The Handbook is a bibliography on Latin America consisting of works selected and annotated by scholars. Edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress, the multidisciplinary Handbook alternates annually between the social sciences and the humanities. Each year, more than 130 academics from around the world choose over 5,000 works for inclusion in the Handbook. Continuously published since 1936, the Handbook offers Latin Americanists an essential guide to available resources.

Latin American studies includes a vast range of disciplinary perspectives, including history, sociology, economics, anthropology, and political science. Area studies in general have proliferated in the latter half of the twentieth century and Latin American studies in particular has been propelled forward as a distinct field of study by major international changes.