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Scholarly journals from Latin America have aspired to reach an adequate level of visibility and impact not only locally, but also in the international arena. Editors have not been alone in this endeavour, other actors in the information chain have also played their part. This article aims to examine the databases (indexing and abstracting services, directories, catalogues and electronic journal portals) produced in Latin America between 1970 and 2009.

The paper begins with an historical review of the relevant regional initiatives and leads up to an assessment of the present day situation by analysing the contribution made by the databases in the identification, register, visibility, access and use of Latin American scholarly journals.

The creation of Latin American databases has improved communication and knowledge on publications in the region as useful additions to the scant information provided by international sources. The recent adherence to the principles of the Open Access movement has also potentially improved the visibility and access to publications from the region.

This is the first study to analyse the development of Latin American databases over a period of some 40 years.

An interest in the identification, organisation and dissemination of local and regional information has promoted the development and production of databases in Latin America. For those Latin Americanists engaged in the study of the social sciences and humanities, these databases liave become a valuable tool, facilitating access to information unavailable by other means. However, these databases are frequently unknown to their potential users. In this paper, the results are presented of an analysis made of 476 Latin American databases in the social sciences and humanities, produced in 21 countries. The variables studied refer to country of origin, subject, type of database and access, number of records, time span, geographical coverage and language of the data, as well as the institutions involved in their production. Problems of user access and visibility are discussed. The use of the regional databases as an important support for Latin American studies is also emphasised.