The Hispanic Society of America’s renowned library offers unrivaled resources for researchers interested in the history and culture of Spain, Portugal, and the Americas. The collections of the Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books are among the most extensive outside Spain, containing more than 250,000 manuscripts, documents, and letters dating from the 11th to 20th centuries, along with 35,000 books printed before 1830, which include some 250 incunabula (books printed before 1500). The Hispanic Society also maintains a modern research library on the literature, fine arts, geography, history, and cultures of Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and the Philippines, now comprising over 300,000 volumes plus 1,500 periodicals dating from the 19th century to the present.

The library continues to work on its online catalogue, and new acquisitions are integrated on a daily basis into this database, which currently holds more than 50,000 records.