Historian José María Muriá, 81, one of this region’s most prolific authors, as well as an esteemed museographer, academic and professor, was recognized by the International Book Fair (FIL) this week in a special tribute presided over by Universidad de Guadalajara Rector Ricardo Villanueva.
Muriá was the recipient of the 2023 Homenaje al Bibliófilo (Bibliophile homage). Although not technically a librarian, his passion for books and as a developer of libraries is legendary, having accumulated a personal collection of more than 30,000 tomes. Muriá was instrumental in the expansion of the impressive library of the Colegio de Jalisco, the historical institution he headed between 1991 and 2005, and also in the creation of the “Juan José Arreola” Public Library of the State of Jalisco.
“He not only accumulates books, he treasures them,” said Sergio López Ruelas, the general director of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) library system. “Each book in (Muriá’s) collection tells a story, not just the one printed on its pages, but how it came into his hands, why he chose it and what meaning it has in his life.”
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