National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 to October 15 annually in celebration of the contributions made by American citizens whose ancestors hail from Spain, Mexico, and the rest of the Latin American world.
Begun in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week, the observance was expanded to a month long observation by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. The day of September 15 is significant as the day of independence for several Latin American nations. Mexico also celebrates its independence on September 16.
In 2013, UM professors Eric Vaccarella and Jason Cooper wrote a successful application for funding from the IL|UMinate grant program. Administered by the Office of the Quality Enhancement Program, the IL|UMinate initiative is a competitive funding program that is used to support the goals of information literacy in coursework across the campus.
This year, the library is pleased to display the result of this grant: a bookshelf of 30 titles, which will support teaching and learning about the Day of the Dead tradition, as well as other aspects of Mexican and Latin American culture. The complete list of resources may be viewed on our Day of the Dead Bibliography list in WorldCat Local.
We invite our students and faculty to join us in recognizing a rich cultural tradition, as well as the creative and intellectual contributions of Latin Americans living in the United States and abroad.
