Josep Maria Aloy Children's and Youth Literature Documentation Center

Josep M. Aloy Children's and Youth Literature Documentation Center

The Centre for Documentation in Children’s and Young Adult Literature holds a collection of more than 8,000 volumes of novels, short stories, theatre, and poetry for children and young people in the Catalan language. It brings together the contents of the personal library of Josep Maria Aloy, a critic, essayist, and writer of children’s and young adult literature. This is a bibliographic collection of great value, both for the number of volumes and for its comprehensive scope.

The Aloy family donated this legacy to UManresa so that it could preserve it and disseminate it among the educational and research community in the field of education. Upon taking responsibility for the collection in December 2021, UManresa assumed the challenge of continuing the work of promoting and enhancing children’s and young adult literature in Catalan carried out during Josep Maria Aloy’s lifetime.

The Centre for Documentation in Children’s and Young Adult Literature is located on the ground floor of the FUB4 building, a facility exclusively dedicated to Education. Its management is overseen by the Education studies at UManresa (the Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and the Advanced Vocational Training Programme in Early Childhood Education). Educators, teachers, and scholars in the field of Education may consult the collection during the University’s regular opening hours.

Documentary collection

Catalogue of the documentary collection of the Josep Maria Aloy Centre for Documentation in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The collection is currently in the process of being catalogued.

Consult the catalogue

Josep Maria Aloy, biographer of Josep Vallverdú and curator of the work of Joana Raspall

Josep Maria Aloy (Manresa, 1948–2020) was a cultural communicator, literary critic, and author of several works of children’s literature. He was the biographer of Josep Maria Vallverdú and the curator of Joana Raspall’s work, including Bestiolari de Joana Raspall (2014), Olor de maduixa (2016), and Amb sabates de molsa (2018). As an author, he wrote Renoi, quin conte! (1996), Una picoreta estranya (2000), and the children’s poetry book La lluna, la Bruna. As a specialist in the work of Josep Vallverdú, he curated the collection Contes en òrbita (1991) and wrote Camins i paraules: Josep Vallverdú, l’escriptor i l’home (1998) and Retrats (2013). In the field of literary studies, he is the author of Et diran que llegeixis, Bernat. Mig segle de Literatura Catalana per a joves (1960–2010).

Members of the Josep Maria Aloy Documentation Centre Committee

Sílvia Mas (Committee Coordinator)

She holds a degree in Literary Theory and Comparative Literature and a PhD in Philosophy and Letters. She was the recipient of the 2007 Mercè Rodoreda Foundation Award, granted by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, for the work Les novel·les d’exili d’Avel·lí Artís-Gener (PAM, 2008). Throughout her teaching career, she has been a lecturer in Catalan language at the University of Birmingham and has taught language, literature, and literary theory at various universities. She has written several articles and given lectures on the work of Avel·lí Artís-Gener, exile literature, and literary theory. She is currently Deputy Managing Director of UManresa and a lecturer in children’s literature in the Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at the same university.

Fina Tapias

She holds a diploma in Social Work, and her professional experience over the past 35 years has been focused on the field of Juvenile Justice. From a young age, she has been involved in amateur theatre as an actress and director, specifically for more than 20 years with the Els Carlins Theatre Company. She led the “Llegir el Teatre” reading club for eight years. Her connection with the field of children’s and young adult literature has been closely linked to her husband, Josep Maria Aloy.

M. Alba Vinyes

She is a special education teacher and educational psychologist. In the early years of her professional life, she combined teaching at various schools with doctoral studies in Sociology. During a break from teaching, she undertook a research grant that later resulted in several articles and a book: L'escola de Terrassa del segle XX. She has served as a LIC advisor and is currently the LIC director for Central Catalonia.

Marta Romeo

She holds a degree in Contemporary History and postgraduate studies in Pedagogy. For the past 24 years, she has worked at Manresa City Council as a project officer, always in areas related to children and young people. She is currently Head of the Education Section.

Marta Luna

She trained as a primary school teacher at the Escola Normal de Barcelona and is a certified Catalan language teacher through the ICE of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). She worked as a primary school teacher for twenty years and as a teacher trainer for the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Barcelona. She has worked as an editor of educational materials and children’s literature for several publishing houses. She participated in the creation of the Ateneu Barcelonès Writing School, where she worked as coordinator and as a lecturer in children’s literature writing. In Premià de Mar, the town where she lives, she is a member of the Municipal Culture Council and is responsible for the “Arrela’t” collection, aimed at primary school pupils and the first years of secondary education.

Roser Rojas

She is a teacher and holds a degree in Geography and History, with a postgraduate qualification in the Didactics of Visual Arts. She worked as a primary school teacher and secondary school teacher until her retirement. She has been involved in initiatives such as “La pissarra de paper”, “LaceNet”, and “Espurna”, which offer complementary and cross-curricular educational activities for schools. She has also taken part in reading promotion groups, reading aloud initiatives, and school theatre. She is a storyteller, illustrator, and creator of children’s stories, and participates as a scriptwriter and actress in historical reenactment activities.

Jordi Estrada

He holds a degree in Catalan and Italian Philology. He has worked as a secondary school teacher and currently contributes regularly to the newspaper Regió7 and is an editor for the magazine El Pou de la gallina. He has translated several works from Italian and is the author of the novels Rius paral·lels and Lilinne i les bombolles de sabó. As a cultural activist, he has led several reading groups, is a board member of Òmnium Bages-Moianès, and takes part in the organisation of the literary festival Tocats de Lletra.

Trini Riu

She holds a degree in Information and Documentation Sciences and a diploma as a Special Education Teacher. She was a driving force behind the school library at Institut Lluís de Peguera in Manresa. She has worked as a librarian at the Cal Gallifa Library in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, where she organised reading promotion activities for young children. She currently works at the Manresa University Campus Library, supporting teaching and research in early childhood education programmes. As a member of the Parents’ Association (AMPA) of Doctor Ferrer School in Artés, she collaborates in organising talks and reading workshops for families.

Agustí Lleyda

He was a teacher at the Fonollosa school for 39 years. He is a member of the book selection committee for the Atrapallibres Award and currently takes part in various reading groups, such as the children’s and young adult literature group at the Casino de Manresa Library. He has a strong interest in poetry and is the coordinator of the poetry club at the Casino de Manresa Library. He also participates in the organisation of the Tocats de Lletra literature festival and actively practises

August Garcia

He is a teacher and holds a degree in Catalan Philology, and worked for 37 years in the Penedès region. He has contributed to various publications (El 3 de Vuit, El Vallenc, El 9 Nou, Caramella) writing literary reviews of poetry for adults and children’s and young adult literature (LIJ), as well as articles on traditional music and dance. As a founding member of the Eixam d’amics de la Joana Raspall, he took part in the organisation of her centenary celebrations. In addition to reading poetry, he also enjoys setting poetry to music. He has prepared poetry recitals for children and young people, as well as recitals focused on authors such as Philip Larkin, Jaume Subirana, and Enric Casasses.

Irene Tort

She holds a degree in English Philology and a PhD in Language and Literature Didactics. She completed the official master’s degree in Advanced English Studies: Literature and Culture (UAB) and the master’s degree in Research in Language and Literature Didactics (UB). Throughout her teaching career, she has worked in primary education, secondary education, and adult education centres, and also has teaching and research experience at several Catalan universities. She is currently a member of the teaching and research staff of the Arts and Humanities Studies at the UOC. Her research interests are related to the didactics of English as a foreign language, multilingualism, and teachers’ beliefs.

Cristina Mas

She holds a degree in Catalan Philology (UB), with postgraduate studies in Comparative Literature and Digital Literature, and in Reading, Publishing, and the Didactics of Literature and ICT (UB). She has worked as a secondary school teacher of Catalan Language and Literature and is currently a LIC advisor (Language, Interculturality, and Social Cohesion) for the Department of Education in Central Catalonia, at the Berguedà Educational Service. She is also a facilitator of reading clubs.