Fondos y Colecciones Especiales Biblioteca Daniel Cosío Villegas El Colegio de México

History and Founding

The Fondos y Colecciones Especiales (Special Funds and Collections) is the archival and rare materials division of the Biblioteca Daniel Cosío Villegas (BDCV) at El Colegio de México (COLMEX) in Mexico City. El Colegio de México was founded in 1940–1941, building on the legacy of La Casa de España en México (1938–1940), an institution created to support Spanish Republican intellectuals exiled after the Civil War. From its earliest years, the institution committed to locating, acquiring, and preserving historical archives scattered across Mexico.

Collections and Holdings

The Fondos y Colecciones Especiales houses an extensive array of primary sources, including the Fondo La Casa de España en México (1936–1940), some 800 geographic and historical maps, microfilms of diplomatic correspondence from the US National Archives, and personal collections donated by notable scholars such as Daniel Cosío Villegas, José Gaos, Carlos Pellicer, and Rodolfo Stavenhagen. The division also holds rare and restricted imprints published before 1931, a collection of pre-1821 Mexican imprints, and the Archivo Histórico de El Colegio de México, which includes personal fonds such as those of Max Aub and José Miranda González.

Notable Materials Related to Journalism and Media

The collections include press cuttings, correspondence, and documentary sources relating to twentieth-century Mexican and Latin American history, providing researchers with primary material for the study of political and cultural journalism of the period. Periodical holdings from across the Spanish-speaking world are also represented.

Access and Usage

Collections are accessible to researchers at the Biblioteca Daniel Cosío Villegas, located at Camino al Ajusco 20, Pedregal de Santa Teresa, Mexico City. An online digital repository (repositorio.colmex.mx) provides access to selected digitised materials. Researchers should contact the library for access to restricted materials and personal fonds.