Collection Development for Judaica Materials: Presentation Notes (December 2017)

Additional notes to slide 3:
Kenneth Treister is the sculptor and architect of Miami Beach’s world-famous Holocaust
Memorial. The Judaica Suite contains Treister’s handmade furniture, artwork and sculptures, as
well as his collection of rare chess sets. He designed the suite very carefully with each element
working in harmony with another to create a total work of art. The approach to the rooms is
through a foyer which features a large stained-glass window representing one God. In an alcove
to the right is a bronze sculpture symbolizing the parting of the Red Sea. In the main reading
room, several abstract paintings depicting creation and four tapestries all work in unison to
complement the beauty of the dark-stained wood furniture. The warm-colored chairs in the
alcoves draw the eye into these inviting study niches. Chairs in the alcoves are positioned side
by side to reflect the Jewish tradition of studying with a partner. Each study alcove contains a
quotation from famous thinkers, such as Moses Maimonides, carved in gold plate. Each
quotation corresponds to the subject-matter of the books within the alcove. The books are
from the scarce and rare holdings of the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica at the University
of Florida. Most are from the 19th and early 20th century. For more information, see:
http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/Judaica/JudaicaSuite

Note: At the end of this webinar, we will also allow time for further questions and discussion.

So, before you delve into the world of collecting Judaica resources, take a deep breath … the
world of Jewish books – both written by Jews and about Jews and even intersecting with Jews is
vast. Of course, we’re talking about over 3,000 years of recorded history across the world. I’ve
adapted here two diagrams created by Bella Hass Weinberg from her article, “Defining the
Scope of Judaica: Complementary Problems in Bibliographic Control and Bibliographic
Organization” published in Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory, Vol. 15, 1991, pp. 155-163,
to show several overlaps – those between collecting Judaica and Hebraica and those between
the disciplines of Jewish studies and other related academic disciplines. I recommend
Weinberg’s excellent article, by the way, as a way to get to know more about the nature and
challenges associated with collecting Judaica resources.
According to the UK bookseller, Jonathan Fishburn, a Jewish book can be easily defined as
follows, it is “a book about any aspect of Jewish life including the religious practices, culture,
rabbinic texts, history, literature, philosophy and community life of Jews throughout the world.
However, Jewish books and manuscripts are often classified under the labels, Hebraica and
Judaica: the former being books in the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages such as
Yiddish, Ladino and Judeo-Arabic which use Hebrew characters, and the latter referring to
books about Jews in any other language. These two areas of collecting are distinct but obviously
also overlap.”
Then, of course, one has to consider publications in Hebrew produced in Israel which relate to
other sciences, a mathematics book for example. Would such a book fall under the range of the

Judaica collector? In Harvard’s case, yes – here there is a distinct and distinctive policy to collect
all Israeli materials regardless of content (which shows the entire scope of Israeli publishing and
Hebrew writing); in most other cases, unless the collection is related to Jews and mathematics
or the shaping of Israeli academia, no.
In addition, Jewish studies has many cognate disciplines, for example, near eastern studies,
biblical studies, religious studies, and related disciplines, such as Middle East politics or German
history etc. This can be a challenge for the collector; thus, one may have to ask, do Christian
works on the Old Testament belong in a Judaica collection, or do books about the Third Reich
need to be added to a Holocaust collection? Should the Judaica collection contains works of
antisemitism? Nevertheless, all these overlaps can also be seen as a wonderful gift, especially
for the non-specialist. The nebulous boundaries between disciplines can be a tremendous way
to build a distinctive and rich collection. If, for example, you are already a librarian dealing with
a subject such as film, or you have simply decided to start collecting film, the ability to build
into your existing collections Jewish movies and documentaries from around the world,
including the much-acclaimed Israeli film industry, will offer many exciting possibilities,
intersections and collaborative projects. Furthermore, the ability to work across disciplines is
very attractive to grant-funding agencies.

The following is a whistle-stop tour through the world of Jewish books and libraries, stopping
off at some notable moments in history (and probably missing some others) along the way just
to give you a taste of the length and breadth of the history of collecting Judaic resources.
Canonization is the long procedure of collecting and sequencing texts in order of authority and
importance. This procedure, particularly when applied to the ancient Jewish world, also meant
that other texts were lost along the way. During the biblical period, the Jewish Temple may
have served as a sort of ancient library but one that was more akin to a repository. As the Bible
testifies, scriptural scrolls and scrolls of priestly genealogies were deposited and found there.
During this period of canonization, Jewish legal traditions were being transmitted orally, a
process which later became known as Oral Torah. A final redaction in writing of this oral law
was produced in the 2nd century CE, known as the Mishnah. During the next four centuries, the
further discussions and commentaries surrounding the Mishnah became known as the Gemara,
and both texts together constitute the Talmud. Upon these works were built the wealth of
rabbinic literature handwritten and printed over many subsequent centuries. Here is the core
of our Hebraica (although for non-specialists, it is also important to note that the Talmud is
largely composed in Aramaic).
Another repository of scrolls in the Biblical period was the one discovered in Qumran,
manuscripts of scripture, law and community practices now known collectively as the Dead Sea

Scrolls. The fact that most of the scrolls were copied in the first two centuries BCE (which is
confirmed by carbon dating) shows that the majority were not composed by the sectarians who
inhabited the building complex at Qumran but rather had been preserved by them as part of
their ancient library. Their re-appearance in the 20th century helped scholars to understand
more about the development of scripture and the process of canonization, as well as the
writing and use of texts in ancient Jewish communities.
In between ancient times and the middle ages, relatively little evidence of Jewish material
culture has survived. The next great repository of Jewish texts was the one found in Egypt
known as the Cairo Genizah. A genizah is a hiding or burial place for worn out or disused sacred
texts. The Cairo Genizah retained more than sacred books, it also comprised a vast amount of
written evidence of Jewish life from the 10th-13th centuries from across the Mediterranean.
Among these materials were manuscripts containing booklists and details of book sales,
testifying to the great amount of Jewish literacy, a vibrant book culture, as well as the existence
of private Jewish libraries. After the discovery of the Cairo Genizah in the 19th century, its many
hundreds of thousands of medieval manuscripts were disbursed around the world to form new,
distinct and important Hebraica collections in libraries today.
After Guttenberg, Jews quickly engaged in the world of print. The first printed Jewish books
were from Italy and Spain in the 1460s, and the first dated Hebrew printed book was a
rabbinical commentary on the Bible printed in Regio, Italy in 1475. Jews worked in the printing
trade, and Jewish books were also printed by Christian printing firms, most notably the first
complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud printed by Daniel Bomberg in 1519-1523. This same
period witnessed the rise of the Spanish inquisition and its censorship and burning of Jewish
books. Many Jewish books surviving from this time bear the black ink marks of the censor’s
pen. With the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, so too the centers of Jewish book life shift
across Europe to Italy, Amsterdam and Prague and eventually into the new world.
European Institutions first began collecting Jewish books in the mid-18th century. The Bodleian
Library at Oxford, one of the greatest collections of Hebraica in the world, has at its core the
library of Rabbi David Oppenheim, an 18th century bibliophile and the chief rabbi of Prague.
Bought in 1829, it consisted of 5000 printed books and 1000 manuscripts. Many of the major
early collections of Hebraica were acquired through private libraries and through the new
burgeoning market in rare books and manuscripts, which included the sale of the
aforementioned Cairo Genizah manuscripts. In the 19th century, with the rise of the
Wissenschafts des Judentums (scientific study of Judaism) movement, there was a rapid
increase in the number of works of literature and history and thus Judaica collections begin to
emerge.
The first Hebrew Bible published in America was published in Philadelphia in 1814. Important
early American Judaica collections appearing at the turn of the century, include the New York
Public Library and the Library of Congress in Washington. Great collections were also amassed
in the rabbinic seminaries, the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and the Hebrew
College Union’s Klau Library. Large American university libraries bought heavily in the 1960s

and 1970s with more healthy budgets and the growth of academic Jewish studies and centers.
They were also the fortunate recipients of materials supplied under the Public Law – 480
program, a unique program in which the US government supplied around 25 American research
libraries with a copy of nearly every publication produced in Israel of potential research value.
This program, which took place between 1964 and 1973, resulted in approximately 1,665,000
Israeli items coming to America; that is, about 65,000 items for each library. With the growth
and spread of synagogues and community centers across the US in the mid-20th century, so too
the growth of community and school libraries blossomed.
Some library collections in the US saw an influx of materials after WWII as a result of the work
of the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction group which sent unclaimed books recovered from Nazi
plunder to be rehoused in major institutions, such as the Library of Congress. Institutions
founded in pre-war Europe to document Jewish life and culture, such as YIVO, were later re-
established in the US.
Today, the world’s largest collections of Hebraica and Judaica are held in the National Library of
Israel. The first public library in Palestine to serve the Jewish community was the B’nai Brith
Library founded in 1892. In 1920, when plans were drawn up for the Hebrew University, the
B’nai Brith collection became the basis for the university library. In 2007, the university library
was officially recognized as The National Library of the State of Israel thanks to the National
Library Law which made it a “fully independent community interest company,” jointly owned by
the Government, the Hebrew University and other organizations. A new 34,000 square building
is being designed by the Swiss architecture firm, Herzog & de Meuron to house the National
Library of Israel, and its expected completion date will be 2019.

• Rabbinical Seminaries, e.g. Jewish Theological Seminary in New York or the Klau Library of the
Hebrew Union College
• Jewish Research Institutions, eg. The Yivo Institute for Jewish Research (which began in
Poland before the War with the idea of documenting all aspects of Jewish life)
• College and University Libraries, eg., UCLA, Columbia, University of Arizona – and many more,
all of which have distinctive Hebraica and Judaica collections
• Public Libraries, e.g., the Dorot Jewish Division of NYPL, which by the 1900s already rivalled
some of the best Jewish libraries in Europe. Today it has over 250,000 materials
• Synagogue Libraries, e.g., the Edmond de Rothshild Library at the Park Avenue Synagogue in
New York (over 3,000 titles?)
• Jewish Center Libraries, e.g., the Astor Judaica Library of the San Diego Jewish Community
Center Library (over 7,000 titles)
• Jewish School Libraries, e.g, The Benjamin and Florence Free Library of the Milwaukee Jewish
Day School (over 18,000 books and other materials).

1. Comprehensive collecting, e.g., Harvard, with approx. 600,000 volumes, collects everything
relating to Hebraica and Judaica and all Israeli publications.
2. Representative collecting, any small collection of Judaica within a larger Humanities Library;
an example is the collection at my neighbor university, Florida State University, which is fully
integrated into the broader Humanities Library and does not support a Jewish studies program.
3. Purposeful collecting, e.g., the United States Holocaust and Memorial Museum Library or the
Wiener Library in London, both of which collect exclusively on the Holocaust.
4. Scholarly demand, e.g., University of Florida’s growing Israeli documentary film collection has
come about thanks to faculty research and teaching interests.
5. Historic preservation: for example, the Iraqi Jewish archives (a collection of 2,700 books and
thousands of documents from Iraq’s Jewish community which were uncovered by the US army
in the basement of Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters in 2003. The archive was given
temporary custody in the US and was subjected to preservation and digitization, but its future
status remains unresolved).
6. Historic restitution: the Library of Congress was a main recipient of the Nazi looted books
rescued and re-distributed by the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction
7. Gifts, e.g., the I. Edward Kiev Collection at the University of Washington, which was
established with the donation of the private library of Rabbi I. Edward Kiev, one of the
preeminent Judaica librarians of the 20th century, who had amassed 18,000 volumes dedicated
to various areas within Jewish studies.

The Hebrew texts of the Bible, etc. would be regarded as Hebraica, but if there are works
relating to these texts (commenting upon them or relating to their history) then they are works
of Judaica. These are some main genres, but of course there are many, many more including
science, medicine, law, education, languages, politics, philosophy etc, etc. which is why, as we
shall see, in our step-by-step guide, why it is so important to conduct an environmental scan of
your library, institution, local area, and patron needs in order to narrow down your field of
collecting interest and to stay within budget!

Berlin’s lengthy, 50-page, in-depth article covers major aspects of collecting Library resources
for Jewish Studies. The article examines the nature of resources and the history of their
development in the US. It looks at the sources of supply, including the growth in producing
reprints, at the profession of Judaica librarian, at the types of bibliographic services offered, at
the variety of Judaica Research Collections, at methods of financing Jewish library resources,
and it provides a look into the future, as well as some statistics about the then leading
collections. In addition to learning about how Judaica resources and collections have grown and
developed, the non-specialist can look at the useful appendices, which include a sample survey
of Library resources in Jewish Studies in American Colleges, Universities, and Research
Institutions, which can help you to start to frame your own questions about collection
development. Also included is a sample Faculty questionnaire. Again, the non-specialist could
use this model and adapt it accordingly to his/her own situation.
The Lubetskis’ book, Building a Judaica Library Collection, is a wonderful tool which is richly
deserving of being reproduced and updated in a new expanded edition. It is still very helpful
nevertheless, and includes pages of lists of information pertaining to publisher’s lists, lists of
bookdealers, bookseller catalogs, comprehensive bibliographies, review lists, library catalogs,
media publishers, and microform publishers. Missing, of course, is the whole new world of e-
resources and digital collections.
Joyce Levine’s handbook is a publication of the Association of Jewish Libraries. It provides a
practical guide for synagogue, school and community center libraries. Topics covered include:
Starting a New Library; The Budget; The Collection; Cataloging; Promotion and Advocacy; and

Accreditation. Also included are sample mission statements and policies for circulation and
collection development. Although this is geared towards SSC, it has helpful hints for RAS too,
especially the practical issues of producing a mission statement and developing collection
policies and procedures.

The Bibliography Bank was created to facilitate the sharing of bibliographies on Judaic topics
among AJL members and the public at large. All bibliographies included in the Bank appear in
date order, but can be rearranged by title, author, or age level by clicking on the various tabs.
The recommendations made in these bibliographies are the opinions of the compilers, and not
necessarily the views of AJL. By clicking on the hyperlink to “browse” the bibliographies, you
can look through the many subjects covered here.
AJL publishes reviews of recently published books on Jewish-related subjects on a quarterly
basis. The reviews are compiled and edited by Judaica librarians and provide an excellent guide
to selection. Members of AJL gain access to the recent issues, non-members have access to
archived issues from the previous year and prior years. Books that have been reviewed can also
be accessed through AJL’s book review index, which enables you to find the reference, date
published and the reviewer.
HaSafran, which in Hebrew means “the Librarian” is the electronic discussion forum, or listserv,
of the Association of Jewish Libraries, AJL. First formed in 1991, HaSafran allows for Judaica
librarians and librarians collecting Judaica to ask questions of other librarians relating to books,
collecting, collections, cataloging, and other issues and developments in the Judaic library
world. Booksellers sometimes advertise there, as well as people donating books or giving away
duplicates or weeded materials.

Jewish Values Finder was designed as a database to enable searches for books with Jewish
values written for Jewish children and teens in English or in translation. The books listed here
may provide guidance for those collecting particular areas of Judaica, such as recommended
children’s books.
The RAS (Research, Archives and Special Collections) Division of AJL has a wiki for compiling
information about cataloging issues and developments, including the minutes of the AJL’s
cataloging committee. Most of the information relates to Hebraica, but a useful tool for non-
specialists is the Romanization FAQ.

 These example policies range from the complex – the many collections held at the
University of Pennsylvania to the more strictly defined collecting of the Edward Kiev
collection to the very simple colleting needs of the Beth Shalom synagogue in
Northbrook, Illinois. They are chosen to be representative of variety not necessarily as
model policies.
 Penn’s policy provides clear explanations of how they distinguish between Judaica and
Hebraica, and the differences and overlaps between the various libraries at the
University that collect in support of Judaic and Jewish Studies.
 The GW policy is very clear in terms of date range, geographical and language coverage,
as well as outlining the collection’s purpose and what it will not cover. Thus, it clearly
defines itself as a 19th-20th century collection distinct from the general collection which
collects modern Judaica.
 The Leo Baeck Institute defines its users, its scope in terms of subject, date, geography
as well as how it collects cooperatively with other institutions. Its subject list provides a
handy guide for other libraries collecting in similar fields.
 The policy at Tulane is concise and covers the various aspects of collecting, date,
subject, geography etc. It also includes a short list of its suppliers, and its endowed
funds.
 The Beth Shalom list is very short, but it helps community members and donors to know
what they’ll find in the collection and what they can provide to supplement it.

The examples chosen here include a range of programs across public and private institutions,
larger comprehensive studies and smaller focused programs. It’s also interesting to see which
programs built their collections in response to the setting up of a Jewish studies center and
which were built on an existing, long-standing collection and how this determines ongoing and
future collection development policies and selection.

That’s nothing! These post-war figures can’t match the pre-war circulation. In New York City,
the hub of the Yiddish-American universe, over 150 Yiddish dailies, weeklies, monthlies,
quarterlies, festival journals, and yearbooks appeared between 1885 and 1914. Some 20 dailies
came into existence during that period, and for a time, at the turn of the century, as many as six
competed simultaneously for readers.

Answer: B
Ets Haim is the oldest still functioning Jewish library in the world. It was founded in 1639 and
has been housed in the historical complex of the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam
since 1675. In 1889, the librarian David Montezinos donated his private collection to Ets Haim
and since that time the library was properly known as the Ets Haim/Livraria Montezinos.
The Portuguese Synagogue complex, including Ets Haim, was restored between 2010 and 2011.
In December 2011, the very beautiful library and synagogue reopened for visitors as part of the
city’s Jewish Cultural Quarter.

Bibliographies are, of course, an essential tool for subject selectors. The world of Judaica is rich
in bibliographies, which date back to at least the 17th century when Christian Hebraists began to
compile the first comprehensive Hebrew bibliographies, and to the work of the first Jewish
bibliographer, Shabbetai Bass in 1650. The famous father of modern bibliography is Moritz
Steinschneider, whose works in the mid to late 19th century set the standards for modern
Jewish bibliography. The growth in bibliographies in the modern period led to the publication of
the “Bibliography of Jewish Bibliographies,” which in its 2nd ed. contained information on over
2,000 bibliographies. A quarterly bibliographical journal called, Kiryat Sefer, was first published
in 1924 and it is now an online database, under the auspices of the National Library, and it is an
important resource for selectors, as well as the database of the Bibliography of the Hebrew
Book.
A selector is also advised to look to other collections to see their recent acquisition lists. This is
particularly helpful, if one can identify libraries of a similar size or collecting focus as the one
you intend to build or already manage. Similarly, it is very worthwhile to look at other libraries’
LibGuides – they are instructive as to key resources as well as providing models on which to
build your own Judaica resources guide. The vendor catalogs and websites provide key
information as to what is available, as well as what has already sold and might be sought after
through specialist dealers. Vendors will of course reach out to you about their stock,
particularly once they know what interests you. If you are looking to build archives, then other
libraries’ finding aids can be instructive, and for manuscript collections, Benjamin Richler’s
Guide to Hebrew Manuscript Collections is an invaluable source and guide.

Jewish Book Month: Jewish Book Month is an annual event on the American Jewish calendar
dedicated to the celebration of Jewish books. It is observed during the month preceding
Hanukkah, thus the exact date changes from year to year. As part of the Jewish Book Month
celebration, the Jewish Council prepares educational and promotional materials and advises
local communities on exhibits, book fairs, book clubs, author speaking tours and literary
programs. This is a rich resource for selecting contemporary, popular Judaic materials.
The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and
teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Presented by the Association of Jewish
Libraries since 1968, the award encourages the publication and widespread use of quality
Judaic literature. Going over past winners of this award can help identify books to add to
collections of Jewish children’s literature.
The AJL Judaica Reference Award, funded by Dr. Greta Silver of New York City, was established
to encourage the publication of outstanding Judaica reference books. The AJL Judaica
Bibliography Award, funded by Eric Chaim Kline of Los Angeles, was established to encourage
the publication of outstanding Judaica bibliographies. Again, one can use these book awards as
a basis for building well-regarded, substantive modern collections.
AJL’s new fiction award was established in 2017 with generous underwriting from Dan Wyman
Books. All works of fiction with significant Jewish thematic content written in English--novels,
short story and flash fiction collections--by a single author published and available for purchase
in the United States during 2017 are eligible for the award. So watch this space for the winners!

Judaica Librarianship is AJL’s peer-reviewed journal. As its mission states: “It provides a forum
for scholarship on all theoretical or practical aspects of Jewish Studies librarianship and cultural
stewardship in the digital age; bibliographical, bibliometric and comprehensive studies related
to Jewish booklore; historical studies or current surveys of noteworthy collections; and
extensive reviews of reference works and other resources, including electronic databases and
informational websites.” The journal not only provides information about current Judaica
librarianship, it also provides book reviews to help with selection.
Jewish Book Council dates back to 1925 when Fanny Goldstein, a librarian the Boston Public
Library set up an exhibit of Judaic books and used it as a focus of what she called Jewish Book
Week. In 1927, Jewish communities around the country adopted the event. Jewish Book Week
activities proliferated and were extended to a one-month period in 1943. The Jewish Book
Council is the only organization whose sole purpose is the promotion of Jewish books. The
Jewish Book Council website provides reading lists to help with selection.
Among the leading contemporary Jewish journals, are Forward Magazine, the English language
version of the longest running American Yiddish newspaper, the Forverts, and Tablet Magazine,
launched in 2009. Both contain daily reviews of books, and articles and editorials relating to
matters in the Jewish book world. The Jewish Chronicle, the UK’s equivalent of the Forverts, has
been published for 175 years since 1841 and it has long-covered news and reviews relating to
book collecting, libraries and book publishing. Another new kid on the block is the Jewish
Review of Books, a quarterly magazine launched in NY in 2010. It is unabashedly models itself
on the New York Review of Books and contains serious essays and reviews of Jewish
publications. Obviously, book reviews and thus guides to selection can also be found in the
leading Jewish academic journals as well.

The stated goal of Footprints: Jewish Books Through Time and Place is to provide a database to
“track the circulation of printed "Jewish books" (in Hebrew, other Jewish languages, and books
in Latin and non-Jewish vernaculars with Judaica contents).” As the website informs us: “Much
information about the movement of early printed books exists, but in scattered form: individual
copies, catalogs from libraries and booksellers, estate inventories, subscription lists, and other
kinds of archival documents. All of these individual pieces of data can connect to each other in
order to build up a composite view of the movement of Jewish texts and ideas from place to
place and across time.”
Judaica Europeana is a network of archives, libraries and museums working together to
integrate access to the most important collections of European Jewish heritage and make them
discoverable. Judaica Europeana partners have digitized and uploaded 3.7 million items from
their collections. The network now includes 30 associated institutions in Europe, Israel and the
United States.
The blogs listed here are examples of blogs which discuss Jewish book histories and provenance
and textual histories. They would not be a first stop for the non-specialist collector, but they are
a place to get a sense of the variety of stories behind collections and collectors.

Answer B: Edgar Rice Burroughs created Tarzan in 1912.
Jews were extremely influential in building the comic book industry from the ground up. In
1933, unemployed novelty salesman Max Gaines transformed old comic strips into book form.
Gaines and his colleague Harry L. Wildenberg published the Famous Funnies, the first American
retail comic book in 1934. In 1938, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster created Superman
and his adventures were published in DC Comics, inspiring a whole industry and the “Golden
Age” of comic books.
In 1961, Jewish writer Stan Lee developed a new type of superhero in the Fantastic Four, Lee
teamed with his frequent collaborator, Jewish artist Jack Kirby to create a group of superheroes
who weren’t sunny or optimistic like rival company DC’s heroes. These would be published by
Martin Goodman and officially named Marvel Comics. The classic “Marvel Age” saw the
creation by many Jewish writers and artists of heroes such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Iron
Man, and Nick Fury. Lee and Kirby would also expand the “superhero as outsider” metaphor
with other creations, such as 1963’s X-Men. By the mid-1980s, the “graphic novel,” broke into
the mainstream with Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize winning work, Maus. A Holocaust memoir
in comics form, the characters in Maus are drawn as animals: Jews are mice, Germans are cats.

• What are your faculty researching? E.g., are there strong interests in the Second World War
period? Or is there a general interest in ethnic music and dance or global cuisine? How do Jews
and Jewish history and culture intersect with broader themes?
• What are future research trends? Can you see emerging trends? Global studies?
• What’s missing from research? What is being overlooked? Exotic languages, old-world studies
such as Rabbinics, new world interests such as diverse communities?
• What are the community interests? Are there repeat programs, regular speakers, local
histories
• How can you align with other local organizations? Are other libraries, colleges, centers and
museums in any sort of alignment with your interests? Again, perhaps a strong local history can
underpin your collection, for example the history of the Jews of Atlanta as a collection in the
southeastern region.
• Do other local libraries hold Judaica? What else is out there in your locale and region? Are you
making sure not to duplicate efforts, eg. FAU music.
• Are their gaps in your region’s Judaic holdings?
• How do you compare on the national level?

• Who are your patrons: ages, ethnicity, gender, languages, interests, distance, technology
needs … for example are they children, teens, largely college students, faculty, public, retirees?
• Gather information and data about your users and their needs: consider surveys,
questionnaires, feedback, etc. – you can use the models provided in the Charles Berlin article
or those in Joyce Levine’s handbook. If you have a website, you could add in a feedback feature.
• Who do you wish to be your patrons? Is there a section of the population you wish to attract?
Building for new audiences, perhaps you cater to an older section but now want to bring in the
young or vice versa. Perhaps you currently serve focus on graphic novels, but you want to reach
out to academics studying Jewish graphic novels in the English language.
• What needs are not being met? Are you serving all your patrons equally? Do you need to
increase e-resources or hard copies or maybe services for the disabled?
• What assets are available to meet these needs? How can you strike a balance? Who else can
you involve? Can you strategize purchasing with other librarians?
• What additional things need to be in place to meet these needs? Will you need to take a step
back and re-assess the environment?

You can research mission statements online. The statement of the University of Florida Libraries
can be accessed here: http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/strategic-directions.pdf and you can see that it
emphasizes inclusion and intellectual freedom, particularly open access. Its four main strategic
directions include: integrated space, technology and services; creative and dynamic content
management; digital and digitized collections; transformative collaboration. In fact, these
strategies are quite broad and allow for the curators and selectors to be creative, while thinking
about space, content, digitization and collaboration. One might focus in on just one or two of
these missions – perhaps digitization and collaboration. And perhaps it is possible to team up
with another collecting unit to achieve a number of these visions. You could choose to ignore
your institution’s mission and go out on a limb, but by thinking strategically you could line up
crucial support and forge a unique identity in the world of Judaica librarianship.

You may be relying on institutional or state budgets to fund your resources purchases, and this
may mean that some of your ambitions are somewhat curtailed. On the other hand, sometimes
limitations provide opportunities for creativity, and you might want to look for additional
funding sources or ways to increase your resources through collaborative partnerships, gifts or
loans.
But alternative sources of funding include grants, both local and national. Writing grants offers
a great way to provide funds for libraries, and the writing of grant proposals necessitates the
shaping of first ideas into fundable projects. Nevertheless, the idea of applying for a grant can
be somewhat daunting. We are very fortunate here at the University of Florida Libraries to have
a dedicated grants manager, Bess de Farber. But she doesn’t keep her secrets just to us, she has
created a super LibGuide which provides information about grants, PowerPoint presentations
on how to write them and how to generate ideas, as well as links to successful proposals
generated here. The LibGuide can be accessed through the University of Florida Libraries’
webpage: http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/, or directly following this link:
http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/c.php?g=147666&p=969753 For practice, you may want to start with
a small, local grant or mini grant. You can use a small grant to provide a proof of concept for a
much larger grant.
Many libraries are also funded privately through endowments – curatorships or endowed
collections, or they receive foundation funding (in a way this is similar to grant seeking and will
require a specific idea or project), or – as in the case of my Judaica Library – you may find
spaces or collections that provide naming opportunities. As you set about determining which

resources to collect and how to shape your library, you may want to keep such naming
opportunities in the back of your mind. Are there local individuals or organizations who might
be interested in supporting your endeavors as you tie into local interests?
If you are a small organization, you might want to try a GoFundMe campaign
(https://www.gofundme.com/). With the right idea and story, these can be quite successful in
raising modest amounts. One example, of an idea is from a member of public working with an
archivist to preserve and digitize her family collection: https://www.gofundme.com/fanny-katz.
Similar fundraisers can be created without the GoFundMe online interface at a local level using
a local committee or friends of the library group.
Finally, an inexpensive way of collecting resources is through gifts-in-kind. And rather than
waiting for such gifts to come to you, you could go on the road and actively seek them. You
could also monitor the AJL’s listserv, HaSafran for news of gift collections. A recent example is
the notice from the son of the famous Jewish journalist, Ruth Gruber, who was looking for a
home for Ruth’s books.

In response to reduced budgets and increased demand for e-resources, many libraries today
are instituting patron-driven acquisition accounts whereby books are only ordered if requested
a certain number of times by a certain number of patrons. This “just in time” approach to
collection development can work well if you are managing a small Judaica library that primarily
serves a student population; it can also be a good way to start to build a collection by allowing
your user base to determine the focus. But the drawback of this approach is its short-term
vision and inability to anticipate future needs and long-term sustainability. If you only approach
your resource building from the long-term perspective, on the other hand, you may suffer from
low usage. If you acquire materials on the grounds of rescuing them, creating a heritage
collection, you will provide a strong mission story but the impact on your budget will be high.
Ideally, a combination of all these philosophies can help provide necessary, current resources;
provide a long-term strategy and vision, as well as an opportunity to be at the forefront of
cultural heritage preservation.

The CoLAB workshops have been presented around the country (including faculty-librarian,
librarian-librarian, librarian-student, faculty-faculty, student-student, and student-librarian-
community member
A book based on these successful workshops was recently published by ALA. The book provides
the following information:
 step by step guidance on every aspect of organizing and presenting a CoLAB workshop;
 helpful photographs and diagrams that show prep and workshops in action;
 ready to use surveys for assessment before and after the workshop;
 grant proposal development techniques for bringing two or more organizations together
on a project;
 pointers on how to adapt the workshop for ice-breakers, conference programs, or
classrooms; and
 samples of workshop promotion pieces that can be adapted as needed.
See: https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/collaborating-strangers-facilitating-workshops-
libraries-classes-and-nonprofits for more information.

Answer: D: The Adventures of K’tonton, by Sadie Rose Weilerstein (1930).
Wellerstein was born in New York in 1894 – she published numerous works of children’s
literature. K'Tonton was a boy the size of a thumb who had adventures featuring Jewish
holidays and culture.

 Dan Wyman Books, LLC, began in 1991 as a wholesaler of out of print Jewish books. He
is now a leading international dealer in rare, unusual, important, and out-of-print Jewish
books, serials, and ephemera.
 Kline Books deals in a broader selection of rare, out-of-print and antiquarian books, but
he also has a specialization in Judaica. The books can be viewed online.
 Evelyn Pearl is a book dealer specializing in the Holocaust. Her catalogues are online.
 Hollander Books is an antiquarian and scholarly bookstore specializing in Judaica,
particularly out-of-print and hard-to-find books and ephemera.
 Ideal Book Store was established in 1931, and it holds a wide range of materials. It is
now owned by Aron Lutwak. Luwak has acquired his stock through trips to Europe and
Israel to personally select his inventory.
 Kestenbaum & Company is owned by Daniel Kestenbaum who has over 25 years of
experience in the auction business. Kestenbaums is renowned for its expertise in the
fields of Hebraica and Judaica.. Don’t be put off if you are only buying small scale or
have limited budgets, it’s still worth reading the beautiful Kestenbaum catalogs – for
bookselling history and because there are materials available at a range of levels.
 The Mizrahi Book Store in Brooklyn offers a vast stock of books from the extremely rare
to the extremely common. It has been built up by 28-year-old, Sephardi bibliophile
Yisrael Mizrahi. They sell online through Ebay.
 Schwartz Judaica in San Diego specializes in used Jewish Books & Antiquarian Judaica.
Their inventory amounts to over 2000 Jewish books, covering most aspects of Judaism
and Jewish history.
 Schoen Books in Massachusetts deals in all Judaica, but has a particular focus on
German Judaica. Ken Schoen catalogs are online, and he also mails out hard copies to
clients.

D. K. Agencies is a major Indian bookseller, dealing in a wide range of books from the South East
Asia region. He also specializes in Indian Judaica
Facsimile Editions is a London-based company owned by Michael and Linda Falter who have
made an art out of producing reproductions of major works of Hebraica. The facsimiles
themselves are rare books issued in limited runs.
Fishburn Books is also based in London and specializes in rare and antiquarian Judaica and
Hebraica. Fishburn regularly issues thematic catalogs, and often with a particular emphasis on
Anglo Jewry, the Holocaust, British Mandate Palestine and Zionism.
Jerusalem Books has been supplying all manner of Israeli books for 20 years to clients in Israel
and the abroad in the United States. They also supply approval plans.
Kedem Auction House founded in 2008 in Jerusalem specializes in fine collectibles dealing with
Zionism and Jewish history. Auctions are held twice a year.
La Giuntina is a European publishing house specializing in Judaism and Jewish History.
Liberia Garcia Cambeiro deals in materials from and about Latin America, specifically Argentina
and Brazil, and also including Judaica. Run by the Garcia Cambeiro family, this bookstore has
been a regional leader. Also offers approval plans.
Librar Books is owned by Rifat N. Bali who specializes in books relating to the minorities of
Turkey, including Jews. He has booklists online and sends out regular emails to clients.
Manor House is a Jewish bookstore in Finchley, London for 25 years. Trotter Books include rare
and out of print Judaica, Hebraica and Near and Middle Eastern materials.
Robinson Books is one of the oldest and best-known bookstores in Tel Aviv. It first opened in
1889 and includes thousands of titles.
Steimatzkys is Israel’s major book chain with over 160 stores across Israel by 2010. Their huge
stock of current publications is available online.

And, of course, all the major vendors of research libraries, YBP, Blackwells, Coutts, etc. and
booksellers such as Amazon carry all the contemporary publications in the field of Jewish
Studies.

The name Mendele Mocher Sforim means “Mendele the book peddler.” He was born in 1917,
and he was one of the major founders of modern Yiddish and Hebrew literature.

Don’t wait for gifts to come to you – reach out and engage! You could work with the local
community or engage retired scholars in your ideas and projects.
Local book sales don’t always know what they’ve got – go treasure hunting!
Join AJL and review books – you’ll receive a free copy of every book you review
Take in materials on loan – perhaps it will lead to eventual donations.

It’s not clear that Einstein actually did say this. The essence of the quote comes from something
he said in 1921 about knowing where to look in a textbook. The quote evolved over time, and it
may have become conflated with one by science fiction writer, John Brunner: You don’t have to
know everything, you just need to know where to find it. Source:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/04/02/know-where-to-find/

Judeo-Tat is the traditional language of the Mountain Jews of the eastern Caucasus Mountains
in the region of Azerbaijan. It’s a form of Persian and belongs to the southwestern group of the
Iranian division of the Indo-European languages. The Tat language is spoken by the Muslim Tats
of Azerbaijan. Judeo-Tat has many semitic elements in it. It is now an endangered language.

Collection Development for Judaica Materials: Presentation Notes (December 2017)

Collection Development for Judaica Materials: Presentation Notes (December 2017)

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Collection Development for Judaica Materials: Presentation Notes (December 2017)