 1851-2000: An Annotated Bibliography
  Gene Bridwell, Simon Fraser University Library, 2009.
• Cuba Canta y Baila: Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music, 1898-1960
  Cristobal Díaz-Ayala, Florida International University Libraries, 2002.
• Cuban Art Outside Cuba: Exhibition Website
  This project involves the establishment of a website, administered through the State University at Buffalo and supported by the Samuel P. Capen Chair in Philosophy, about Cuban artists who work, or have worked for significant periods of time, outside of Cuba, and primarily on artists who were active at the time this project was initiated (2006).
• Survey of Archives of Latino and Latin American Art
  Museum of Modern Art