Using the Reading Room

Using the Reading Room: Staff in the Hispanic Reading Room help researchers find materials on and from the Caribbean, Latin America, Spain and Portugal; the indigenous cultures of those areas; and persons with Portuguese or Spanish heritage in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas—including U.S. Latina/o/e/x communities. We provide materials held in the General Collections for anyone with a Reader Identification Card and we assist in finding resources in other reading rooms at the Library.

• You can submit a question through our Ask a Librarian service
• Call the Hispanic Reading Room at 202-707-5397, or
• Visit us in person in room 240 Thomas Jefferson Building, Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm EST

For your visit in person

The Hispanic Reading Room staff are the point of contact for researchers picking up requested items.

Please note: You must show your Reader Card to the staff in order to pick up your requested items. We cannot give or deliver Library materials to anyone other than the person who placed the request. Please consult with Hispanic Reading Room staff at the time of the request if you will need to access requested items outside of regular Hispanic Reading Room hours. Requested items will be held for one month.

• Click here to learn more about how to obtain a Reader Identification Card
• Leave your belongings, such as coats and backpacks, in the cloakroom
• Allow extra time on the first day of your visit to receive your Reader Identification Card
• Bring your card, laptop, camera, notebook, pencil, thumb drives, wallet, and cell phone (on silent or vibrate only mode) to the reading room
• Check in with our librarians and get started.