Rafael López (1961) is an award-winning illustrator and artist. Among his many awards, Lopez has won the Pura Belpré Medal award for multiple books including "Drum Dream Girl" and "Book Fiesta". Throughout his career, he has strived to produce books that reflect all young people and bring diverse characters to children's books.

Meg Medina (1963) is a Cuban-American best-selling and award-winning author of children's books and young adult fiction. Her works "Mango, Abuela, and Me" and "Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass" have earned her Pura Belpré awards. She has and continues to work to support Latiné youth, girls, and literacy.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jenny Torrez Sanchez, is best known for her best-selling book, "We Are Not From Here", which won a Pura Belpré Young Adult Honor Book Award. Torrez Sanchez is a former English teacher who now writes Young Adult fiction.

Lucía González (1957) is a renowned author, storyteller, and children's librarian. Throughout her career she has won several awards including a Pura Belpré Honor award for her book, "The Storyteller's Candle", which honors Pura Belpré. Most of González's work reflect and honor her Cuban heritage.

Pam Muñoz Ryan (1951) ia an award-winning author who has earned multiple Pura Belpré Honor and Medal awards, a Newbery Honor Award, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor award. Her most well-known works include, "Echo", "Esperanza Rising", and "The Dreamer".

Silvia Moreno-Garcia (1981) is a best-selling author, publisher, and columnist for The Washington Post. Her critically acclaimed works include "Mexican Gothic" and "Velvet was the Night".

Born in Cicero Illinois to Mexican Immigrant parents, Erika Sánchez (1984) has spent her adult life defying borders. Along with being a poet and essayist, she is the author of the best-selling young adult novel, "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter". Her other works have appeared in several publications and literary journals.

Aiden Thomas is the New York Times best-selling author of "Cemetery Boys". Being queer, Trans, and Latiné, Thomas advocates for diversity in all forms of media.

Yuyi Morales (1968) has written and illustrated several books inspired by the Mexican folklore she heard growing up in Xalapa, Mexico. She has won multiple Pura Belpré Medal and Honor Awards and she is the first Latina artist to have won a Caldecott Honor award. Her award-winning book "Dreamers" tells the story of how she immigrated to the United States.

Carmen Lomas Garza (1948) is an award-winning illustrator that uses her illustrations to evoke feelings of recognition and appreciation in Mexican Americans. Throughout her life, Garza has tried to create art that instills pride in the history and culture of Mexico. Her work is inspired by the Chicano Civil Right Movement, which she was a part of in the 1960's and 70's.

Juan Felipe Herrera (1948) is a renowned poet and author who has written over thirty books. He is currently the united States Poet Laureate, the first Latiné person to be given the title. Herrera advocates for at-risk youth, migrants, and indigenous communities. His work often depicts his passion for social issues.

Matt De La Peña (1976) is a Mexican-American children's book author. De La Peña uses his life as inspiration to write books that connect to all children. Among several awards De La Peña has received a Newbery Medal Award and a Caldecott Honor award.

Growing up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Duncan Tonatiuh (1984) is an award-winning author-illustrator. In his work, Tonatiuh strives to honor the past but still produce art that is relevant for children in the present. He has received several Pura Belpré Medal and Honor Awards, a Tomás RIvera Award, and an Américas Award.

Margarita Engle (1951) is a Cuban-American author who uses her Cuban history to write novels in verse, memoirs, and picture books. Her works, which include "Drum, Dream Girl" and "Dancing Hands, How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln", have won her a Newbery Honor award, a Pura Belpré Medal Award, and several other awards. She held the position of United States Young People's Poet Laureate from 2017 to 2019

Julia Alvarez (1950) has written over 25 books in Spanish and English, including her renowned Tía Lola Stories Series. She has won several awards, including a Pura Belpré Medal Award, an Américas Award, and the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award. In 2013 President Obama gave her the National Medal of Arts.

Author and illustrator, Lulu Delacre (1957), creates picture books for children that portray and honor her Latina culture with authenticity. She is inspired by the folklore and traditions of her heritage and desires to build bridges between children. A Pura Belpré Honor and an Américas award are among the many accolades she has received throughout her career.

Eric Velasquez (1961) was born in Harlem, New York to Afro-Puerto Rican parents. His first book "The Piano Man", won the Coretta-Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. He won an NAACP Image award for "Our Children Can Soar" in 2010 and Pura Belpré’ Award in 2011 for "Grandma’s Gift".

Anika Aldamuy Denise is the author of the critically acclaimed book "Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller, Pura Belpré" for which she won the 2020 Pura Belpré Honor Award. She has nine other picture books that have earned her awards and national recognition. She enjoys writing books that honor her multicultural heritage.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Juliana Perdomo is an art therapist turned children's book author and illustrator. Perdomo strives to produce artwork that is heartfelt and diverse. Her work has been recognized nationally in several publications.

David Bowles (1970) is a Mexican-American author known for his works "The Smoking Mirror" and "They Call Me Güero". His other works have been featured in several well-known publications such as The New York Times and School Library Journal. Bowles has received several awards including a Tomás Rivera Award and a Pura Belpré Honor Award.

Juana Martinez-Neal is a Peruvian author and illustrator best known for her books, "Alma and How She Got Her Name" and "Fry Bread" A Native American Family Story". Martinez-Neal has received a Pura Belpré Medal Award, a Caldecott Honor Award, and a Robert F. Sibert Award.

Lilliam Rivera is a critically acclaimed children's book author who has won several awards. Her well-renowned recent book, "Never Look Back" won her a Pura Belpré Honor Award. Her other work including "The Education of Margot Sanchez" have been featured in many renowned publications.

Monica Brown (1969) is an award-winning Peruvian-American children's book author of over 30 books. She has won multiple awards including four Pura Belpré Honor Awards.

Isabel Quintero is a children's and young adults' author, who is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Quintero is known for her series "Ugly Cat and Pablo" and her recent book, "My Papi Has a Motorcycle". She has won several award including a Boston Globe Horn Book Award and a Tomás Rivera Book Award.

Carmen Bernier-Grand (1947) is a Puerto Rican author of children's and young adult books who has won several awards. Bernier-Grand has been awarded three Pura Belpré Honor Award for her biographies, "Cesar: Yes, We Can! ¡Sí, se puede!", "Diego: Bigger Than Life", and "Frida: ¡Viva la vida!".

Pat Mora (1942) is a prolific author and literacy advocate. Mora founded Children's Day/ Book Day and continues to be actively involved in the mission to link children and families with books. Over the course of more than 50 books for children, teens, and adults, Mora has earned several awards and has been recognized by many institutions. She has received multiple Américas awards and Pura Belpré Honor and Medal Awards.

Born in New Mexico, where her family has resided for centuries, Amy Córdova draws inspiration from the state's landscape and culture to produce the "Neo-folk" art found in her many illustrated children's picture books. Her artwork has won several awards including two Pura Belpré Honor Awards. Along with being an illustrator, Córdova is an artist and renowned arts educator.

Sara Palacios (1955) is an award-winning illustrator who has worked with several children's book authors to produce over fifteen children's picture books. She has won several awards including an Américas Book Award for her work in, "Between Us and Abuela", and a Pura Belpré Honor Book award for her work in "Marisol Mcdonald Doesn't Match".

Established in 1973, La Casa/Latino Cultural Center serves as an important link and advocate between the university and the Latino community, working closely with other campus units, the Bloomington community, and state and national groups. Building on a strong campus community, La Casa/Latino Cultural Center provides programming, support, and opportunities to foster a sense of belonging and pride for Latino students, while assisting in their academic, leadership, professional, and social development.

On the Bloomington campus, the Herman B Wells Library, with its double towers of Indiana limestone, is the visual center of the multi-library system and primarily supports the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences.