I Didn’t Know There Were Latinos in the Midwest.........
 Census 2000 revealed that there are over 35.3 million Latinos living
in the United States, a significant increase from 1990 when they
numbered 22.4 million. The highest concentration of this group (58%) is
of Mexican descent. However, people with origins almost 25 countries
worldwide also account for the fact that Latinos are now the
largest minority group in the country (13%).
A majority of Latinos reside in the nation’s most populous states and
counties, particularly on the East and West coasts, in Texas, and in the
Southwest. But all regions in the United States have seen rapid growth
of their Latino communities. In the Midwest 3.12 million Latinos account
for 5% of the region’s population. The Chicago area and other major
metropolitan areas account for much of this growth. But the Latino
presence is more evident than ever in every part of the region.
In Wisconsin, the Hispanic or Latino population has increased by 107%
over the last decade, the largest growth of any racial or minority
group.
In response to growing demands of diversity, knowledge enhancement, and
an increase in multicultural awareness, Murphy Library received an
endowment to strengthen its collection in the area of Latino / Latina
Studies. Titles were added to the library collection in the areas of
children’s / adolescent, poetry, fiction, reference, cultural studies /
history, literary studies, and audio-visual. Special attention was given
to the acquisition of materials related to Latinos in the Midwest.
Sources:
Wisconsin's Hispanic or Latino population: Census 2000 population and
trends / prepared by: University of Wisconsin Extension & Applied
Population Laboratory. University of Wisconsin--Extension; University of
Wisconsin. 2001.
http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/hotlinks.html |
