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December 2021

Donor Appreciation for renowned writer Julia Álvarez

We are indebted to the award-winning novelist, poet and essayist Julia Álvarez for her donations and continuous support to the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library. We are fortunate to have received her timely donations that include complete collections of her published writings as well as books and rare materials from her personal library. These invaluable sources provide insights on topics related to the history, society and culture of the Dominican Republic. Scholars and students who visit our Dominican Library from around the world have benefited from these kind donations.

The donated materials include one of a kind, rare publications, videos, and vinyl records, which are very difficult to locate or out of print. Among these, we can find the exceptional collection published by the Sociedad Dominicana de Bibliófilos, an institution devoted to the perseveration, promotion, and dissemination of the traditional Dominican bibliographic canon through the re-edition of Dominican classic texts and foreign authors. The Dominican Library dedicated a special shelve section to this first edition reprint donation in honor of Eduardo and Julia Álvarez, parents of Julia Álvarez. These books cover a wide range of subjects including literature, art, politics, history, economics, and culture. More recently, thanks to Álvarez’s agency, the Dominican Library received thirty-eight additional titles from the Sociedad Dominicana de Bibliófilos to complete this one of a kind collection. We would like to acknowledge Bibliófilos member Tomas Taveras (Álvarez’s cousin), who sent the materials.

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Sociedad Dominicana de Bibliófilos collection named after Eduardo and Julia Alvarez at the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library

A Selection of Alvarez’s adult and children publications available at the Dominican Library:

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From left to right: How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), In the Time of the Butterflies (1995), Yo: A Novel (1997), In the Name of Salomé: a Novel (2000), Cuando la Tía Lola vino a quedarse (2001), Un regalo de gracias: la leyenda de la Altagracia (2007), and El mejor regalo del mundo: la leyenda de La Vieja Belén (2009).

A selection of audio-visual materials donated by Alvarez from her personal library:

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From left to right: Camila Henríquez Ureña: ensayo, LP (1981), Caimoni: imágenes del pasado (VHS, 1997), and Voces Dominicanas (LP/vinyl, 1960s).

We are grateful for Julia Álvarez’s support and encourage students and researchers to visit the CUNY DSI Library to use these important materials.

Prof. Sarah Aponte, Chief Librarian 

Jhensen Ortiz, Librarian