Latinx Heritage Month has just begun and events are popping up all across campus to celebrate Latinx culture. One small event that may not be on many students’ radars is the Latinx book exhibit in Parks Library.

All month long, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the library will have multiple displays of books on Latinx culture and by Latinx authors. These displays are in two areas on the main floor of the library, one area being a rolling bookshelf near the entrance and the other being the Fireplace Reading Room, where books are displayed in four small alcoves.

All of the books in the exhibit are still available to check out and the library staff will replace them in the exhibit when returned.

“This is an opportunity to promote our collections here,” said Susan Vega García, assistant dean for inclusion and equity for Parks Library. “We have deep collections in race and ethnic studies and other diversity and inclusion areas, but they tend to be a bit hard for people to find because [the books] are not in one spot. Many of the books are interdisciplinary and are all over the library.”

Due to the nature of the books being interdisciplinary, they are shelved all around the library, meaning there is no current Latino Studies section. To find a Latino Studies history book a student must go to the history section, and to find a Latino Studies sociology book a student has to go to the sociology section. Vega García said unless someone knows the exact name of a book they can sometimes be hard to find.

Vega García said there are usually close to 100 books in the exhibit at any given time, but as more people check out the books and library staff replaces them with new ones, the exhibit can grow in size. The rolling bookshelf holds close to 40 books and each of the four alcoves holds 10-15 each.

“What we do in the Fireplace Reading Room is typically choose four individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the overall theme of the exhibit,” Vega García said. “This time I chose the loose theme of ‘Then and Now,’ kind of aligning with the 25th anniversary of the Latino Studies program at Iowa State. I was thinking back to where Latino Studies used to be nationally 25 years ago and pulled those materials and then pulled more current materials.”

Vega García said Multicultural Student Affairs loosely partners with Parks Library for this event as a way to get the library involved with the various heritage months throughout the year.

The book exhibits Parks Library puts on through the year are the work of the library’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.