Sarah Aponte, Chief Librarian

Sarah-Aponte_1  Chief Librarian, CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
  Professor, The City College of New York Libraries

  P: 212.650.7170
  E: aponte@ccny.cuny.edu

Sarah Aponte is Chief Librarian of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library at The City College of New York and Professor at The City College Libraries, teaching courses on Dominican Studies and bibliographical instruction. She founded the Dominican Library in 1994 with donations of books and other materials by the Council of Dominican Educators and is the first Dominican librarian solely dedicated to Dominican studies in the United States.

Aponte holds an M.L.S. in Library and Information Sciences from Queens College; an M.S.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Baruch College; a B.A. in International Studies from the City College of New York; and an A.A. in Liberal Arts from Hostos Community College.

Aponte created and maintains this Dominican Studies Research Guide to provide links to useful databases, books, web sites, journal articles, and films in the interdisciplinary field of Dominican Studies. 

PUBLICATIONS

Books

2022   Aponte, Sarah. La presencia dominicana en el periódico Las Novedades, 1876-1918: De breve mención a propietarios en la ciudad de Nueva York. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; New York: Biblioteca Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña; CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. Winner of the “José Toribio Medina Award 2023” SALALM (Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials).

2015   Espaillat, Rhina P. and Sarah Aponte. Juan Pablo Duarte: The Humanist (a Bilingual Selection of his Writings / Juan Pablo Duarte: El humanista (selección bilingüe de sus escritos). Santo Domingo; New York: Biblioteca Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña; CUNY Dominican Studies Institute.

2013    Aponte, Sarah and Franklin Gutiérrez. Autores dominicanos de la diáspora: apuntes bio-bibliográficos (1902-2012). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Biblioteca Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña. Winner of the “José Toribio Medina Award 2014” SALALM (Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials).

1999    Aponte, Sarah. Dominican Migration to the United States 1970-1997: An Annotated Bibliography. Dominican Research Monographs. New York: CUNY Dominican Studies Institute.

Book Chapter

2021    Aponte, Sarah. "Dominican Blackness." Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies. Edited by Ilan Stavans. New York: Oxford University Press.

2019    Aponte, Sarah and Nelson Santana. “The CUNY Dominican Studies Institute Library: Bringing the Community to the Academic Library.” In Latin American Collection Concepts: Essays on Libraries, collaborations and New Approaches. Edited by Gayle Williams and Jana Krentz. Jefferson, NC:  McFarland & Company Publishers, pp. 183-196. Book winner of the “2019 José Toribio Medina Award” SALALM.

2017 (Updated 2021)    Aponte, Sarah. "Dominican Diaspora." Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies. Edited by Ilan Stavans. New York: Oxford University Press.

Articles/Published Conference Proceedings

2023   Aponte, Sarah. “La Prensa en Español en los Estados Unidos: La participación de los dominicanos en Las Novedades: España y los pueblos hispanoamericanos (1876-1918).” In Papers of the Sixty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, 2021. Edited by Sócrates Silva and Daniel Arbino. Columbia University, New York: SALALM.

2017    Aponte, Sarah and Anthony Stevens-Acevedo. “First Blacks in the Americas: A Unique Collection of Primary Sources on Black African Ancestry in the Dominican Republic.” In Papers of the Sixty-Second Annual Meeting of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials. Edited by Daisy V. Domínguez. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: SALALM, pp. 137-141. 

2016    Domínguez, Daisy and Sarah Aponte. "Acogiendo a Comunidades Diversas: Las Bibliotecas de City College en Nueva York." In Bibliotecas e inclusión social. Compiled by Ana Gricelda Morán Guzmán and Sergio López Ruelas. Mexico: Universidad de Guadalajara, pp.17-24. (XXII Coloquio Internacional de Bibliotecarios/Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, Nov. 30-Dec 2, 2015).

2012    Aponte, Sarah. "Dominican Migration to Europe: A Biographical Approach.” In Papers of the Fifty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials. Edited by Pamela Graham. New Orleans, Louisiana: SALALM, 2012. 204-214.

2011    Aponte, Sarah. "Dominican Related Dissertations in the U.S.: an Analytical Approach (1939-2009).” Camino Real, vol. 3, no. 4, pp.  21-51.

Encyclopedia Essays

2016    Aponte, Sarah. “Virtudes Uribe.” Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography. Edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Franklin W. Knight. Oxford University Press.

2016    Aponte, Sarah. "Alianza Dominicana". Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in Contemporary Politics, Law, and Social Movements. Edited by Suzanne Oboler and Deena Gonzalez. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2015    Aponte, Sarah and Anthony Stevens-Acevedo. “Dominican Americans.” The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism. Edited by John Stone, R. Dennis, P. Rizova, A. Smith and X. Hou. Wiley-Blackwell.

2005    Aponte, Sarah. “Washington Heights.” Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. Edited by Suzanne Oboler and Deena J. González. New York: Oxford University Press.

2005    Aponte, Sarah and Silvio Torres-Saillant. “Dominican American Art.” Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. Edited by Suzanne Oboler and Deena J. González. New York: Oxford University Press.

2005    Aponte, Sarah. “Frank Moya Pons.” Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, Society. Edited by Ilan Stavans. CT: Grolier Publishing.

Bibliographic Contributions

Reconstructed the bibliography of two classic texts, translated for the first time in English, of two renowned Dominican authors:

2016    Bosch, Juan. Social Composition of the Dominican Republic. New York: Routledge.

2015    Franco, Franklin J. Blacks, Mulattos, and the Dominican Nation. New York: Routledge.

Exhibits

2021    First Blacks in the Americas: Exhibit Manuscripts and Photograph Collection. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, The City College of New York. JSTOR Open Collection. Open Educational Resource (OER)

2020    Monocorde: A series of drawings inspired by everyday life of First Responders during Covid-19 in the Dominican Republic. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, The City College of New York and Centro Cultural Domínico-Americano. Santiago, Dominican Republic. September 23. Open Educational Resource (OER)

2015    Sixteenth-Century La Española: Glimpses of the First Blacks in the Early Colonial America. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The City College of New York. May-September. Open Educational Resource (OER)

2015    Fighting for Democracy: Dominican Veterans from World War II. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The City College of New York. Nov. 11-October 28. Traveling, Museo de la Resistencia. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  August-Nov 2016. Open Educational Resource (OER)

2014    Interior: Harvests of the Dominican Republic. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The City College of New York. May 9-September. 14.

2013    El Músico y el Pintor/ The Musician and the Painter: An Exhibit Documenting the Lifetime, Work, and Artistic Trajectory of Two Early Twentieth Century Dominican Artists in New York. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The City College of New York. Feb-March. Traveling, Centro Cultural Domínico-Americano. Santiago, Dominican Republic, November-December 2018. Open Educational Resource (OER)

2013    Condition: My Place Our Longing /  Condición: Mi Lugar Mi Anhelo. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The City College of New York. September-November. Open Educational Resource (OER)

2013    Identity and Magic: Folk Dances of the Dominican Republic. Al fresco– Amsterdam Plaza, The City College of New York. May-August.

2012    Jewels of Taino Art. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The City College of New York. October-December.

2011    New Perspectives: Dominican Republic. Al fresco– Amsterdam Plaza, The City College of New York. September-October.

2010    Manifestaciones: Expressions of Dominicanidad in Nueva York. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The City College of New York. October-December.

2010    Latinos in the United States: ¡Presente! The City College of New York Libraries. February–June. (co-curated with Daisy V. Domínguez).

2008    Dominicans in New York: An Exhibit from the Dominican Archives & Library Collections. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The City College of New York. October 2008 – January 2009. Open Educational Resource (OER)

2008    Mujer Dominicana en New York (Dominican Women in New York). Al fresco– Amsterdam Plaza, The City College of New York. August –September.

2008    Tito Cánepa: 60 Years of Dominican Art in the United States. Funglode. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. April– May.

2007    The Artistry of Dominican Carnival: A Multimedia Exhibition. September 2006-January 2007.

2006    Eduardo Leon Jimenes Art Contest: A New York Exhibition of Selected Award-Winning Works. April -June.

2006    Don Pedro Mir in the Diaspora: A Photo Exhibit. May-June.

2004    Caña Brava: The Bateys of the Dominican Republic. December-January.

2004    Dominican Youth Across Borders: A Photo Exhibit. September-October.

2004    Dominican Rock: An Audiovisual Experience. December. 

2004    Memories of Underdevelopment: A Portrait of the Dominican Republic. November.

2001    The Evolution of an Ethnic Community: Dominican-Americans in Upper Manhattan. September-November.

1999    Hispaniola: One Island, Two Cultures. September-November.

Lectures/Group Orientation Sessions

Conduct approximately 30 educational workshops/presentations per year on Dominican-related sources to groups from elementary, high school, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as community members.

Academic and Professional Honors

2023    Hostos Community College Presidential Medal of Honor for Outstanding Alumna

2021    Hostos Distinguished Latino Leaders and Student scholars

2016    CCNY President’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Service in the Library

2016    Certificate for Outstanding Claremont International Internship Supervision

2015    American Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic and the Dominican Week in the United States Distinguished Award Recognition

2015    Distinguished Service Award. The City College of New York

2014    José Toribio Medina Award. SALALM

2013    45th Anniversary Profile Book. Hostos Community College Alumna

2012    Dominican Women Writers’ Book Fair Dedication and Award

2012    Proclamation New York City Council. Council Member Ydanis Rodríguez

2012    Citation New York State Assembly. Assembly Member Guillermo Linares

2012    Citation New York State Assembly. Assembly Member Nelson L. Castro

2012    New York State Senate Recognition. Senator Adriano Espaillat

2012    Dominican Republic Ministry of Culture Certificate. Commissioner Carlos Sánchez

2011    Proclamation New York State Senate. Senator Adriano Espaillat

2011    Distinguished Dominican, Community Services Organization. Dominican Sunday

2009    The City College of New York Service Recognition Award

Professional Memberships

2008-present   American Library Association (ALA)

2003-present   Library Association of the City University of New York (LACUNY)

2006-present   Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials (SALALM)

2006-present   Latin America North East Libraries Consortium (LANE), SALALM chapter

Last Updated: 02/27/2024 13:35