Cuban Heritage Collection

What Cuban Heritage Collection does

The Cuban Heritage Collection (CHC) is a specialized archival collection within the University of Miami Libraries, dedicated to acquiring, preserving, and providing access to materials relating to Cuban history, culture, and the Cuban diaspora. It is housed in the Richter Library on the Coral Gables campus of the University of Miami, occupies reading rooms in the Kislak Center, and is recognized as one of the largest repositories of Cuban materials outside Cuba. The collection's holdings include manuscripts, photographs, rare books, and other primary source materials, and are made accessible both physically (on-site reading rooms by appointment via the Aeon system) and digitally through the University of Miami's Digital Collections portal.

Its underlying technical stack is composed of standard library and archival systems operated by the University of Miami Libraries' Digital Strategies department: CONTENTdm for digital collection delivery, AtoM (Access to Memory) for archival finding aids, Alma/Primo for library catalog and discovery, and Scholarship@Miami for open access institutional repository publishing. Community-sourced content (e.g., the Documenting COVID-19 project) is captured via a Cognito Forms-based digital submission portal capped at 50 MB per file and 15 files per submission.

The unit does not operate as a commercial entity. Access is free for University of Miami students, faculty, and staff with a valid CaneCard, and on-site for community users with valid photo ID. Revenue is structurally inapplicable: funding flows from the University of Miami Libraries' institutional budget, supplemented by philanthropic support (notably the Goizueta Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program and the Amigos of the Cuban Heritage Collection support organization), with only immaterial pay-as-you-go reproduction and licensing fees under the library's published Use Fee Schedule. Primary users are UM graduate students and faculty in Cuban, Latin American, and Caribbean studies; secondary users include external academic researchers worldwide and South Florida community members contributing to special documentation projects.

Name

Cuban Heritage Collection

Legal name

Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries

Website

https://library.miami.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Cuban Heritage Collection is a specialized archival unit within the University of Miami Libraries that preserves and provides access to primary source materials on Cuban history, culture, and diaspora, serving UM graduate students, faculty, external scholars, and South Florida community contributors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Library Archival Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Historical Sites (712120)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAEAGAJ

Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

SECONDARYTHAJADAI

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Museums, Galleries & Cultural Institutions

SECONDARYBPAGAHAF

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

Keywords

• Archival collections
• Historical manuscripts
• Cultural heritage research
• Digital library collections
• Special collections repositories

Headquarters

HQ city

Coral Gables

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. University of Miami Institutional Funding: The Cuban Heritage Collection is funded through the University of Miami Libraries budget as part of the university's academic mission. Services are provided at no cost to University of Miami students, faculty, and staff.
2. Photocopying and Reproduction Services: The collection provides photocopy and digital reproduction services for research materials, with associated fees as outlined in the library's Use Fee Schedule.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Cuban Heritage Collection is a specialized archival collection within the University of Miami Libraries that acquires, preserves, and provides access to materials relating to Cuban history and culture. It houses rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and digital collections in the Richter Library's Kislak Center, offering on-site reading room access and online digital collections to support scholarly research and community documentation.

Product overview

The Cuban Heritage Collection is a single, unified archival collection within the University of Miami Libraries system. It operates as a specialized research collection offering physical and digital access to Cuban heritage materials, supported by fellowship programs and a Friends group. The collection is part of the broader UML Distinctive Collections that also include Special Collections and University Archives, and participates in university-wide initiatives such as COVID-19 documentation projects and digital scholarship services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cuban Heritage Collection: A specialized archival collection dedicated to acquiring, preserving, and providing access to materials relating to Cuban history and culture, including rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and other research materials.

Products and services

• Cuban Heritage Collection A distinctive archival collection within the University of Miami Libraries providing access to Cuban historical materials including archives, manuscripts, rare books, photographs, and digital collections, housed in a quiet reading room on the second floor of Richter Library. Targeted at academic researchers, graduate students, faculty, and the South Florida community.
• Amigos of the Cuban Heritage Collection A Friends/support group that provides advocacy, fundraising, and community engagement support for the Cuban Heritage Collection's mission.
• Goizueta Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program A fellowship program funded by the Goizueta Foundation that supports graduate students conducting research using the Cuban Heritage Collection and other Distinctive Collections at the University of Miami Libraries.
• Photocopying and Reproduction Services Fee-based photocopy and digital reproduction services for research materials, with licensing of images for publication use as outlined in the library's Use Fee Schedule.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ongoing community documentation project accepting submissions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Amigos of the Cuban Heritage CollectioncoreOthersThe Amigos of the Cuban Heritage Collection is a support organization that promotes the collection, organizes community events, and supports researchers through advocacy and fundraising.
• Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Early Americas, Exploration, and NavigationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe renowned Kislak Collection is housed within Special Collections at the University Libraries, documenting the history of the Western Hemisphere including the North and South Poles. Both collections serve complementary research purposes in the Kislak Center.
• Special Collections (University of Miami Libraries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint collaboration on the Documenting COVID-19: South Florida's Pandemic Experience project, collecting testimonials, images, and videos from community members to document pandemic experiences.
• University Archives (University of Miami Libraries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint collaboration on the COVID-19 documentation project as part of the UML Distinctive Collections initiative, collecting pandemic experiences from students, faculty, staff, and South Florida communities.
• Digital Strategies (University of Miami Libraries)coreTechnology or IntegrationDigital Strategies department provides technical infrastructure for digital collections, including CONTENTdm, digitization services, digital preservation, and web archiving capabilities that support the Cuban Heritage Collection's digital presence.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe: A Caribbean-heritage research center with archival holdings and academic programming closely paralleling the CHC's mission across the Spanish Caribbean.
• University of Florida Latin American & Caribbean Collection: A major university-based Latin American and Caribbean archival collection serving comparable graduate researcher and faculty segments with similar primary-source, manuscript, and rare-book holdings.
• Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University: FIU's Cuban-focused research institute is the most direct peer, operating in the same South Florida ecosystem with overlapping Cuban diaspora researcher audiences and similar academic archive and programming activities.
• NYU Division of Libraries – Latin American & Caribbean Studies: A peer major research university Latin American and Caribbean collection with overlapping manuscript, archival, and digital access services for graduate-level scholars.
• Tulane University Latin American Library: Another flagship U.S. academic Latin American library collection with overlapping Cuban and Caribbean holdings, similar fellowship programs, and a comparable researcher-services model.
• Princeton University Latin American Studies Collections: A peer university-based Latin American research collection serving graduate scholars and faculty with comparable archival, manuscript, and digital access services.

Broad incumbents

• Library of Congress Hispanic Division: The federal-scale Hispanic and Caribbean archival operation overlaps heavily with the CHC's subject coverage but is a much larger, broader-scope incumbent with national reach.
• Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino: A broader cultural-heritage institution with overlapping Cuban and Latino programming and archival work, but operating at national scale and across the full Latino diaspora.

Others

• Emory University – Goizueta Archives (related Goizueta-funded collections): Connected through the same Goizueta Foundation funding ecosystem; an adjacent, thematically related archival operation at Emory University that shares a strategic funding partner and comparable archival stewardship mission.

Regional players

• Archivo Nacional de Cuba: The official national archive of Cuba, the in-country counterpart for Cuban historical materials; comparable in subject scope but operates under a different regulatory regime and is geographically inaccessible to most U.S. researchers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cuban-heritage-collection

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Cuban Heritage Collection