Nelly Sfeir Gonzalez

Nelly Sfeir de Gonzalez (Nelly Sfeir Gonzalez) (July 1, 1930 – November 29, 2020) was an American librarian and bibliographer at the University of Illinois. She was a two-time winner of the Torribio Medina Prize for Latin American bibliographies, a president of Seminar on Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, and a founder of the Bolivian Studies Journal.

Early life and education

Gonzalez was born on July 1, 1930, in Cochabamba, Bolivia. In La Paz, Gonzalez attended the American Institute in La Paz. Following high school, Gonzalez studied finance and economics at night while working as a bilingual executive secretary during the day. Gonzalez began studying law at the Higher University of San Andrés in La Paz. During her time at UMSA, Gonzalez served an active role in the fight for women's suffrage in Bolivia, serving as the president of the Union Femenina Universitaria (Women’s Student Union) and organizing a protest march in 1949 to advocate for women to receive the right to vote in Bolivia.

Career

Gonzalez served as a Spanish teacher at a grade school, the American Cooperative School in La Paz starting in 1959. In 1967, Gonzalez and her family moved to Urbana, Illinois, where Gonzalez enrolled in the University of Illinois' Master of Library Science program. Graduating with honors, she began working at the University of Illinois library and began documenting the life of Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Gonzalez later attained a tenured position at the University of Illinois and became the director of its Latin American library.

In 1991, Gonzalez served as a founding-editor of the Bolivian Studies Journal.

In 1994, Gonzalez served as the president of Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials.

Gonzalez died from COVID-19 at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, on November 29, 2020. She was 90 years old.

Selected publications

• Gonzalez, Nelly Sfeir de, ed. (1986). Bibliographic guide to Gabriel García Márquez. 1986/92 / comp. by Nelly Sfeir de González. Bibliographies and indexes in world literature. ISBN 978-0-313-28832-6.

Honors and awards

Gonzalez has twice received the José Toribio Medina Award from the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, first in 1987 and a second time in 1995 for her work on Gabriel García Márquez. In 2009, the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials award her with an honorary membership.